November 01, 2011 - International Center for Journalists 2011 Awards Dinner
What: Biggest international media event in Washington, D.C.
Where: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
When: Nov. 1, 2011
Time: 6:00PM
Ticket Prices: 350.00
Beneficiary: Quality journalism worldwide
Mistress of Ceremonies: Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC's"Morning Joe" Host
Master of Ceremonies: Joe Scarborough, MSNBC's :"Morning Joe" Host
Honoree(s): Christiane Amanpour of ABC News; Rocio Idalia Gallegos Rodriguez and Sandra Rodriguez Nieto; Thet Sambath
Gala Chairperson(s): Pamela Howard and Rob Rehg
Founders: Tom Winship, Jim Ewing and George Krimsky
Committee Members: Lionel Barber, Michael Elliott, Michael Golden, James F. Hoge, Jr., Rik Kirkland, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Marcy McGinnis, Peter Osnos, Bruce Sanford, John Towriss, Jason Wright
President(s): Alberto Ibarguen, Knight Foundation; Joyce Barnathan, President, ICFJ
Welcome: Joyce Barnathan and Michael Golden
Speaker: Ken Auletta, New Yorker media writer
Sponsors: Coca-Cola, Google, Mary and David Boies, Pamela Howard,Bank of America, Bloomberg, Aljazeera, Edelman, Knight Foundation, The New York Times Company, Dee Dee and Kevin Reilly, The Tom Winship Family, Jason Wright,CBS News, DHL, The McGraw-Hill Company, McKinsey & Company, News Corporation, Elizabeth Ballantine and Paul Leavitt, Michael Elliott and Emma Oxford, Bruce and Marilou Sanford, John Towriss, Envoy Strategy Group, ABC News, AP,APCO Worldwide, Chevron, Hilton Worldwide, CNN, Hearst Corporation,NBC News,Nielsen, Qatar News Agency, Thomson Reuters, Teneco, TimeInc., Lioinel Barber, Joyce Barnathan and Steven Strasser, Lauretta Bruno, Alex S. Jones, Mannheim LLC, Rob and Maureen Rehg, Wagner Family Foundation, Barclays Capital, Ernst & Young, Goldman Sacs, JetBlue, Ketchum, The Washington Post, UBS, United, Media Development Loan Fund, Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman
Attendance: 500
Attire: Business
Special Thanks: CBS News team: Jeff Fager, David Rhodes, Linda Mason, Chris Isham, Anthony Mason, John Molloy, William Mondora, Juan Migueal Bassalik, Megan Tennyson, Jacqueline Barnathan; Mark Whitaker and CNN; Dodge-Chrome, Inc.,; Tiny Jewel Box, Malcolm Frouman
Event Coordinator: Gardner/Mills Group LLC
Board of Directors: Michael Golden, Chairman, Vice Chairman, New York Times Company, James F. Hoge, Jr., Vice Chair, Chairman, Human Rights Watch, Pamela Howard, Vice Chair, Trustee, Scripps Howard Foundation, Matthew Winkler, Editor in Chief, Bloomberg News, John Maxwell Hamilton, Treasures, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, Louisiana State University, George Irish, Development Chairman, Eastern Director, The Hearst Foundation,Joyce Barnathan, Elizabeth Ballantine, Director, McClatchy Company, Lionel Barber, Editor, Financial Times, Louis Boccardi, President/CEO, Associated Press, Retired, Mary Boies, Founding Partner, Boies & McInnis LLP, Marcus Brauchli, Executive Editor, The Washington Post, Tom Curley, President/CEO, Associated Press, Michael Elliott, Presidetn and CEO, ONE, Mathew Ewing,ICFJ Founders Family, Anne Finucane, Global Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America Corporation, Alex S. Jones, Director, Shorenstein Center, Harvard Kennedy School, Rik Kirkland, Director of Publishing, McKinsey & Company, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, Novelist and Journalist, Marcy McGinnis, Associate Dean, Stony Brook University of Journalism, Peter Osnos, Founder and Editor-at-Large, PublicAffairs, Rob Rehg, President, Edelman, Washington, Wendell Reilly, Partner, Peachtree Equity and Managing Partner, Grapevine Partners, Bruce Sanford, Partner, Baker Hostetler LLP,Katherine Field Stephen, Journalist and Author, Mary Ann Sternberg, Freelance Writer and Author, John Towriss, Principal, Envoy Strategy Group, Margaret Winship, ICFJ Founders Family, Jason Wright, Principal, Geer Maountain Holdings, LLC
Blacktie Photos by: Jen Cubas
Washington's Premier Media Event Attracts Luminaries
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The International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition. For 27 years, ICFJ has worked directly with more than 65,000 journalists from 180 countries. ICFJ offers hands-on training workshops, seminars, fellowships and international exchanges to journalists and media managers around the globe.
A sold out crowd of 500 media luminaries and supporters gathered to honor outstanding colleagues whose stories have helped improve societies around the world. "We are delighted that Ken, with his keen eye on the changes sweeping the news business, will speak at our event," said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan. "His unparalled insights will make the evening a truly inspiring one."
Citizen journalists from around the world were celebrated. Pamela Howard, Vice Chair, ICFJ Board of Directors, certainly did her job recruiting attendees like from far away New York City, like Neil and Kathleen Chrisman.
Mary Ann Sternberg, Board of Directors and Freelance Writer and Author, traveled all the way from Louisiana, so Vjollca Shtylla, Vice President, Development, ICFJ was delighted to have a chat.
Christiane Amanpour, ABC News, received the 2011 ICFJ Founders Award for excellence in Journalism. She is the anchor of ABC's Sunday morning political affairs program "This Week with Christiane Amanpour." Amanpour has reported from the world's major hotspots including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Rwanda, the Balkans and the United States during Hurricane Katrina.
To honor Amanpour, ICFJ's Vice Chair Pamela Howard announced that the center will create a Christiane Amanpour Award for Religion Reporting. This award will be given to a journalist next year who has produced the most enlightening coverage of religious issues anywhere in the world.
The Knight Foundation's President and CEO Alberto Ibarguen honored Mexican investigative reporters Rocio Idalia Gallegos Rodriguez and Sandra Rodriguez Nieto and Cambodian reporter and documentary film producer Thet Sambath.
Rocio Gallegos and Sandra Rodriguez accepted their awards in person. The room was silent as their life and death struggle to tell the stories of Juarez, Mexico. Two of their co-workers were murdered. "We see how immigration, free trade, drugs, corruption, poverty, and a weak judicial system - together have caused this extreme violence."
It may be old fashioned, but Blacktie-DC couldn't help but notice how radiant these women looked. Rocio Gallegos was brilliant in her wine colored satin jacket, festooned with a glamorous ruffled collar, complementing her gorgeousness. Sandra Rodriguez's perfect choice of a little black dress, made special with a lace and crystal bodice, framed her presentation with an elegant ease.
All women appreciate a compliment, especially one that flatters their essence.
Thet Sambath is widely regarded as one of Cambodia's best investigative reporters, and his stories, published in Cambodia's premier English-language newspaper, have been syndicated all over the world. Sambath's collected stories, a ten year endeavor, were poured into the Oscar contender, Enemies of the People," a documentary.
As a child, Sambath lost his parents, brother and an uncle to Pol Pot's genocidal regime. 1 million were lost to political executions, starvation and disease. Remarkably, Sambath befriended Pol Pot's No. 2 man while researching the Khmer Rouge, patiently waiting more than four years for the truth of the Killing Fields to be told, and not revealing until the end that he had lost his own family.
This silent auction was fascinating. "Forces for Change" showcased photos from around the globe over four decades. An image of firebrand First Lady Betty Ford on her husband's last day in office, striking a mischievous dance pose on the Cabinet Room table was a big-getter. Blacktie-DC noticed Liz Zale awaiting the results.
The proceeds from the auction will be used to develop innovative programs that promote quality journalism worldwide. Blacktie-DC suggests you call the office and purchase any of the remaining photos, which are certain to be a good investment, and are definitely worth a look.
As if the evening weren't fascinating enough, the keynote address was almost over the moon.
Ken Auletta was the first to popularize the idea of the "information superhighway" and has explored topics from interactive TV to media violence. The Columbia Journalism Review dubbed him America's premier media critic, noting that "no other reporter has covered the new communications revolution as thoroughly as has Auletta." He has won numerous journalism honors, including a National Magazine Award for his 2001 profile of CNN founder Ted Turner.
Mr. Auletta urged journalists to be optimistic in the digital era, but also cautioned them to become better multimedia story tellers.
There was no media divide on this night. New media, old media, playing nice, sugar and spice, frogs and snails, and puppy-dogs' tails.