Letter From the President

David A. Andelman

This year, 2011, has so far been a fraught four months for America's foreign correspondents around the globe -- a period rich with possibilities and filled with new dangers that have snared so many of our colleagues and cost several of their lives. We are here tonight to celebrate the accomplishments of last year, but looking back we must also look forward. Next year at this time we will no doubt be rewarding reportage and commentary from new datelines -- Cairo and Tripoli, Bahrain, Yemen and Japan.

This year there is plenty of great journalism to salute, as the OPC moves into the new era. In the largest expansion since the creation of the awards 72 years ago, we are adding five new categories to recognize the unique demands and possibilities of online journalism. Because of online journalism and social media, American foreign correspondents today have an unparalleled ability to influence the global agenda -- their stories find their way to the most remote villages and the most distant world capitals.

The work of the Overseas Press Club neither begins nor ends this evening. Throughout the year, the revenue generated tonight by our guests, sponsors and advertisers helps our Freedom of the Press Committee engage governments around the world who mistreat journalists. In the coming year, we hope added revenues from our awards process will help us dispatch a member of this committee to confront these governments in person.

Thanks to a seed grant from the Ford Foundation, and under the leadership of my predecessor, Allan Dodds Frank and Aimee Vitrak, we have also embarked on the Global Parachute Project to create a website with tips and contacts for journalists in every country as they travel the world. Of course, we should also recognize the host of conversations, book nights and training sessions that continue to enrich the lives of our members and guests year-round.

Finally, the Overseas Press Club Foundation, which for 19 years has awarded scholarships and internships to the most promising young students of journalism, has expanded its programs with two new offerings—the Jerry Flint Scholarship for International Business Reporting and the Walter and Betsy Cronkite Scholarship. We hope friends of these extraordinary individuals will help us enrich these scholarships.

So as we call each award winner to the dais to celebrate his or her accomplishments, we hope you will all bear in mind how important they and their unsung colleagues are to keeping us enlightened and free, and supporting the work of the Overseas Press Club of America.