NBC’s Richard Engel will receive the Fred Friendly Award next month at the annual luncheon named for the longtime CBS Newsman. CBS’s Bob Simon will be recognized posthumously with the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This is a tremendous honor,” Engel said. “I struggle to find and tell stories in a way that’s compassionate, informative and, whenever possible, reveals something about our basic human nature.”
“Richard has had a front-row seat at some of the most important events overseas in the last two decades,” said Lee Kamlet, dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University, which presents the awards.
This is the third time the Lifetime Achievement Award is being presented. It was awarded to Floyd Abrams in 2008 and Barbara Walters in 2014.
“Fred Friendly developed the concept of, See it Now,” Kamlet said, adding, “Bob Simon lived it. From Saigon to 60 Minutes, he traveled to every corner of the world.”
Among the previous recipients of the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award: Dan Rather, Bill Moyers, Lesley Stahl, Ted Koppel, Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, Mike Wallace, Christiane Amanpour, Tim Russert, Bob Schieffer, Charles Gibson, Morley Safer and Gwen Ifill.
ABC’s Martha Raddatz was presented the 2012 award, and Scott Pelley won the 2013 award. He then delivered a rousing “our house is on fire” speech in which he talked about the mistakes journalists make.