Transcripts For CSPAN Walter 20240705

Just waiting for the cronkite awards to begin. The award is presented in excellence in tv political journalism. Jonathan karl, ben collins, and Margaret Brennan are along the recipients. It will begin shortly on cspan. Professor martin kaplan. [applause] thank you. I know that hand is the voice of god, and god appreciates it. Good afternoon. Thank you. Thrilled to have you here. An amazing day. A lot of people worked really hard to make it happen. And you are those people. If you are watching us now on cspan, or on facebook live, if you are here in the room, please enjoy your salads. Above all, welcome to the 12th biannual Walter Cronkite awards for excellence in Television Political journalism. On behalf of the unc Annenberg School for communication and our Sister School at the university of pennsylvania, the Annenberg School s annenberg Public Policy center, we are thrilled to have you. You dont need me to tell you that these are Tumultuous Times for television, journalism, and politics, although im really glad we picked a new from the big lie to ai, it can feel like nothing is stable, that everything is in play. But doesnt that make this the Perfect Moment to appreciate the First Amendment . Look around this room. Look around your tables. A lot of competitors here, in a good way, but along with the competition a common purpose. Everyone here is a stewart, a trustee, defender of free press. Around the world, hundreds of journalists have been abducted, jailed, even killed, for just doing their job, telling the truth. You cronkite Award Winners, today as we honor your excellence, grit, and service, we also honor the freedom that protects the journalism you practice. So right off the bat, join me in a round of applause for our cronkite winners, you, their colleagues, mentors, prodigies, family, and friends, and for the tenacious miracle of of free press. [applause] speaking of you winners, when you come up to this podium to speak, i want to thank you in advance for demonstrating that staying within cruel time limits is a snap for tv pros like you. Im marty kaplan for coming on 25 years, ive had the privilege of directing the Norman Lear Center and hosting the norman lear chair at Usc Annenberg. One of the lear centers first initiatives was to establish this award. Why did Walter Cronkite lend his name to it . For one thing, he and norman valued their friendship and had in normas respect for each other enormous respect for each other. Norman is still going strong, next month he will turn 101. Hes watching, by the way. [applause] on his behalf, he appreciates the hand. It went beyond friendship. Both of them were in love with america. Both of them were troubled by many of the same things. The corrosive influence of money in politics. The conquest of journalism by the Business Model of entertainment. The Alarming Number of non voters and low information voters. Heres how he put it at the 2005 awards. We are not intelligent enough, educated well enough to perform as necessary the necessary act of selecting our leaders for the future. Weve got to improve that situation. And it is going to be to a large degree up to us in television and radio, broadcasting, to get that job done. If we fail at that, our democracy, our republic is in serious danger. If television fails to inform us, our democracy, our republic is in serious danger. That idea, that mission for tv news, those stakes for democracy has been the dna of this award in every president ial election and Midterm Election since 2000. Last year, for the first time, the cronkite awards call for entry called on a single topic, disinformation. We invited entries about what disinformation is, where it comes from, how it spreads, the consequences, and how to combat it. The singular focus on disinformation hit a nerve. We received nearly 100 entries. The most ever for a nonpresident ial election year. Disinformation is an apt focus in particular for the cronkite award. Not because it feels like disinformation is everywhere all at once, but because the namesake of this award is Walter Cronkite. Every weeknight for 19 years, up to 30 million americans watched cronkite anchor the cbs evening news. A poll named him the most trusted man in america. When cronkite went to vietnam in 1968 to see for himself whether the u. S. Government was telling the truth about winning the war, his report to the American People no it was not was an Inflection Point in the war, politics, and job of journalism. Todays Award Winners are heirs to that legacy. They did the work they won for, as they and their colleagues do their work today, disinformation poses some Wicked Problems for journalists. Problems like how do you debunk the big lie without amplifying and validating it . How do you push back on disinformation without tasking yourself as a performer in an enemy of the people narrative . When one side is asymmetrically untethered to facts, what does fairness look like . If fairness isnt false equivalence, how can being fair be truthful and not partisan . If fairness is not both sidesism, how can reporting fact be accuracy and not advocacy . With disinformation everywhere all at once, our theme how can journalism matter . Spoiler alert, the answer to that is right in front of you. This is how journalism can matter. The work of all the winners we honor today, thats journalism mattering. I know that was the last election. What about the next one . What about deepfakes and cheatfakes . Generative ai . Large language models like chatgpt, five and six, and all of the other looming marbles capable of spreading disinformation at scale. To deal with that disruption, of course we will need new antennae, new countermeasures, new guardrails. But we will still also need old values. The ones we honor todays winners for. Courage, integrity, independence, fairness, a fierce commitment to truth and democracy. Celebrating you winners for those values in your work is what is coming up next here. But first, we are going to take a very short break to get your main course on the table. Be back soon. [applause] cspan live at the cronkite awards presented for excellence in tv political journalism. Taking a break before we hear from the main speakers. Some of todays washington journal. Joe biden, who was also found having possessed records in their private homes after having left office. There are two grand juries, one in d. C. That has been ongoing. Not just maralago, but with the january 6 insurrection event jack smith is spearheading. We found out the second is in florida. The reason it is in florida and the indictment is coming out of florida has to do with a legal contest known as venue. You cannot charge someone in a state that has no nexus or something to do with the activity that derives from the indictment. It will contain information regarding alleged wrongdoing mr. Trump did in the state of florida. That is the venue, why the grand jury out of florida is issuing the indictment. Next tuesday, take us forward through expectations. Hes supposed to be in court on tuesday. It is difficult for anyone who has been indicted or charged through another kind of document. Indictment comes specifically from a grand jury. Grand jurors, your neighbors and friends who called to sit into evidence. Sometimes the grand jury listens to evidence and does not do anything with it, it is just an investigative graduate grand jury. Im sure his lawyers and government are negotiating around it to be smooth and be without incident. He will be fingerprinted and booked, and there will be an initial hearing where he would be arraigned. He will formally hear the charges, they will be read to him. That is basic due process. You have to have notice of what the government says you did wrong. And through his counsel, he will enter a plea, presumably not guilty. And the judge, i understand it is the same judge who issued the warrant to search maralago, he will talk to trumps counsel about the conditions of his release between now and trial, and possibly in addition, questions around confidentiality. One of the things is this indictment sounds like it involves National Security information, classified information. We dont know if it is listed in the indictment. Im sure there are sensitivities, not just around the fact it is a former president , but the subject matter of this case, classified information that really should not be out in the public domain. Even through the court system. There is reporting taking a look at some of the laws the potential charges might stem from. That provision of the espionage act being one of them, which prohibits the retention of classified materials. Expand on it and what it could mean in this case. The espionage act is a post world war i statute. It talks about classified information, National Defense information. At that time, there was not such a thing is classified information. This is sort of the go to place for people leaking classified information or mishandling, abusing classified information that belongs to the United States. That is kind of a big charge. It is not just taking information from the white house, and we can talk about that, the president ial records act. Just to be clear, when a president leaves office under a statute called the president ial records act enacted after watergate, after the shenanigans with former president nixon, when he leaves office his records officially transfer, they transfer possession and ownership of them to the United States people. So when he left office, none of those records he was allowed to keep. And you have another level, if the records were classified, that triggers this other concern, the espionage act. It is why it is such a serious case. That is the kind of information that can compromise National Security. We dont know what is in the indictment, but that makes it a more serious offense because it involves potentially National Security information. Are guest with us until 9 00 until the house comes in for its pro forma session. Republicans, 202 7488001, democrats, 202 7488000, independents 202 7488002. Another statute looking at the obstruction of the prosocial official proceeding, how does it apply . Two real parts to the story. One is the taking of the documents. The second is the fact that over 18 months, the National Archives and fbi asked mr. Trump and his lawyers and his associates to return the documents. And the government was told on more than one occasion they received everything, when it turns out once the warrant was executed, there were hundreds of documents at maralago. Obstruction, we heard obstruction in connection with the Mueller Report, there were 10 alleged acts of instruction obstruction of justice by donald trump when he was president. We heard about obstruction in connection with january 6. Those sets of statutes are about this. Once the criminal investigation starts, is underway, we dont want to have people get away with thwarting it by hiding evidence, bribing witnesses, tampering with witnesses, threatening them, threatening the judge, harassing the jury. All of those things are illegal. If they were legal, we would not have a criminal Justice System that functions. The obstruction part of this case presumably has to do with reports that documents were moved around, boxes were moved, etc. There is even a report that suspicious flooding of a room that contained recordings, surveillance recordings relating to where the documents were. Any of those kinds of things designed to hide or conceal this stuff and keep it from the federal government once it became clear donald trump had not turned everything over, that is a separate charge. Our guest, if you want to ask questions, the number are on your screen. Lets start with sydney in florida. Youre on with our guest. Good morning. I think she laid it out good in terms of all of the things that happened. Going on, he basically has been just taken advantage of the position that he was in previously, having people around him to cover up and hide and even maneuver before he even left the presidency. Maneuvered to put people in certain places from the pentagon and other places that were doing things for him, even though he was leaving the position. To have an individual like that as president is really kind of a hard thing i love the din in this room. But sorry to interrupt. You know why we are here. We are going to move along. In the category of individual achievement for National Political reporting, cronkite judges made two awards this year. The first goes to washington chief correspondent for abc news, Jonathan Karl. [applause] this is his second cronkite award for National Political reporting. His first was 10 years ago in 2013. Judges said karl gets at the hearts of stories like no other journalist. His dogged reporting debunked the big lie without further disseminating it by using the freedom of the press to push back on public figures claims as they spewed false information and to hold them accountable for the truth. Lets watch him in action. In the days after the attack, republican leader Kevin Mccarthy said clearly that trump bore responsibility for what happened on january 6. Saying at the time the president bears responsibility for wednesdays attack on congress by rioters. He immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. Today, mccarthy was asked if he Still Believes former President Trump bears responsibility. The country bared some responsibility. The big question that animated the attack. You believe donald trump is flat wrong that the election was stolen . We have answered this question a long time. Joe biden is the president. You can look at a lot of problems in the election process that was not my question. We know he is president , he lives in the white house. Was it legitimate . It is a very simple question. Ive already answered that question. What is the answer . Is donald trump wrong when he says that election was stolen . Thank you very much. You will not answer that . I have answered numerous times. I know what you want to do, i have answered the question is he wrong when he said that election was stolen . Thank you for your time. You said something last week that there were 40,000 ballots with no chain of custody, they should not have been counted. Are you saying you would throw out the ballots of 740,000 740,000 ballots violated chain of custody requirements. First of all, it is not true. Maricopa county board of supervisors put out a 98 page report that is the fact, check your fax. We took the claim to maricopa Maricopa County officials who refuted the claim and pointed to their statement in mages in may saying they had control of the ballot. That they were sealed in envelopes, secured in boxes that bipartisan careers are prohibited from opening. To be clear, the republican board of supervisors, the republican governor, now the republican candidate for Senate Running along with you, the Republican Attorney general under donald trump, all said that there was that the election was not stolen. Are we going to litigate this im wondering why they would all lie . We have a lot of corruption in this system i think a lot of people who were responsible for the election know that there were rules broken and laws broken and they dont want to admit fault. We are going to go forward and make sure going forward, our elections are secure. [applause] two years ago, Jonathan Karl was asked if trump runs again, what do you think reporters covering him should keep in mind . He answered that question with a question. How do you sit down for long, live interviews with a candidate who is trying to destroy the very system that makes his or her election possible . Jonathan was looking forward to being here with us this morning, but something involving espionage and obstruction upended his plans. We are glad he could break away from the breaking news for a moment to accept his award. Thank you to the team at the Norman Lear Center and the great Annenberg School of journalism at usc. This award is especially meaningful to me because it recognizes a body of work, a true Abc News Team effort that is central to our mission as journalists. The award covers two years of reporting, a period beginning three weeks after the january 6 assault on the u. S. Capitol. That is significant because of the assault on our democracy, on truth, on a free press Whose Mission is the pursuit of that truth, did not end when the rioters were expelled from the u. S. Capitol. As long as i have been a political reporter, i felt at the core of my being that my job depends on being a fair and neutral arbiter. Ive always believed the best political journalists do not take sides. Like virtually every human being, i have my own opinions, but they are relevant to my job. I may never be purely objective. Im not sure that is even possible. But when im covering political debates for campaigns, i dont take sides,i still believe that is central to our mission. But i also know this. There is one idea where one area where we as journalists must take sides. We stand for truth, we stand against disinformation. When confronted with those who tell us up is down or day is night, or a free and Fair Election was stolen, or that an attack on the capitol was nothing more than a tourist visit, we must take aside. The truth is the truth. And it is our duty and responsibility to call out disinformation to expose it and tell the truth. These are monumentally challenging times for our democracy, and for journalism. As tools of information, disinformation become more sophisticated, exposing lies and correcting the record will become even more difficult and more important. A free and fair press is not the enemy of the people, it is a vital part of a free society. And it has never been more important than it is now. Thank you to annenberg for this award, my incredibly talented friends and colleagues at abc news who made this work possible. And thank you to our president , tim godwin, for your unwavering support of our work and mission. [applause] to share the privilege of presenting these awards, im thrilled to be joined by my journalism faculty colleague and now professor emerita at Usc Annenberg, an emmy dupont columbia and peabody awardwinning correspondent, a longtime judge of the cronkite awards, and great friend, and please you think that picture is really flattering, julie muller. [applause] thank you, it is good to see everyone here. This years other award for individual achievement in National Political reporting goes to two cnn journalists. Senior correspondent kyon la and anna mya i hope i said that correctly. She worked the state level democracy for cnn for two years confronting power, asking tough questions, and digging deep. Judges said it is strong storytelling that gives an imminent firsthand look for all and how false election claims affect the community. The carnival has arrived at the Arizona State fairgrounds in phoenix. This one in the parking lot is called the crazy, kind carnival. Inside the coliseum is a different sort of spectacle. Replaying the big lie in the 2020 election. This is yet another tally of the 2. 1 million in Maricopa County. This socalled audit is unlike any other. These are ballot counters heading into a shift. Have you ever done election counting . No, but there is nothing to it. It is pretty obvious. Most dont want to talk. Others. Openly partisan as you see displayed on some cars and in what they say. What is im from cnn. No thank you. People are wondering what to look out for in the audit. One American News network is the small far right wing outlet that has promoted false claims donald trump won the 20 election 2020 election. They are also livestreaming the event. Its hosts have helped raise funds for this exercise. We were initially told we could not enter the Arizona State fairgrounds. When we tried again another time. You will be on the second level. We followed the officers instructions. There is media parking. Then these guys showed up. Im not authorized to speak to the press or media. Even though these men looked like police, they are not. They are a volunteer group called the arizona rangers. This man is wearing a badge from cyber nijas, the floridabased company being paid 150,000 by the gop controlled state senate to conduct the election review. [applause] accepting the award, kyung lah and anna maja rappard. Let me set this down. Thank you so much. It is an honor to receive the cronkite award. I want to think usc Annenberg School of journalism and norman near center for recognizing our work. Over two years of reporting, crisscrossing the country, we did not expect to be here. It is a little weird to be accepting this democracy award when neither kyung or i were born in the u. S. Im a native of germany, born one year before the wall in west germany came crashing down. Kyungh is a native of Seoul South Korea because they were trapped in north korea. An entire section of her familys history unwritten. Democracy is not theoretical. It shapes our world, history, and our families. And often, the ones we rely on to defend it are just ordinary people, the most ordinary among us. It took the form of a pistol packing grandmother and city clerk in detroit who rented us a room to use so we can watch Doug Mastrianos socalled secret rally. Ordinary americans fighting lies and disinformation. And armed vigilantes and ballot box. More often than not they have returned us to a hot pavement in arizona in 110 degree weather, what started as a partisan ballot review next to the crazy time carnival, eventually leading us to a shift in a cold room that was cooled by swamp coolers, next to the public bathroom. It is the bravery of ordinary americans standing up to the lies, threats, and abuse in their own community that formed the very spine of our stories. Our work is not done. Next to our cnn family, that work continues. [applause] we do want to thank cnn, our beloved network, for allowing us the space to work in this seat. Especially our fearless leader, virginia mosley, who carved out the times for us. Cant believe with all this news you managed to make, it is special. To the political director and deputy political director karen burley, who taught me how to navigate reporting in u. S. Politics when i was so much more familiar with the politics of the nation. To sam feist for your leadership, kate sullivan, mj lee, my korean sister. Thank you so much. I knew that we would be a great reporting payer, not just because we see the world from our vantages point as outsiders, but because my parents are german and dutch, both are therapists, which makes her an extra in every producer on the road. My parents owned a liquor store in chicago. I leave it to you what kind of asset that is on the road. In one corner, they sold 40 ounces and cases of beer. In the center of the store was the newsstand, where there was the chicago tribune, sun times, daily herald that my father absorbed trying to understand this country he had just plopp ed us down into. Next to the newsstand was playboy, penthouse, cheri magazine, which led my mom to explain what a country. And it is that curiosity, not the corner of that room, that really makes us want to attack political stories and makes us want to bring out those voices. They are the ordinary people, the readers, our viewers, it is an extraordinary gift for all of us to be here working in news and be among you. We are two immigrant kids reporting on the politics of unadopted country in our second language, where those words are protected by the u. S. Constitution. We are so proud to be with you today. We are incredibly honored to accept this award. But most of all, we are so proud to be american journalists. [applause] we have two awards for National Political programs. The first goes to face the nation with Margaret Brennan, moderated an executive produced by mary hager. Judges praised her concerted efforts to combat disinformation. She pushes back and puts guests in the hot seat in a fair and respectful manner. Margaret brennan in the face the nation team remind viewers that the inability to accept electoral defeat is not the norm, and could start democracy at risk. Here she is with Major Garrett and Election Integrity contributor david becker. How dangerous is the moment we are in . It feels more dangerous than any i have encountered at the level since 1990. Claiming what happened in 2020 it was not a fraudulent election, no crime was committed, that does not mean you have to be proud of the result. But when you are unhappy with the result, your obligation is to win the next election. Not slander the election you lost. And we have a component in american politics that wants to slander and election that was unfairly lost because fairly lost because they are unhappy and it does not entitle you to drag down democracy. We enter a phase in American Life where either Political Party refuses to accept a fair and verified election because it is lost, then we will dismantle democracy bit by bit i are very eyes. One of our colleagues interviewed kim wyman, the Elections Security lead that part of Homeland Security. She spent 30 years working in the state of washington. In this interview, she clearly is feeling this threat is hitting home. Some of the threats are real, we are going to hang you, i hope someone puts a bullet in your head. It is unnerving. It is unnerving. The Homeland Security official they moved to tears by what she is talking about. It is extremely powerful to hear that. How common is it right now . Very common. She like so many of her colleagues, and she is seeing this working with them, are facing an onslaught of threats, harassment, and abuse in the aftermath of the 2020 election that is divorced from the reality of success. Election professionals, red states, blue states, managed the highest turnout we have ever seen in American History in the middle of a global pandemic. [applause] Margaret Brennan is unable to join us, but we are glad to have this video message from her. Thank you to mary hager, an institution onto herself, an incredible partner as we navigate these tumultuous political waters. Im grateful to Usc Annenberg for this recognition today. Team face the nation strives each and every sunday to carry on the legacy of cbs icon Walter Cronkite. And we are honored to receive this recognition in his name. I believe that information is the currency of democracy and the quality of the information voters take in impacts how they engage with it. Every week, we strive to eliminate key issues and cut through an increasingly crowded news environment with clarity, context, and civil conversations. Low confidence societies with weak institutions are ripe for misinformation and manipulation. That is why we think of the hour we have on sundays as a chance to earn and rebuild trust in the institution that is journalism. We have to rebuild it. That means our interviews increasingly require on the spot Fact Checking and pushback against distortion, meaning hours of research and preparation are a part of the buildup to the one hour of Live Programming you see on sunday mornings. Our hope is to inform opinions, not just affirm preexisting ones. There are a lot of tough issues, and i hope we can continue the 69yearold tradition at face the nation of fair, respectful, and sometimes uncomfortable, questioning of those in power. A special thank you to all of the producers, editors, and support team that put together face the nation. And accepting the award for face the nation, executive producer mary hager. [applause] thank you all so much for this. Im honored to be here on behalf of margaret, with her family this weekend lamenting the fact shes not here. Also really lamenting the fact that there is this big, juicy political story unfolding on our watch and she cannot be here to moderate the show sunday. We will handle that. But she really does wish she could be here. I want to thank the face the nation team. It truly is a team effort every single sunday, all of the work we put into the show. And i want them to stand and go ahead and i will acknowledge them, and there are a few who cannot be here. Senior broadcast producer anne shu, carol joint, coordinating producer jake miller, supervising producer dena fry, producers richard, and kelsey necklace. Associate producer jake rosen and sierra sanders, broadcast associate sophia bark of, manager laura for rent, responsible for getting all of these characters on the air every sunday. As well as our brandnew intern who we are very happy to have helping us this summer. And in the back, our fantastic comes team who help us get our message to the public. We are also very lucky and blessed to have the strongest political reporters in the business. They all contribute to the role we play, and being able to double the time and space focusing on issues like democracy and crying foul when it comes to disinformation. Just a handful of them. Major garrett, for in gomez, scott mcfarlane, anthony cerrato, rebecca kaplan, erin navarro, and david becker. We really appreciate all that they do for us. It takes a team effort to put the show together, and we appreciate it. Thank you. [applause] thank you. Ann shu is a former student of mine at usc. Just thought i would point it out. Our other award for National Political program goes to threat to democracy episode of nightlines weekly streaming magazine impact by nightline. Reported by abc News Senior National correspondent, my old friend and abc collie, terri moran. Terry moran. Terry moran and his small producing team took two months to win the trust of atlanta poll workers. The first time they spoke to the press after the january 6 Committee Hearings. Judges called it a powerful showcase explaining the harrowing personal consequences of disinformation for ordinary real people. This kind of intimate storytelling deeply humanizes a political story and should be acknowledged as worthwhile journalism. [indiscernible] when i heard that call he made to the secretary of state office, i had hoped i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. And im like this is it. He just told on himself. It will be over with. That would be the end of it, but it wasnt. From the moment those videos went viral, they started getting threats. She said her facebook was filled with messages from total strangers. I looked at every single one and said i should be hung, me and my mom will die. Like burning crosses. A slap in the face, just very hateful things. Really bad, racist stuff. We know where you live , we are coming to get you. There is social media and real life. Were you afraid you would be killed . They were making Death Threats. Rubys address was posted online and people began showing up at her home and harassing her. Her last known address was her grandmothers house, so people started going there. She is a little lady, so she opens the door and they were pushing her, and she called me while they were right there, three men they were stalking you . Yes. Said they have the right to make citizens arrest and the punishment for treason is death. The threats escalated to the point the fbi told them to go into hiding ahead of january 6, 2021. I dont know where im going, i dont know what im doing. Im just out here. I have nowhere to go. I dont know anything. I was just out there for a moment. How did you deal with it . By the grace of god. Accepting the award [applause] accepting the award for threat to democracy, correspondent terry moran and impact by nightline executive producer thank you very much. Thanks to annenberg and usc. We accept this on behalf of our team, our cando braves team who did so much. I personally feel humbled up here with the journalists you recognized, and i love this story, i love doing this story. This team, and i loved meeting the people. The election workers we met in colorado, arizona, and elsewhere , in a crazy and dark time as others have said, stepped up, showed up, and helped us have a free and Fair Election in the tease of Death Threats, hatred in their own communities, the county clerk in colorado who had to wear a bulletproof vest who had to work every day. Take a different route to work every day so we felt that terror that had descended in this crazy time on people. We also felt their pride, courage, and happiness doing what they were doing. These ordinary people who make our democracy work. We all have a role as citizens and reporters in making american democracy work. In the dark time, there was a real ray of hope. Not just the bravery of the people who did not sign up to be brave, but found it in themselves to do their job in that election. But also, we met severalalso weo were election deniers who went to work as election workers or were hired by the county clerk in colorado to get a look at where the corruption was. They to a person said i see. It cant be fixed. It cant be rigged. Just like every other election worker out there, went to work with pride and happiness and in that, i did find array of hope in the darkness. The people will still do this despite everything. That spirit, that american spirit to guard the treasure of our elections, that is going to get us through it. Thank you very much. [applause] we are so honored to win this. We want to thank you to annenberg. Terry, candace, kate, izzy, luke, laura, everyone in new york and all of our colleagues here who support us every day and to our fearless leader kim, rita, justin. We set out to show the real impact of disinformation, how it not only hurts our democracy but puts real lives at stake. At the same time, we wanted to show the flipside, how mines can change when presented with the truth. On behalf of the entire nightline team, thank you so much. We are so honored. [applause] the next group of awards honor four documentaries. All of them, yes all for were produced by frontline. The long time Public Television documentary series from wgbh in boston and is to be did by pbs. A thousand cuts opened our aperture on disinformation to a global view. It took considerable courage to make. Judges said a thousand cuts does an unbelievable job illustrating the nuances, vulnerabilities that and Disinformation Campaigns all at play. The epic battle with the press over facts and truths. The featurelength film follows the study of one of the prime targets, a journalist calling it deeply disturbing and deeply inspiring. Judges said this film depicts a recipe for disaster that applies to all of us goes globally. [video clip] we put faces and names to the people being killed. We demanded the government be held accountable. Anybody on facebook who questioned the people being killed was automatically bashed. We began to gather data. We begin to look at the accounts attacking all of media. We stumbled onto something. Disinformation networks, when you see that networks that spread it, you can follow other networks and all its growth. Mid september i started writing. First, the weaponization of the internet. The second piece, how the algorithm impacted democracy soon as we published it, we got pounded. I was getting 190 hate messages per hour. A rapper said cia. Followed by another blogger who ceded the ideas were foreign control. Its representing itself [speaking foreign language] it was the second state of the nation address that came out of his own mouth. Tries to build the identity and the apps american ownerships. 100 filipino. We were covering it live. I tweeted mr. President , you are wrong. I was told later on that offended him. What do you do when the president lies . Then it is repeated a million times. So people have no idea what the truth is. Accepting the award for a thousand cuts is producer ramona diaz. [applause] this is such an honor. I want to thank the Annenberg School for this honor. It has been a crazy ride with this film. Of course, i want to thank frontline. Those two tables over there. Especially rar because what can i say, she supported them she is a straight shooter, and she does what she says. For an independent filmmaker like me, we never know what we are spending our lives doing two or three years in this film will ever get seen. We are out there making these crazy films and we never know until maybe after the premier. Frontline after it premiered at sundance came in and scooped up the film and they have never liked docents. That was in 2020. The reason i am here in 2023 is because frontline she and her team have not stopped. They have not stopped pushing this film. There is so much content out there, but if no one sees it, whats the point . Thank you everyone at frontline. Rainy, erica social impact she was great. I am super humbled by your work on behalf of this film. Of course as a documentary filmmaker, i am only as good as the people i film. I want to thank maria ressa right now she is in rome and she says hello to everyone she says those are my peeps. [laughter] she says hello. When we approached her in 2018, this was before the nobel peace prize. She was getting harassed by the government. She was getting arrested so many times. She had no reason to say yes to us. But she did. Now i know why because as a journalist, she understands the importance of the record of recording what is happening. She said yes and she gave us access. She trusted us with this story so i think her. Especially Young Journalist rattler who did not flinch when the most powerful person in the land came after them. I want to dedicate this award to them because a lot of them, it was their first job, their first gig. They found themselves when he was being harassed by the government and they did not flinch. The courage is to me an affable. I want to dedicate this award to them and the work they do in the philippines. Really, everywhere all the Young Journalist just coming into the field, thank you. [applause] making this next documentary also took a lot of courage. Putins war at home was directed by Gesbeen Mohammed produced by Gesbeen Mohammed and Vasiliy Kolotilov judges said journalism is no more powerful than what is exhibited here. made at incredible risk to the journalists and their subjects intricately peels back the layers of the russian war in ukraine by revealing how the failure to expose, debunk or prevent disinformation directly impacts or jeopardizes peoples lives. [video clip] i wanted to give voice to people who are opposing the war. The pressure started, there opposing the oppressions going on in the country. The russian government wants people to think that all russians are supporting the war. Its not true. It doesnt work like that. They learned that a nearby Sports Complex was being used as a funeral home. They managed to get inside and film. [speaking foreign language] they reported the names of the dead soldiers on their website. They also wrote about the impact of the war on the local community. The region is estimated to have one of the highest casualty rates from the war in the country. The government blocked russians from accessing the website claiming the journalists were spreading inaccurate information. [speaking foreign language] the journalists continued their investigation into military deaths in ukraine. They began building a database of hundreds of russian fighters from this aria area killed in the war. [speaking foreign language] [applause] the cronkite award for putins war at home goes to Gesbeen Mohammed and Vasiliy Kolotilov accepting the award is Gesbeen Mohammed [applause] thank you so much for this award, we are very honored to be here today. Im going to keep it short because we have a recorded message from our producer Vasiliy Kolotilov you dont have it . Sorry, thats embarrassing. I will read it to you then. One second, bear with me. I brought his speech. Thank you very much, Usc Annenberg. We are honored to be here today and receive this award. As i said, he had recorded a message, but it is not with us today. He wanted to say, to talk about the war in ukraine and what that has meant for russia. It has been obviously 15 months since Vladimir Putin started his war in ukraine. At the same time in russia, he also launched the biggest crackdown on human rights since the soviet era. Today in russia those opposing the war are subjected to immense pressure. From losing ones job for small talk with a colleague to getting beaten up after protesting and facing for speaking out against the war. Russia has shifted toward stream authoritarianism cracking down on free speech while ramping up relentless and dangerous war propaganda. Disguised with lies to its own people and the rest of the world, fueled with resentment and ideas, president putin started an unprovoked attack and invasion. A local issue has now become a global problem. In response to that filming in secrecy for six months, we attempted to counter his lies and tell the story of defined russians were taking a stand against the war in ukraine and regime. He would also like to add that he is honored to have this speech today and once to thank everyone for this award. Obviously, Vladimir Putins propaganda has infiltrated the minds of others around the world. Including here in america. For countering misinformation and fighting for free speech and democratic values, we want to thank our brave contributors who risked their lives by speaking to us. There courage is off the charts to say the least. Special thanks also to the producer for her dedication and knowledge and a goes without saying that it would have been impossible to make this film without our russia based Team Including Vasiliy Kolotilov and many others whose names i cannot reveal for their security. I would also like to thank the executive producer for her support as well as the commissioning editor tom giles for telling the story. We are also massively grateful to frontline. Rainy, andrew, and the whole team for their support, dedication in helping shape this documentary. Thank you, everyone. [applause] disinformation in the philippines, in russia, now in the United States as documented in lies, politics and democracy directed by michael kirk produced by michael kirk, mike wiser and vanessa fica with reporting by tim alberta. And jelani cobb. fair, accurate remarkably clear and definitive, this behindthescenes account of trump and his allies shows how disinformation can destroy Effective Communication and turn lies into reality. a powerful advocate for democratic norms. [video clip] [shouting and chanting] if there is no real consequence and exile for a political figure who has orchestrated this kind of violence, then this person remains not only within the fold but still effectively culturally the leader of the party. My fellow americans, our movement is far from other. Our fight has just begun. It only means that it is much more possible that we would have an election where a loser would be able through political subversion and use of force to actually gain power and become the president. For liz cheney who had voted for impeachment, january 6 was a turning point. She crossed the rubicon. She experienced it to a point that it is so traumatic she cannot come back from it. She made the decision that im going to fight this battle if it cost me my job soviet. The verdict is history. Kevin mccarthy in his allies voted cheney out of her leadership. Do you feel betrayed by todays vote . I feel like it is an indication of where the Republican Party is and i think the party is and a place where we have to bring it back from. We cannot be dragged backwards by the very dangerous lies of a former president. And her primary, mccarthy and other republicans endorsed cheneys opponent, and ultimately helped to defeat her. The Republican Party is in a very great place. The Republican Party is the party of trump. What comes with that is you are a party of the big lie. Undermining american democracy. It is the party that swiftly pivoted back to this man and its going to end up hurting them in the long run. [applause] the cronkite award for lies, politics and democracy goes to michael kirk, mike wiser and vanessa fica accepting the award on behalf of of the team is jelani cobb. With producer vanessa fica [applause] first, mike kirk cannot be here because fittingly enough, he is working hard on his next film. As with everyone who has proceeded me very much indebted to and respectful of everything that rainey has done, also you do not want to be late. You went to make sure youre on time working with rainy so he is working on that right now. [laughter] what occurred to me at the outset is something i have for years told students at the beginning of my American History course. What i say to them is you have to understand in the span of humans history, democracy is a fairly new occurrence. The majority of the people who have lived on this planet have lived under one form of tyranny or another. The point at which they came to be constrained upon the power and the authority of people who govern come the point at which the rights of individuals who are governed became the primary focus and primary point of government is new. What i would say to them is it would be like a person who has had a 20 year smoking habit who has gone three months without a cigarette. Its admirable, but also key that you bear in mind the negative habit persisted much longer than the new habit has. In that way, the sanctity of our democracy falls to every single one of us particularly those of us who work in journalism. We see in this nations history what happens in the course of disputed elections most notably 1824 and 1876, both of which had disastrous consequences. The 1824 election resulted in the collapse of the twoparty system in the United States. The 1876 election resulted in the end of reconstruction which set off waves of violence directed brutality and order directed at the newly emancipated formerly enslaved population throughout the south. What is key to this is maintaining a steadfast adherence to the belief that the truth exists. That it can be discovered and that in disseminating it, we can make a difference in peoples lives. Last point i will make quickly is to say that when we look at the history of demagogues in American Life, they have typically mastered one form of media or another. If we go back to the 1930s, we saw one who made use of the Novel Technology of radio. In the 1950s, we saw the rise of joseph mccarthy. He figured out ways to gain print newspapers. He would lie exponentially knowing that the newspapers could only factcheck arithmetically. Would be able to give an exponential injection of untruth into the american public. These are things we should be mindful of in social media. The problems may be significant and serious, but not novel. As media came to understand how to rise to the challenge before us and those other circumstances, we can do the same in this moment. The last thing i will say is that i what to make sure we speak for everyone obviously we are very much indebted to rainey and for everyone involved producers michael kurt, mike wiser, vanessa, reporters tim, myself, and also vanessa. And Brooke Nelson alexander and writers mike kirk and mike wiser and elliot choi as editor. Thank you. [applause] theres a lot of Amazing Things people are saying. Its quite wonderful opportunity for all of us. Our fourth frontline winner is plot to overturn the election directed and produced by samuel black with correspondent a. C. Thompson the film was made in the course of a full year investigation with propublica. Its relentless digging, judges said, uncovers how a small group secretly conspired to spread disinformation about a rigged election. until i saw this, a judge said, i thought i knew the truth behind the dominion lies heres how it begins. [video clip] and election permeated with fraud is not an election. We all know that biden didnt get 80 million votes, give me a break. Ive come to phoenix, arizona. We already have a president and his name is donald trump. Its been more than a year since donald trump was defeated. We will if i have anything to say about it be certified decertify the november 2020 president ial election. If you dont think its long distance, you are either stupid or not that bright. [laughter] across the country, millions of americans continue to believe that election was stolen from him. I here to talk to a man who is a big part of the reason why. We are excited to hear you. Thank you so much for what you are doing. Its an honor to be able to do it. Patrick byrne is former ceo who spent millions of dollars casting doubt on joe bidens election. When i go on a stage, it would be a good shot to come up behind me and film that, the whole crowd. Patrick feel the burn. Hes part of a right Wing Movement spreading the idea that 2020 election was stolen from trump. Theres overwhelming evidence that it happened in 2020 that election was rigged and we are now at the point the movement is trying to gain political power and change the way elections are run. Im here because i want to understand the stolen election myth. Where did it come from . Who is behind it . How is the ongoing battle over the last election threatening the next one . [applause] accepting the award is the editorinchief of propublic a propublicas ,stephen engelbert. [applause] stephen good afternoon. It is quite an honor to be here. I feel a little bit of an interloper as ice bent my light life in journalism. I had a little bit of introduction to this field as well. I am accepting the award on behalf of ac thompson and samuel black. A genuine tough guy, former amateur cage fighter, bicycle messenger in san francisco. If you have ever been there no what that means. He has done great work for us. After the 2020 election he came into my office and said before i came here i covered neonazis and the far right. I think this is going to be important. I said fine, go ahead. That soon led to him and a team being in charlottesville and shooting film and a frontline documentary followed. A. C. Wrote stories that led to the indictment of many people who had escaped fun punishment for what they have done. This led to a series of online and more direct attacks on him and his family. Frontline and pro public of ultimately pro publica ultimately had to hire a security. It is not without risk. After the 2020 election, i said, we have this amazing story on the back story and we have emails. It is very visual when you have a trove of emails. I said there is more, we have a very grainy still photo of Michael Flynn putting a turkey for thanksgiving where all the people have gathered for this. She said, that sounds great. Lets get to work. And so we did. It was an intricately reported story. Three editors, our lawyer, who i have to mention because one of the sources is emailing us once a week with complaint more than a year later. I now have a thing or it is set up to go straight to him and i think and for reading those emails and get us delete through this. I did want to say in closing, it flew by when marty kaplan was speaking. I didnt want to check and it is a you dish word that means no and then people i. People of a certain generation say this word when anything nice was said about anything. First of all you should say nothing because the people i will catch you. No people i. No people lie no evil eye. When i was the founder of the Investigative Unit at the New York Times we decided to do a piece on a relatively obscure guy named osama bin laden. September 11, 2001, white house said can you send over copies of that biographical film. I moved over and was a managing editor and we did the growth and outbreak of a mess in the west. I would say coming into your world as somebody who started of writing in words, the collaborative nature of the work you do in film is an eyeopener to me and to our colleagues we certainly couldnt do it without the Front Line Team who managed to take grainy photos of thanksgiving turkeys and turn it in to a film. Thank you. [applause] or frontline documentaries have picked up for cronkite awards. Either there is something in the water in boston or something about frontline itself. They said frontlines consistent memo to trustworthy journalism sets the standard we wish all new organizations news organizations would follow. A fifth cronkite award goes to frontline itself, the whole enterprise, newsroom, staff, leadership, journalism. No other program or network has won as many cronkites at one time as frontline has today. Accepting is frontline editor in chief and executive producer renee aronson. All of you who arent frontline, thank you for bearing with us. I love all of your work. It was deeply inspiring. Congratulations to everyone. Already it surprised me. He kept saying this film and another, and i said are you kidding . I thought he was kidding but he said nope. It has meant a lot of work and i know you all feel it too. This is really important time for all of us to do the work you are doing but that doesnt. I can see you smiling because you know it is true. I just want to thank everybody in the room. As marty shared the news, i thought of the brave work you just about. The work in the philippine. Maria, who has always been my north star, and her challenges. I thought of a. C. Thompson, what an amazing reporter and what he has gone through to do the work he has done for propublica in the work he has done for our democracy. He always comes in early and late with the biggest note of all timed. Last weeks notes headache mathematical equation in it. Thank you steve. It is airing next week. It is a very difficult mathematical equation. There is also michael kirk. You heard from our most stalwart partner and i am so proud of the work you are doing. The collaboration with michael kirk and his team goes back to your one at frontline, which is 40 years and he has an amazing body of work. I want to talk about the work they do to collect stories out of russia are nothing short of amazing. I hope you will take the time. Hours. Take a look at some of this work because it is incredible what journalists are doing. They can be a source of inspiration for all of us. It has given me a moment, it is important to reflect on the editorial standards. Editors and senior producers of pulled standards day in and day out see collaborative journalism. And those of us who work in television we know what collaboration it is. Many frontline senior team are here with me today. I will not make you stand. You know how much i appreciate you. Starting with the managing editor, years ago we made a pact and a promise to each other as we were taking over frontline not to just hold our tried and true editorial standards but to lean into them and actually strengthen them, along with them all. Thank you for your important and essential editorial collaboration and contribution. I have special gratitude to susan goldberg, our ceo and president who is here today, force eating these values as a journalist and editor herself. Thank you, susan. [applause] and i have to take thank others as well. A series like frontline is not possible without the support. These are public media supporters. It is essential for the health of Investigative Journalism and they have supported us day one aired at frontline we are in constant conversations about journalistic values. Howie gather our how we gather our scenes and our documentaries. Our conversations are robust. They are vigorous and with all good journalism, it is not easy. We have arguments. We think hard and most of all, we take it literally to the moment of publishing, we report against assumptions and making cool illusions until the moment we publish. We all do this and this is really the beacon of journalism. I believe this helps our work come more nuanced and very importantly right now fair to all that we report on. This is increasingly didnt and i think you made the right choice on the topic this year as we work to combat disinformation, to get it right and to challenge ourselves and to also and always try harder. It is a real honor for me to accept this award and now the long part of this celebration might be over. Thank you very much. [applause] this is enough to make you want to come out of retirement. One more documentary its the cronkite award, this one from a local station, kxas, in dallas worth. It can go up against network duction, one that shows the commitment to invest the resources to do a professional job. The nbc five investigates team i will pause here because i cant believe this happened revealed that a former oath keepers had infiltrated the official Training Program of texas sheriffs and planted disinformation in the lesson plan. Sheriffs were being instructed that their power constitutionally exceeds the authority of the fbi and even the president s authority. Lets watch a clip. [video clip] on the website it says we are the Higher Authority even than the president of the United States in their view is the answer only to the cost to should, of course the constitution as they interpret it. It may sound ridiculous to law experts we spoke to, it is actually drawing texas Law Enforcement officials to hear the message. We have obtained government records including internal Law Enforcement males showing how richard mack has been emails showing how richard mack has been able to train those supported by sheriffs, constables, elected officials and even the state agency that certifies Law Enforcement officers. We cant have extremists who are misstating a lot for their own misses own purposes. It in and poison trainings for Law Enforcement or this is a National Security issue and estate security issue. We set out to see why richard mack has his sights set on texas and how he responds to those saying he is spreading a life. Tell the professor who said that he is an idiot and liar. Professors. Accepting the award for the nbc five investigates team, bonnie moon, eva parks, and scott friedman. [applause] thank you very much. This is a project that started when bonnie moon and an executive producer came and asked if we can help answer a important question, of all the towns in america, why was steward rhodes living in a town west of dallas in our viewing area in the years before the assault on the capital . One of the best things about investigative reporting is a good question often leads to another and another and it takes you down an unexpected path. The path led us to see how some Law Enforcement officials including some with past connections to stuart rose have promoted concepts that legal scholars tell us simply have no basis in the law, including the notion that Law Enforcement officials have power to overrule the federal government and those personally deemed federal action to be unconstitutional. With help from bonnie and our noosa and researcher, we have records detailing how Law Enforcement officials from dozens of texas agencies went to trainings with groups that promote these. We have handouts from the sessions. At the time, Law Enforcement officials could receive continuing education credit from the state of texas for attending those sessions and we questioned state officials and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement began its own investigation. Two weeks ago, five months after our series appeared, they will privet police and sheriffs receiving credit for those classes in the future. [applause] on the visual side of the project, credit goes to mike ortiz, the photojournalist who traveled to tell the story. Edward stepped into edit the video. They built graphics to show how this has spread across the state. Our Vice President of new supported the effort and teams like ours dont exist without incredible management. I also want to say thank you today to all of you for producing the projects being recognized here. This work and feel like a lonely road because of voices who seek to spread disinformation and same audit than voices of truth and reason at times. As journalists, events like this are moments where we can come together for each other. We have to remain united and remind audiences that fiction does not gain truth simply because it is spoken people in power. Repeating falsehoods again and again does not suddenly make them true. We have to counter with facts. If we dont disinformation will become the perceived truth and theyll only benefit those who seek to operate separate and apart from laws and institutions that hold this country together. We leave here today grateful for this honor and with renewed commitment to supporting each other in pursuing truth. Thank you again. [applause] thanks, great work. I know you are wondering why people left is that i know terry moran got the word that the indictment is able ready to be unsealed. We are going to take a break and will be back in a few minutes. [indistinct conversations] cronkite awards is taking a brief the cronkite awards is taking a brief break. We will return when they return live. There are two grand juries with donald trump taking classified documents out and not returning it for 18 months. That is the factual distinction between him and former Vice President michael pence and joe biden who were also found to have possessed records in their private homes after having left office. There are two grand juries, one in d. C. That has been ongoing, not just dealing with maralago but with the january six insurrection events that jackson is spearheading. We found out the second one is in florida and the reason it is coming out of florida has to do with a legal concept known as venue. You cant charge someone in a state that has no nexus or nothing to do with activity that rises to the indictment. So presumably the indictment will contain information regarding alleged wrongdoing that mr. Trump did in the state of florida. That is the venue and that is why the grand jury presumably out of florida is issuing the indictment. Host take us to next tuesday about expectations there. Guest he is supposed to be in court on tuesday. This is typical for anyone indicted or charged. In indictment comes specifically from a grand jury and they are just regular people that come to sit and listen to evidence. Sometimes a grand jury listens to evidence and doesnt do anything with it and it is there to just gather facts. Sometimes they are asked to make a charging determination and that is apparently what happened here. Tuesday mr. Trump will at some point be formally arrested. We sell this with alan break out of manhattan. Im sure his lawyers and the government are negotiating around that to happen smoothly and without a lot of incident. There will be where presumably he would be arraigned. He will formally care the charges and they will be read to him and that is basic due process. The council will enter a plea, presumably not guilty, and then the judge and i understand it is the same judge that issued the warrant to search maralago and that judge will talk to trys counsel about the conditions of his release between now and trial and possibly questions around confidentiality. One of the things here is this indictment sounds like it involves National Security information, classified information. We dont know if it is listed in the indictment that i am sure there are sensitivities, not just around the fact that it is a former president of the subject matter of the case that is classified information that should not be in the public main, even to the court system. Host public domain, even to the court system. Host there is a provision that the espionage act which prohibits the retention of materials. Could you expand on that and what it could mean . Guest the espionage act is a postworld war i statute and does not talk about classified information but talks about National Defense information because at that time there wasnt such a thing as classified information. This is the go to place for people leaking classified information or mishandling or abusing classified information that belongs to the United States. That is a big charge because it is not just taking information from the white house, and we can talk about that, the president ial records act. When a president leaves office under a statute called the president ial retention act, when he leaves office, his records officially belong, transfer possession and ownership of them to the United States people, the American People. When he left office, none of those records he was allowed to keep. Then another level, the records were classified, that triggers this other concern, the espionage act. This is why this is such a serious case because that is having information that could compromise National Security. We dont know what is in the indictment will that is what makes it a more serious offense because it involves potentially National Security information. Host our guest with us if you want to ask questions, republicans 202 7488001, democrats 202 7488000, independents 202 7488002. Text us questions and comments at 202 7488003. Another statue that looks at a proceeding. How does this apply . Guest two wheel parts to the story. One is the taking of the documents and the second is the fact that over 18 months, the National Archives and fbi, mr. Trump and his lawyers and associates and aids were asked to return the documents and the government was told on more than one occasion that they had received everything when it turns out once the warrant was executed there were additional hundreds of documents at maralago. We heard obstruction in connection with the Mueller Report and there were 10 alleged acts of obstruction by donald trump when he was president we heard about obstruction in connection with january 6. Those statutes are about this, once a criminal investigation starts and is underway, we dont want to have people cap away with working it by hiding evidence, bribing witnesses, reddening them, threatening the judge, harassing the jury. All those kinds of things are illegal because if they were illegal we wouldnt have a criminal Justice System that unctions. Structured part that functions. The structure part is that documents were removed and boxes were moved. There was even a report from cnn that suspicious flooding of a room. Ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, once again, i love the energy in this room and i wish we had the rest of the weekend, but no one wants to do that. And so i am delighted that we have said hi to each other, maybe had a little sugar, and now we are going to proceed. At some amazing stuff we heard an amazing more to come. Since 2013, the cronkite awards have honored Fact Checking in tv journalism by presenting an award in partnership with factcheck. Org at the university of Pennsylvania School of Public Policy center. Everyone else involved with the cronkite awards want to thank appc and its director for generously hosting this awards lunch and gathering of winners from around the country and around the world. A word of thanks to them. [applause] to present the award, please welcome the director. The award is named for brooks jackson, the veteran journalist who pioneered factcheck stories debunking false and misleading lyrical statements. In 2003, he cofounded factcheck. Org with kathleen jamieson. This year brooks jackson prize goes to chris ingalls, Investigative Reporter with king five news and the affiliate in seattle for a fivepart series that debunked a Disinformation Campaign that sought to undermine public trust in the Washington State election. He vetted claims of Voter Registration anomalies in three Washington Counties made by the socalled voter integrity project. He used public records, requested oldfashioned shoe leather and effective interviews to expose false and misleading claims about voter fraud. Lets take a look. In september of last year, we tracked several programs in marysville, federal way, lacey all of them made claims elections are swayed by incompetence or corruption. Yes, he won. And we all know it. [applause] theres so much fraud here, its easy to find. The keynote speaker was douglas frank. Described as a physicist with a doctorate. Is as high as it goes. Its like breadcrumbs. He has crisscrossed the country claiming hes uncovered a secret algorithm that proves somebody, presumably democrats, manipulates votes to win elections. The registration databases are where you are getting hacked. Thats where you are losing your elections. Because you are filling your registrations with phantom voters. Franks stolen election claim was backed by another National Election deny, who put up more charts and graphs. I didnt know what they were talking about. Did you get what they were saying . Im pretty new. Thats way above my pay grade. Theres a lot of information that is way past my iq. Is there any truth to what hes saying . Theres absolutely no truth to his claims. The Stanford University professor just published this Research Report that calls franks formula for vote manipulation worthless and wrong. A conclusion echoed by many experts. That is impossible for folks who are distractible about their daily lives to know all of that. To know that this guy who was up there who was an incredibly well spoken presenter is telling them something that is just simply jump. Its not true at all. Junk. Its not true at all. [end of video clip] [applause] accepting the brooks jackson award, chris engels. [applause] thank you, eugene. Thank you, factcheck. Org. I dont remember the exact words. But the story sounded like a reported boondoggle. You know that guy that says, i have got to go cover this story, i need a few days, then he comes back and hes got nothing . When i pitched this i said, i need to drive to a faraway place, i need to talk to a bunch of people, i need a few days, make that a few weeks. There may or may not be a story there. And i think the fact that my boss invests not only in a story but a possible story, checking it out, is what makes us the tv station that we are. And im very thankful for that. This series, the fraud crusade, reveals a sort of a window into the future of misinformation. More savvy than what we saw in the 2020 president ial election where there was no evidence to the claims. Here, we followed these conservative citizens groups that were going doortodoor in Washington State to confirm that voters lived at the address where they were registered. And a vote by mail state like washington, that is everything because that is where your ballot goes. If you are not living where your ballot goes, that could be evidence of fraud. In the three counties we looked at, they said they found 3000 suspicious Voter Registrations. And to Fact Checking, we found out that was not true. I want to thank my boss, julie wolf, who signed off on the story. Our general manager. Kristi moreno. And tegna, our parent company, doing fine work. I appreciate that about our company. I want to thank factcheck. Org. I want to thank the annenberg policy centers at usc and the university of pennsylvania, for recognizing the drudgery of Fact Checking. It is kind of boring stuff. The people that look at our stories, they are not going to say, wow, those guys are brilliant investigate of journalists they are going to say, they worked hard to get to the truth in that story, and that is Fact Checking. Finally i want to say thank you to the woman in the back here. I dont see here. Shes got a camera. That is my wife, stephanie. A prizewinning wife and mother. Also, she is a health care worker, Career Health care worker. They dont send them out to washington, d. C. To get trophies but they are saving lives every day, and that is her. Thank you. [applause] this year, the judges singled out three Award Winners for special recognition. Jordan klepper is recognized for his use of humor outside traditional journalistic platforms to inform and engage audiences. Judges said, his reports from the cpac convention in orlando and from the campaign in hungary were looking to the u. S. Far right in the global context, calling them well researched and rooted in basic journalistic techniques, being on the ground, conducting interviews, making firsthand observations. They emphasized the huge value in what he does. Reaching an audience, especially young people who might not be other wise hearing stories showing how swiftly authoritarianism can undermine freedom and democratic institutions. Lets have a look. [video clip] is this really a big issue . Every time. What about the dont say gay bill . Theres a lot of nervousness right now. Should we just outlaw it altogether. . The maga crowds obsession was protectable. But there was no new infatuation that i was surprised to hear. People were applauding another country. When you see people like leaders like hungary talking and speaking. Hungary is a positive example of how a confident conservative can do wonderful things for our country. Conservatives here were looking for inspiration from hungary. The country thats been slightly sliding away from democracy under its leader, viktor orban. Orban and Trump Supporters were in agreement in one area. [indiscernible] what is the opposite of support . It is a personal issue. You dont have to bring intimacy into politics. It is a personal issue that should be agreed upon by the majority, as to what the folks with the issues should be able to do. They can travel to another country where they can marry each other and adopt children. If hungarians do want Legal Protections for the lgbtq, they need to gtfo, because during Viktor Orbans time in office, he has barred samesex marriage in hungarys constitution. Basically fine being gay, if you live your life as a straight person. [end of video clip] [applause] at this point, i was hoping to i was planning to invite jordan to the podium. But he would be far better at delivering his own message than i will. No one does a better deadpan than Jordan Klepper. But here we go. I would like to thank the Walter Cronkite awards for the award recognizing the use of humor to inform and engage audiences. Frankly, i cant think of anything funnier than imagining Walter Cronkite being told that the award bearing his name was being given to an improv comedian whose main skill is genitalia puns. [laughter] mr. Cronkite, im sorry, but the news is in a weird place right now. It is also both humbling and inspiring to be honored along with the other recipients. I fully support the Walter Cronkite awards efforts to highlight projects that aim to combat disinformation and defend democracy. Right now, democracy can use all the defense it can get. This year, i will not be attending the inperson ceremony, in solidarity with the ongoing wga strike. The work being honored, Jordan Klepper fingers the globe. Hungary for democracy. It was a team effort that relied on many people give including a talented group of wga writers. Myself included. While tackling such inherently hilarious topics, like authoritarian policies in eastern europe, it may seem like a slamdunk for political satire, but its the work of the Union Members on our special that helped make it possible. Thank you for the honor and i will be there with you, getting to a drunk day drunk, when writers get there fair wage. Their fair wage. Jordan klepper. I guess i will keep my day job. [applause] what is your day job . [laughter] a cronkite award goes to nbc news Senior Reporter ben collins. And special recognition of his reporting on the trenches of the information war. Judges praised his brilliant, brave work. Saying it is inspiring to watch him bearing witness to the extremism on the dark web and holding one accountable. It comes at the end of a piece about his months of reporting. About threats and Disinformation Campaigns targeting Transgender Americans and the lead up to the club q shooting. She called police from inside and they showed up in tactical gear. He said he was ready to blow. That was facebook live. He was ready to get into a firefight over it. He was brought in but prosecutors did not go forward with the case and were still digging through it, trying to figure out exactly why that is. Am i doing something wrong here . Here are some headlines that i wrote the last six months. And tell lgbtq trust shut down drug events. Antilgbtq trust shut down drag events. Doctors under threat from far right activists for providing trans care. Three bomb threats. They found one of the people. At least 20 republican politicians have claimed schools are making accommodations for students who identify as cats. There are three more from my colleagues in the last three weeks. Some conservative groups have ramped up antitrans campaign ads. Gop senator targets influencer with antitrans taunt. Im just wondering. What could i have done different . As reporters, what could we do different . Because there are five people i am trying to thread this needle here. Im trying to say that this is happening. This targeted stuff has reallife impacts. And im going to fail, by the way. Im going to freak out because its happening. I wake up in the icy that there are five dead bodies and i see that there are five dead bodies. As reporters, are we more afraid of saying that trans people deserve to be alive or are we more afraid of the dead people . Because i am more afraid of the dead people. I dont want to wake up on a sunday and see all these headlines came to fruition. [applause] accepting the cronkite award for his status update on the information war, ben collins. [applause] hi, everybody. I want to thank you. Its really touched my heart. I want to thank my colleague, the best reporter i know. My best friend. Who has been with me for all this stuff. And the producers the booking producers, the anchor producers. All these people who get zero credit and to all the work. And for putting me on tv when i shouldnt have been. [laughter] i just want to say the truth is a fragile thing. Its a particularly difficult time for the truth to be quite so fragile. Whether we like it or not, we are in the middle of an information war. People with a lot of money and power are actively trying to kill the truth right now as we speak. They believe that if they spread enough hatred and division, their crimes would go unnoticed. Some of them are trying to soak cars. And so for the plane has worked. A lot of people in charge are refusing to accept this reality. They are learning at the hard way. Im here to tell you right now splitting the difference halfway between the lives pushed by powerful people and the truth leads us to telling half of the truth. We are the stewards of truth. It needs our help right now. It is not our rule to simply find the truth and deposit on the street and expected to survive. It needs someone to fight for it. It needs us to fight for it. There are some very brave people in this room. Unbelievable actually, hearing your stories. I realize its not a comfortable question. But the next time someone asks you to cover the truth with a live pushed by a powerful person, what will you do . Will you help that liar or will you fight . I hope you will fight. Thank you. [applause] this next award recognizes producer madalyn mae and Alexis Johnson for their vice news stories airing Death Threats to poll workers and calling back to people who made those threats. Judges said they did a compelling and courageous job, uncovering the ugly and tragic human consequences of this information. Following up with Law Enforcement, the team found no investigations of those who made the calls. Almost zero consequences. But johnson called back herself. When she reached them, the colors were remorseless. Justifying their behavior as patriotic. Judges marveled at johnsons unflappable, courteous probing. I dont think i couldve done what she did when they said that. And uploading the calls. The president just tweeted about you. I received the first specific threat. You lied, you are a traitor. Perhaps cuffs and bullets will soon arrive. Gave my address. Mentions my wife my name. Mentions my kids by name. Including my daughter by her nickname. I spoke to my wife a little bit after that. She had begun receiving threats on her work email. So she then took our kids and relocated away from our house. After that, some days later, there was another email message. The subject line are the names of my children. And im not comfortable reading the rest of it. This was a call from indiana that left this voicemail. Either you are blind, or you are crooked as [bleep] so figure it out. Which side you are going to be on when the shooting starts, brother. Can i ask you a question . Whats that . What made you call into are you a georgia resident . I want American News. And they put his phone number o n there and said give the medical. What did you mean when you said, figure out what side you are going to be on when the shooting starts . Because what do you see coming . Do you know what happens when they defund the police . So you mean when the shooting starts, you didnt mean that as a direct threat to the people that work here . See . Thats exactly where you are going. No. I just wanted to clear it up. Because those were the words thats how some of the people that work here were taking that threat. They were pretty fearful. When youve got people saying it is time to take the police off of the streets, what choice do you have at that point . Looking back, do you regret that at all . No. I stand behind what i said. Ultimately, if you can sit right now in this country today and say that all of that was legal, that was the most secure i dont know. I watch American News. It is on in the background as we speak. I was never a trump supporter but ultimately they have turned me into one. Thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. Accepting the award, madalyn mae, Alexis Johnson, and bureau chief sebastian walker. [applause] hello. I hate public speaking. Thank you to the center and school for this recognition. Thank you to the vice news d. C. Team. Our bureau chief, todd, breanna, are executives, nikki i also want to thank our team that made this piece possible. Our editor, nelson, and our writer. Vice is an incredible and unique platform for stories of consequence and im so grateful to be part of the team that believes deeply in reporting like this. Election workers are at the center of this story and i am humbled those individuals let us into their lives in this extremely vulnerable moment. Richard of Fulton County, deidre, al schmidt of philadelphia, and roxanne of cedar rapids, these are the bureaucrats who work tirelessly to defend our democracy. I want to share with you all, the election workers featured in our reporting, of the five that we spoke to, four are no longer working in our elections. That includes rick who i spoke to on the phone today. I would like to share some of his reflections. I resent shortly after the 2020 elections in part because of the stream of the threats made against him. He described symptoms of ptsd and his daughter in a constant state of stress. He has struggled to find work since that time. He drives uber and he is still unemployed. He has been rejected from other elections related work because he is seen as a political liability by republicans and democrats. He said he started in elections to safeguard for democracy and improve access to early voting in georgia. His motivating thought is, be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity. Unfortunately because of the threats, and pressure from politicians, he is is unable to continue in that work. He told me, i dont want to sound like a victim, but sometimes i feel like my life is ruined by the 2020 election. Losing people because of political harassment is a real and ongoing threat to our country. Im accepting this recognition on behalf of him and other election workers who protected all of us years ago. Thank you. [applause] thank you so much to the center and the judges that called me unflappable. Might be the best comment ive ever received. I think im going to get it tattooed. Unflappable. I love that. She named a lot of our executive producers. Our senior Vice President. Our executive of news. I want to thank our do you see bureau once again. Our d. C. Bureau once again. For challenging us and shaping our Editorial Coverage over the last two to three years. The focus on assault on democracy which we granted breaking the vote. The writer on this piece, our editor, nelson, zach wood, our director of photography. I want to thank my parents. Of course. Because i think if they figured out how to use this livestream link, im probably as part of them as they are of me right now. If youve done it, you go, girl. I want to thank my producer, metal in may, who personally asked me to work on this project. A year before the january 6 Committee Hearings put a lecture workers but election workers in the national spotlight, she was giving voice to election workers in Fulton County and areas she named. They were experiencing threats to their lives, their families lives familys lives. When she asked me to contact some of those people who left those threats, i was like, sure, and we are going to do it all on camera, ok, i think we can do that. Have to admit i was nervous. I had no idea what to expect. But when we found out that police had not contacted most of those people that made those threats, let alone investigated any of the threats that had driven rick out of his home, i knew we had an opportunity to do some real reporting. We found misinformation has seeped so far into the fabric of our politics and other Media Outlets as youve heard, acting as direct sources of that misinformation. As difficult and shocking as the story was to tell, it was a small glimpse into the psyche of these people who believe it was their patriotic duty to intimidate the people that make our democracy run and i hope it makes yours realize how fragile democracy is at this very moment. Thank you. [applause] this last award is for something near and dear to me. It recognizes a special achievement in news literacy. If we are serious about combating disinformation, we also have to get serious about civic education. I would start in the first grade if it were up to me. Judges praised trust me for taking on the world what of disinformation and spelling out how to spot and debunk it. It shows how dangerous it is to anyone who scrolls new sites. Calling us to rethink media practices by the unscrupulous. Documentary aired on pbs world channel. Lets watch a clip. How do we figure out if we should trust these websites . Todays topic is going to be minimum wage. This link is asking you to evaluate this website. One of the first things you should do is read the article. Come back to it. Figure out if you can trust these guys. We call it lateral reading. We want to get off the page we are on and open up a new thaad and read laterally tab and read laterally. Maybe check out the wikipedia page, to see if they have any controversies. See what other Fact Checking groups have written about them. In a minute, you can get a quick lesson in, should i trust these guys or not . Im going to open up a search. The first thing im going to search for is the employment policies and said to. This one says, corporate americas new scams. Industry pr firm. Im going to click on this. If i scroll down a little bit more, who actually is funding this . It is owned by a Public Relations firm. And in fact, they were sponsored by the Restaurant Industry. You create groups that look like they are legitimate Grassroots Efforts that are actually the products of corporate and political interests that portray themselves as a groundswell of the common person. Why would the Restaurant Industry sponsor a website that says minimum wage is bad . The Restaurant Owners dont want to pay their employees too much. The restaurants are one of the Key Industries where we see people working for minimum wage. They have put out numerous reports increasing the minimum wage could be harmful, increasing poverty and unemployment. Theres an election tomorrow, what if theres something on the ballot about minimum wage . How might that impact me as a voter . That i might walk in and vote against something that i actually believe in. That actually care about. That becomes really important. Accepting the award for trust me, the producer, joe phelps, and yoko village. [applause] thanks for extending your lunch. I am joe. This is roko. Our goodhearted extremely talented director. I would just like to start by telling you about the flashpoint for this project. I was standing in line at ralphs supermarket n Pacific Palisades in Pacific Palisades. I sent to a fiveyearold girl, how are you today, sweetie . She grabbed her mothers leg and her mother scowled at me as if i was a pedophile at first i was hurt and angered. Then i thought more about it, and i realized this woman consumes media day in and day out, and she doesnt have a clue about how to properly source and consume and share media, and it is rubbing off on her little girl. And i thought, that was one of the things that gave me the impetus to put part of my retirement into this project. So, it is about teaching people it is about somehow controlling mis and disinformation without using legislation. Because of freedom of speech. Our ability to legislate is so minimalized. If you cant legislate, you must educate. If you cant legislate, you must educate. That is where the people in this room come in. Because youve dedicated your lives to finding and reporting on the empirical truth. I do want to thank you, roko. It was so much fun working with this guy. And the people in this room, who dedicate their lives to finding the truth and helping people understand how to consume messages. And to the jury and so forth at Walter Cronkite. Thank you very much. [applause] it is an amazing honor to be here. Im not raised i was not raised as a journalist. Not trained as a journalist. The first time i came to d. C. , i was in eighth grade on a school trip. One of the guides we had said to us, one of the most important things about democracy is the free and fair press. I said, that sounds a little crazy. Isnt education important . Isnt just as important . Isnt the hospital system, isnt that important . Since that time i traveled, ive been to countries where there is no free and fair press. And ive seen some of these countries dont have those other systems. And i realized that it is the free and fair press that enables those systems to develop. When that freedom of speech is taken away, sometimes those systems that i care about so much, that improve our lives, are abolished. They suffer or sometimes taken away completely. I know these systems are not perfect. We are working on it. But it is a huge honor to be in this room amongst the journalists, the broadcasters, all people striving to make this a more perfect union. Thank you so much. [applause] as you can imagine, it takes more than a ballast to produce this event, and the yearlong competition leading up to it. We want to thank the more than 40 faculty and alumni who screened and judged these entries. Thank you to the Terrific Team at the lear center who made all of the moving parts move. Veronica h. , russ devito, and with us here today, jodi, christian, roberta. Thank you also to karen riley at appc. Thank you to my friend and cohost, judy muller. [applause] thank you. I love doing this. [applause] thank you for coming. Thank you for staying. Take vare trophy. Get your get your trophy. Get your pictures taken outside. See you in a couple of years. Thank you. [applause] [indistinct chatter] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the Justice Department issued seven indictments against former President Donald Trump and today special counsel jacks jack smith will make a statement this afternoon. Watch live at 3 p. M. Eastern on cspan, online at cspan. Org, or more on the free cspan now mobileideo app. Announcer Florida Governor and republican president ial candatron desantis is headed to carolina for thetas gop convention. You can watch hispeech at 6 30 p. M. Eastern here on cspan, online at cspan. Org, and on our app, cspan now. Announcer sunday night, on q a, in paved paradise, henry g. Talks about the evolution of parking in the u. S. And the negative impact he believes it has on housing, traffic, and the environment. Ive read dozens of these studies and they all say basically the same thing. Which is this neighborhood, this city, this town really does not have enough parking pyramid is not properly priced. Its not properly managed. Its not shared between different uses. And people dont know where it is. And that is speaking to the parking situation in this country as a whole which is to say that it is pretty mismanaged and has not been thought through. So when we begin to think about how much parking there is, you realize theres a lot of opportunity to just better use of parking we have now. Instead of forcing everyone wats to build an Apartment Building or restaurant to build to a new Parking Spaces and tear down the building next door, etc. Announcer henry grabar with his book, sunday night at 8 p. M. Eastern on cspans q a. You can listen to q a and all of our podcasts on our free cspan now app. Announcer this