2007 Ridenhour Prize Winners Announced |
Prizes to Be Awarded at National Press Club on April 4
Courage Prize Winner President Carter to Hold Press Availability
WASHINGTON, March 29, /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Nation Institute
and The Fertel Foundation today announced the winners of the 2007 Ridenhour
Prizes to be awarded at 12:30 p.m. on April 4 at the National Press Club in
Washington, DC. The prize-winners are:
-- President Jimmy Carter has been awarded The Ridenhour Courage Prize in
recognition of his life-long defense of the public interest, his
passion for social justice, and the courage he has displayed in
speaking forthrightly on contentious and controversial subjects.
President Carter will speak for 20 minutes and will address the issues
raised in his recent book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid.
Following his remarks, President Carter will take questions
from the media at a 2:15 p.m. press availability at the
National Press Club.
-- Donald Vance, an American contractor turned FBI whistle-blower in Iraq
who was detained by American troops and held at the notorious Camp
Cropper for over three months, has won The Ridenhour Prize for Truth-
Telling. Vance was held without charge, denied counsel and
communication with the outside world, kept in isolation, subjected to
sleep deprivation, interrogated for hours and denied food and water for
long periods. Since being released by the U.S. military without
explanation, Vance has bravely come forward to tell his story and call
for accountability.
-- Washington Post journalist and editor Rajiv Chandrasekaran has been
awarded The Ridenhour Book Prize honoring an outstanding work of social
significance from the prior publishing year. Chandrasekaran's book,
Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone is an
exemplary work of reportage that takes us behind the barricaded walls
of Baghdad's Green Zone. Chandrasekaran chronicles how the Coalition
Provisional Authority's bureaucratic arrogance and ineptitude led to
their disastrous postwar planning and directly contributed to the chaos
that we witness in Iraq today.
"It takes nerve and courage to speak out, even in a free country,"
observed Nation Institute president Hamilton Fish. "People who articulate
unpopular truths place their reputations and livelihoods at risk, and are
often subjected to retaliation. By their acts of bravery, the Ridenhour
Prize winners have strengthened our commitment to democracy."
"The recipients recognized this year stepped forward at a time when
dissent is out of fashion," said Fertel Foundation founder Randy Fertel.
"The model of integrity and fearless truth-telling that was the legacy of
Ron Ridenhour is advanced by the distinguished work of this year's prize
winners."
Presenters of the 2007 Ridenhour Prizes include Rabbi Leonard Beerman,
a graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, founding
Rabbi of the Leo Baeck Temple in Los Angeles, past president of the Pacific
Association of Reform Rabbis and board member of the U.S. Interreligious
Committee for Peace in the Middle East; Ted Koppel, the longtime anchor of
ABC's Nightline and now Managing Editor of the Discovery Channel; and Rory
Kennedy, an award-winning documentary producer whose latest project, The
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, was aired recently on HBO.
Past recipients of the Ridenhour Prizes include former Ambassador
Joseph Wilson, journalist Seymour Hersh, 9/11 widow and activist Kristen
Breitweiser and whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg.
About the Ridenhour Prizes
The Ridenhour Prizes seek to recognize and encourage those who
persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest,
promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society. The
prizes memorialize the spirit of fearless truth-telling that one-time
whistleblower and lifetime investigative journalist Ron Ridenhour reflected
throughout his extraordinary life and career. Each award carries a $10,000
stipend.
For more information go to http://www.ridenhour.org
About Ron Ridenhour
In 1969, Vietnam veteran Ron Ridenhour wrote a letter to Congress and
the Pentagon describing the horrific events at My Lai -- the infamous
massacre of the Vietnam War -- bringing the scandal to the attention of the
American public and the world. Ridenhour later became a respected
investigative journalist, winning the George Polk Award for Investigative
Journalism in 1987 for a year-long investigation of a New Orleans tax
scandal. He died suddenly in 1998 at the age of 52. At the time of his
death, he was working on a piece for the London Review of Books, had
co-produced a story on militias for NBC's Dateline and had just delivered a
series of lectures commemorating the thirtieth anniversary of My Lai.
About The Nation Institute
Founded in 1966, The Nation Institute has a commitment to the values of
free speech and open discourse. The Institute places particular importance
on strengthening the independent press in the face of America's
increasingly corporate-controlled flow of information, and through its
programs the Institute promotes progressive values on a variety of media
platforms. The Institute sponsors a number of projects including
conferences, seminars, televised town hall-style meetings, web newsletters,
book publishing, social justice awards, investigative reporting, film
production, journalism fellowships and internships.
For more information go to http://www.nationinstitute.org
About The Fertel Foundation
Energized by a passion for weaving ideas and people together, the
Fertel Foundation seeks to foster projects related to the arts and
education. The Foundation, established in 2000 as a supporting organization
of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is especially interested in
initiatives from which new communities and new insights may emerge, and
those that challenge entrenched communities of power. It also devotes
considerable funding to projects within its overall mission that help
rebuild a better New Orleans -- and create national models -- in a
post-Katrina world.
For more information go to http://www.fertel.com
Event logistics: The speeches by President Carter and other honorees will
be held in the ballroom of the National Press Club at
12:30 p.m. President Carter's media availability will
be held in the Press Club's First Amendment Lounge at
2:15 p.m.
SOURCE The Ridenhour Prizes
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CONTACT:
Erik Smith, +1-202-496-2129, for The
Ridenhour Prizes; or Kim Nauer of The Nation Institute,
+1-212-209-3380
