Breaking news over at the NY Times…
Snowden to Receive Truth-Telling Prize
By NOAM COHEN
NEW YORK TIMES
APRIL 6, 2014
The Ridenhour prize for truth-telling will be given to Edward J. Snowden and Laura Poitras, the filmmaker and journalist who helped Mr. Snowden disclose his trove of documents on government surveillance.
The award, named for the Vietnam veteran who helped expose the My Lai massacre and later became an investigative journalist, is expected to be announced on Monday morning. It’s the latest honor for the reporting based on the top-secret material leaked by Mr. Snowden, who was a contractor for the National Security Agency.
While the public and Congress debate whether Mr. Snowden should be considered a hero, a criminal or both, journalism and public policy organizations have heaped praise on the reporting based on the disclosures.
In February, the Polk Award for National Security Reporting was given to four reporters for their work on the Snowden disclosures, Ms. Poitras, Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, writing in The Guardian, and Barton Gellman, writing in The Washington Post. Last week, The Guardian was named newspaper of the year at the British Press Awards for its reporting on the surveillance. The Pulitzer Prizes will be announced on April 14…
The Times’ story continues, noting: “The Ridenhour Prizes were established by the Nation Institute and the Fertel Foundation in honor of the veteran and journalist Ronald L. Ridenhour, who died in 1998, have been given to a range of government critics.”
Here are the links (and excerpts) to the write-ups on the Ridenhour website for Snowden and Poitras (just posted, late last night):
Edward Snowden (2014)
Former intelligence officer and whistleblower Edward Joseph Snowden, whose actions exposed the extent of warrantless surveillance of millions of people living in the US by the National Security Agency, is the 2014 co-recipient, with Laura Poitras, of The Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling.
In early 2013, Snowden released classified documents about top-secret government surveillance programs to filmmaker Laura Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald. The documents revealed that the US government had created programs to systematically collect millions of phone and internet records.
"I don't want to live in a world where everything that I say, everything I do, everyone I talk to, every expression of creativity or love or friendship is recorded. And that's not something I'm willing to support, it's not something I'm willing to build, and it's not something I'm willing to live under. So I think anyone who opposes that sort of world has an obligation to act in the way they can," Snowden told Greenwald, Poitras, and Guardian journalist Ewen MacAskill in an interview for the Guardian in June 2013...
Laura Poitras (2014)
Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker and journalist, is the 2014 co-recipient, with Edward J. Snowden, of The Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling. Poitras was the first to establish encrypted contact with Snowden and helped to initiate safe lines of communications with other journalists, leading to the exposure of the National Security Agency's vast warrantless surveillance operation.
In reflecting upon its decision, the awards committee said, "We have selected Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras for their work in exposing the NSA's illegal and unconstitutional bulk collection of the communications of millions of people living in the United States. Their act of courage was undertaken at great personal risk and has sparked a critical and transformative debate about mass surveillance in a country where privacy is considered a constitutional right. We particularly wanted to salute the role that Poitras has played in this story, as we feel that her contribution has not been adequately recognized by the American media."
Poitras's work as a documentary filmmaker and investigative reporter brought her international recognition before she was contacted by Snowden. Her 2006 film, "My Country, My Country," the first in a trilogy of films about post-9/11 America, was nominated for an Academy Award. The second film, "The Oath," was nominated for two Emmy Awards...
Past winners of the Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize:
(click on the links to learn more about these individuals)
Jose Antonio Vargas (2013)
Eileen Foster (2012)
Lt. Col. Daniel Davis (2012)
Thomas Drake (2011)
Matthew Hoh (2010)
Thomas Tamm (2009)
Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz (2008)
Donald Vance (2007)
Rick Piltz (2006)
Kristen Breitweiser (2005)
Joseph Wilson (2004)
In addition to “Truth-Telling,” Ridenhour awards are given annually in the following categories: Courage Prize, Book Prize, Documentary Film Prize, and Prize for Reportorial Distinction.
The awards will be presented on April 30th at the Washington Press Club, and the article notes that the “organizers say they are making efforts to have Mr. Snowden and Ms. Poitras, who is based in Berlin, appear remotely.”
# # #