‘Lifetime achievement award’ to Tribune’s R. Bruce Dold, Associated Press reporter Sharon Cohen’ journalist of the year’
In an unprecedented move, our Chicago Journalists Association will present the Daniel Pearl Award to three combat correspondents posthumously on the night of its 76th annual dinner at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Halsted and Madison Streets, Friday, October 16.
The trio includes Kenji Goto, James Foley and Steven Sotloff who were slain by Islamic State (ISIL) militants months apart. The senseless and brutal beheadings are reminiscent to the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Pearl in 2002 when he was taken hostage in Pakistan and killed by Al-Qaeda.
Special honors also go to Chicago Tribune editorial page editor R. Bruce Dold (Lifetime Achievement)and Associated Press reporter Sharon Cohen (Chicago Journalist of the Year). In addition, many of Chicago-area journalists who entered the Sarah Brown Boyden competition are to be recognized for their respective work. Once again, a qualified college student will be recipient of a $1,000 journalism scholarship from our CJA Charitable Fund.
Foley, 40, was a photojournalist who worked for a variety of news organizations and received his master’s degree from Northwestern Medill School of Journalism in 2008. He covered the wars in Libya and Syria before his capture by ISIL and was murdered August 2014.
Sotloff, 31, attended the University of Central Florida and had stints in Yemen and Egypt . He freelanced for Time and Foreign Policies magazines and noted for his heartfelt reporting about the brutality of the Syrian war. He was executed October 2014.
Goto, 48, was a Japanese freelance video journalists reporting from war-torn countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East where he focused on the humanity of ordinary citizens in difficult times. In October 2014, he was captured and held hostage after entering Syria in hopes of rescuing Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa. He was executed January 30 2015.
A representative of the Japanese Consulate General of Japan in Chicago will accept the award on behalf of the Goto family. Invitations to participate in the ceremony are currently being sent to the Foley and Sotloff families. CJA paid tribute to both journalists during its dinner last year.
Dold is a Pulitzer Prize- winning editor who supervises the newspaper’s opinion pages. He was named to his present post in 2000 and under his direction the Tribune received the Pulitzer for editorial writing and was a finalist for this award three consecutive years, starting in 2009. The board has earned a dozen national honors during his tenure, including the Distinguished Writing Award from the American Society of News Editors. He joined the Tribune in 1978 as a political reporter.
Under his direction the editorial board has conducted campaigns to bring more ethical and transparent government in Chicago and Illinois, to improve public education and abolish the death penalty.
Cohen has been one of the most versatile national reporters since joining the Associated Press three decades ago. Her news and feature assignments have taken her around the country and included disasters as the Gulf oil spill and Hurricane Katrina, national political profiles, economic coverage of the 2012 presidential election, Iowa caucuses and Olympics. She has reported extensively on unions, labor, criminal justice and military issues.
Among her numerous honors are the Studs Terkel Community Media Award, National Headline and New York Press Awards, four CJA Boyden and 20 Peter Lisagor awards. She is recipient of several AP journalism honors, including its highest and prestigious Gramling Award.
Dinner ticket prices: $99 for journalists; $110 for non-journalists; $1,000, tables of eight; $1,200, tables of 10. For further information call our CJA Hot Line: (312)458-9792.