I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence
The presentation of the first will take place on October 7, 2008 at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The winner of the 2008 award is John Walcott , Washington bureau chief of the McClatchy Co. (formerly Knight Ridder bureau chief in Washington).
The Nieman Foundation is recognizing him for his exemplary leadership in directing news coverage that refuted the Bush administration's claims about the need for military action in Iraq during the run-up to the war.
Walcott, winner of the 2008 award, will deliver a keynote address on journalistic independence to be followed by a workshop on the same topic. Tom Rosentiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, will moderate the discussion.
Panelists include:
John Walcott, Washington bureau chief of the McClatchy Co.
Charles Lewis, founding president of the Fund for Independence in Journalism
Florence Graves, founding director of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, Brandeis University
Jane Mayer, investigative journalist and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine
Gil Cranberg, George H. Gallup Professor of Journalism Emeritus, the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication
The is sponsored by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and honors distinguished journalist I.F. Stone.