Good evening everyone. I am delighted to join in this year’s Courage in Journalism Awards and to help honor four fearless journalists who faced extraordinary dangers to report the news.
Every year for more than two decades the International Women’s Media Foundation has honored outstanding women journalists who put their lives on the line to report on violence, corruption, and injustice from some of the most dangerous corners of the world.
You know in the United States many of us take freedom of the press for granted, but we cannot forget that journalists around the world face political harassment and threats of imprisonment, violence and even death simply for doing their jobs and trying to bring the truth to light.
Whether they are uncovering corruption and drug violence in Mexico, or political unrest in Iran and Thailand, whether they are reporting breaking news from Tiananmen Square or Lockerbie, Scotland or Sierra Leone or Belgrade, these four women, and countless others who share their mission, let nothing stand in the way of telling the stories that must be told. And for that, I thank you and I applaud you. And let me add the people around the world thank you as well.
Congratulations to tonight’s honorees, thank you for making our world fairer, freer and juster through your bravery and the power of your example and the strength of your words.