Protecting the Fourth Estate; Journalist group wins Thomas J. Dodd Prize

For founders and officials with the Committee to Protect Journalists, it is not only important to seek justice for murdered media members, but equally necessary to keep active reporters safe.

“Seeking justice for our slain colleagues is only part of what we do,” said the committee’s executive director, Joel Simon.

For its commitment to free speech and preserving the right to report the truth, the committee received the fourth biannual Thomas J. Dodd Prize in International Justice and Human Rights.

Before a large crowd that included political and journalism heavyweights, the prize was awarded Monday at the University of Connecticut’s Thomas J. Dodd Research Center in the heart of campus.

The group also received $75,000, which Simon said would go to funding its mission.

According to Simon, more than 700 members of the media have been reported dead all around the world since the New York-based committee formed in 1981.

Countless others have been threatened or harassed.

Simon said 90 percent of those murders have been unsolved and the criminals have gotten away “scot-free.”

He said the group works to move reporters – and others associated with the press – to safe homes if their lives are in jeopardy in their home country.

The committee works to protect journalists as they cover events in every country.

Simon said the committee’s work is never ending, but the end result is worth it.

The organization not only protects the right to free speech, but also saves the lives of media officials when faced with dangerous situations.

While accepting the prize, Simon recalled stories of journalists who gave their lives while seeking the truth.

“Journalists who risk their lives are usually guided by a deep faith in the essential goodness and power of humanity,” he said, adding they strongly believe people will act if they know of wrongdoing.

One of those journalists was Daniel Pearl.

Pearl was the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal when he was captured, tortured and beheaded by al-Qaida terrorists in Pakistan in 2002.
Although it is too late for her husband, Mariane Pearl said it was important to support journalists internationally because they are putting themselves in danger to report world happenings.

“Because of my personal story and commitment, I feel a kinship with journalists all over the world,” said Pearl, a guest speaker who was part of Monday’s proceedings.

Pearl, also an author and journalist, said protecting journalists is not only about reporting news, it is about capturing history as well.

“When journalists win, we all win and dignity prevails,” she said. “When they fail, we all lose a little.”

She said her husband knew he was covering dangerous territory, but she had to respect his choice to work there, despite the inherent dangers of reporting in Pakistan.

“Death is not a defeat in itself, it’s the painful prize,” she said, adding truth is “something to live by and something to die for.”

U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., thanked the committee for what it does and said he hoped people would continue to support journalists.

The namesake of the prize is Dodd’s father, who was a key attorney during the historic Nuremberg trials against the Nazis after World War II.

“By documenting both the best and worst of humanity, journalists make it possible for the human spirit to endure,” said Dodd, adding “to document these moment in history is to document the things that make us fundamentally human.”