Kathy Gannon lights a ceremonial candle in honor of journalists killed, imprisoned or missing at last year’s OPC Awards Dinner. Photo: Michael Dames
Kathy Gannon, senior correspondent for Pakistan and Afghanistan for the Associated Press, will be the keynote speaker at the annual OPC Foundation Scholar Awards Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 26, at the Yale Club. The recipient of several press awards, including the Burton Benjamin Memorial Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists for a lifetime of distinguished achievement in the cause of press freedom, Gannon has covered South Central Asia and elsewhere for the AP as a correspondent and bureau chief since 1988.
At the luncheon, the Foundation will award a combination of scholarships and fellowships to 15 graduate and undergraduate college students aspiring to become foreign correspondents. The winning recipients are from City University of New York; Columbia University; New York University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Chicago; University of Montana-Missoula; University of North Carolina; and the University of Southern California. “We’ve been doing this now for more than 20 years,” said Bill Holstein, president of the OPC Foundation, “and it’s clear that we have created a whole new generation of foreign correspondents who are based all over the world for many top publications. But we need to keep expanding what we do to address the many unmet needs that young journalists, in particular, face. The industry’s economic shift toward greater reliance on freelancers and the perilous climate in which they ply their trade shows no sign of abating.”
Given the dangers many journalists face, Holstein described Gannon’s selection as keynote speaker as the perfect choice. “She did everything right that day, and yet tragedy struck,” he said, alluding to April 4, 2014, the day before nationwide elections in Afghanistan. Gannon was at a police compound with her friend and AP colleague Anja Niedringhaus, a German photographer, when a police officer walked up to their car, said “Allahu Akbar,” and opened fire on them. Niedringhaus was killed in the attack, and Gannon was seriously wounded.
In presenting the CPJ award to Gannon, Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent for CNN, said Gannon’s long years of experience based in Islamabad gave her “unbelievable insight into an often impenetrable region” and that Gannon always followed her vision of journalism. “Be fair, be honest and above all, be right. Stick to the facts.” While based primarily in Islamabad, Gannon reported on the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from Afghanistan, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the bitter Afghan civil war between Islamic factions and the rise and fall of the Taliban. She was the only Western journalist allowed in Kabul by the Taliban in the weeks preceding the 2001 U.S.-British offensive in Afghanistan. She also covered the Middle East, including the 2006 Israeli war against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and war in northern Iraq.
Events for the 2016 winners will last three days. On Thursday afternoon Holstein will emcee a panel at Reuters for those award winners interested in business journalism. That evening, Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen Adler will host the traditional reception for current and past winners of OPC Foundation awards at the global news organization’s Times Square headquarters. On Friday, besides addressing a distinguished audience of more than 200 luncheon guests at the Yale Club, the award winners will meet with Holstein and veteran international journalists in a pre-luncheon breakfast and with several foreign editors following the luncheon. For many, says Holstein, the opportunity to meet and observe prominent journalists in action is as valuable as any monetary award.
For the second year in a row, the OPC Foundation will offer a day of risk assessment and situational training at the Associated Press headquarters on Saturday. Frank Smyth, president and founder of Global Journalist Security, a hostile environment training firm based in Washington DC, will again lead the program. Those who participated last year called the experience invaluable. “We are cognizant that we have a responsibility to make sure our winners engage in the world’s stories in ways that keep them safe. We are proud of the work that key board members are doing to improve safety and security conditions for journalists around the globe,” Holstein said.
Up to 12 of this year’s winners will receive fellowships to work in the foreign bureaus of the Foundation’s media partners, including the Associated Press, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, GroundTruth Project and Forbes. The fellowships will ensure that the awardees gain valuable experience and insight working with veteran editors and reporters. In 2015, the Foundation funded fellowships in bureaus across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East. The Foundation picks up the cost of the airfare and one to two months of living expenses for the winners.
Holstein is grateful to Bloomberg which again hosted the judging in December and to the dedicated panel of judges who chose the 2016 recipients: Ethan Bronner, Bloomberg; Eddie Evans, Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP; Joe Flint, The Wall Street Journal; Allan Dodds Frank; Sharon Gamsin; Holstein; Michelle LaRoche, The Wall Street Journal; Felice Levin; Jeremy Main; Marcy McGinnis; Kate McLeod; Ellen Nimmons, AP; David Rohde, Reuters; Charlie Sennott, GroundTruth Project; Michael Serrill; Bob Sullivan; Steve Swanson, Bronx Botanical Garden; Karen Toulon, Bloomberg; and Abi Wright, DuPont Awards.
Luncheon tickets are $75 for OPC members and $150 for non-members. The Foundation encourages media and corporate support at its three levels of giving: Benefactors, $9,000; Patrons, $6,000; and Friends, $3,000. Tables seat 10. The reception is at 11:30 a.m.; the luncheon ends promptly at 2:00 p.m. All proceeds benefit the OPC Foundation. For further information, contact Jane Reilly at 201 493-9087 or foundation@opcofamerica.org.