RFE’s Chief Washington Editor Receives Overseas Press Club Award
With his provocative examination of WikiLeaks and journalistic morality, Christian Caryl, Radio Free Europe’s (RFE) Washington Bureau Chief Editor, was awarded one of the first ever Overseas Press Club (OPC) awards for “Best Online Commentary.”
“Why WikiLeaks Changes Everything” was published on the blog of the “New York Review of Books” (NYRB) and explored the race between information technology capabilities and a journalist’s ability to make informed reporting decisions. Hugh Eakin, NYRB editorial staff member, praised Caryl’s entry saying, “Without defending a culture of secrecy, (Caryl) raised provocative questions about the effects of Julian Assange’s actions and how they have fundamentally changed the world in which journalists must now work.”
“I was trying to make the point that WikiLeaks represents a fundamentally new phenomenon,” says Caryl. “This is not a case of business as usual for information disclosure policy and freedom of the press. Any radically empowering technology comes with risks as well as opportunities.”
Caryl’s RFE blog “Outpost Washington” examines the U.S. capital from the uniquely global perspectives of RFE journalists. In addition to his RFE duties, Caryl is also a senior fellow at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a contributing editor for “Foreign Policy.” He has also served as the Moscow bureau chief for “U.S. News & World Report” and Moscow bureau chief and head of the Northeast Asia bureau for “Newsweek.”
For more than 70 years, OPC has recognized the best international coverage in newspapers, radio, television, magazines, and books. Caryl received his award at OPC’s annual awards gala at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York on April 28.
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