Ennial Walter Cronkite award for excellence in political journalism. Walter cronkite award for excellence in political journalism. Er, whichn leer cent has administered these awards oute Walter Cronkite gave the first one here in washington in 2001. If you are with us on cspan or facebook live, welcome to you, too, from the National Press club in washington. If you are watching to see the prom dresses and movie stars or them, that is the other media gathering in washington this weekend. But please do stay with us. Looking around this room, i see plenty of glamour, right here, in the middle english root meaning of glamour, learning, unowledge, in cite, and, if yo believe that the actualette tow our, then you bear once to the loop pins of something called alternative fact. Which is a wrong, that Good Journalism tries to right. Todays Award Winners and work ions across and stat the country. I see a number of other distinguished guests whom i would like to recognize. You know who you are. Here is how today will go. First, before we present the winners, i will ask the in our National Award categories grapple withd questions about trust and legitimacy about fake news and im, about the assault on the free press in an age of all truth. Then, well serve lunch. Yes, well actually feed you and invite the winners to come up and accept their awards. Joining me to precept them will usche colleague at the Annenberg School judy mueller and the colleague at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the university of pennsylvania, kathleen jamison. Are sussrs, if you sect in accepting youre ward as you are on the air, well git out of here in time to get back to work or to travel home or to and cumberr sequence at the dry cleaner. Panel, iroduce the want to show you clip interests the winning in in there context of Walter Cronkites legacy. Signoff, signature that is the way it is. Avows that there is a way it is. It attests to the existence of reality, the reality of truth, the truth of evidence. Why did these values mat smer excellenceence does in Television Political journalism make . So were not educated well essary to perform the nec act of sleek our leaders for the future. We have got to improve that going to bend it is to a large degree up to us in television and radio in broadcasting to get that job done. If we fail at that, our democracy and our republic is, i think, in serious danger. There is more Fact Checking than ever. Fewer people trusting the fact. Are we moving more into media cli. An do you have any welcomes about skagg foreign government, anybody, to sper fer, to hack into a system of anybodys in this country . Let the president talk. Does that not give you us . It gives me no pause. Hey. You know what gives me more in ourthat a person government, crooked Hillary Clinton. Be quiet. I know you want to sab her. That a person in our government, rid, would delete, or get of 33,000 emails. Think that what be got here is a case of overclassification. I am not concerned about it. I am not worried about it. No democrat or american should be either. [applause] there was no permission to be asked. I had been done bay my predecessors. I was permitted. He didnt have to ask anyone. Was this true . Was Hillary Clintons use of a private email serve for official business whole she was secretary of state absolutely permitted . No. That is not true. Look, Hillary Clinton is no friend of the media. But donald trump is different. Trump thought the preves legitimacy, in credibility, he claimed the Corporate Media as part of a massive conspiracy against him. I am not running against crooked Hillary Clinton. I am running against the crooked media. That is what i am running against. No question about it. Please. Excuse me. Sit down. It down. No. I am a reporter. I am immigrant. I have the right to ask a question. No, you dont. You have not been called. I have a right to ask a question. Go back to yoon ny vision. The most beautiful story about bc. T a lie it wases from n she is back there. Little katy. She is back there. What a lie it was. No. What a lie. Katy tur. The rest of the crowd was just and pri. They were angry. At the end of it, at the end of it, one of trumps people there, uy andsecret service g said, he will walk towel the car. It was not about you. Get out. I am a u. S. Citizen, too. Well, whatever. Univision, no. It is not but. It is no about you. It about the united states. It is. Peddle sod much nothings. A moreurnalist did take forceful approach. Debunking the falsehood. If you are saying he cannot do his job because of his race, he is is that not the definition of racism . I done think so at all. Take a look at the crime that is being committed. Go take a look. The crime is that i did not matter. The research, which is independent. You are a naive person. Quit being naive. Mexico will pay for that what. What do you think . I will not pay for that beep wall. He should pay for it. He has the money. The notion this is a murder, fiction born dilution, and contracted by evidence reviewed in at least six investigations, one of them by ken starr. Hard lay bill clinton defender. Otherwise, ry ridiculous and shameful, gain, this is not a pro clinton position or antitrump position, it is a pro truth position. Only 14 of the republicans say they trust the news media this year. I want to bring back our panel and talk about this. Most importantly, talk about what journalists and what come men tatter what we can do in the media to got the numbers back up. Every day, we can either remain the Peoples Trust or lose even more of it. [applause] a few days ago, i called the fake news the enemy of the people and they are. They are the enemy of the people. Please join me. [applause] so we have the pleasure of the winners in our National Categories winning for individual achievement in National Journalism, jorge ramos, jake tapper and katy tur nal the western for natio network news program is cnns t briane sources with hos stelter. You welcomed them warmly, but why not do it again . [applause] in a little while, we will have a chance to thank and sab what else they want to say, but right now, i would love to dig in to what we have been talking at we are the life th living. Just start by noting a contrast between what Walter Cronkite said in that opening, in which he described the press as the allies of democracy. The protectors of our freedom. The key role in, in making the public able to choose its leaders, and then, at the end, the press has the enemies of the people. So what happened . What is going on when the press is called the enemies of the people . What is the agenda . Consequence . And are you the enemies of the people . This is a junk ball but i would love each of to you have a chance at it. Will take it. So obviously, we are not the minutes of the people. I think it is farley obvious at this point that the goal is to undermine and criticize. The president and his team have erently butigns diff with the same goal against legislative oversight, against the Judicial Branch, but obviously, most unfortunately, against us, and the goal is so provide a check, that check that is so enshrined in the First Amendment, it is ineffective. And you know, we see that, it is working to a degree. There is a poll out this week, abc News Washington post, that showed that 32 of the country obamaes that president relied on donald trump and his campaign and 52 percent of republicans believe that. It doesnt matter that paul ryan says there is no evidence of that or james comey or devin nunes, all three of whom said the tweets have no basis or factor evidence. So undermining us allows him to say or do whatever he wantings and tick off enough people to make ineffective the checkers balances we attempt to provide, utlandish claims that, you know, may not actually mean that much like this one against president obama, but what he wants to do with this country, which you know, i am sure i speak for everybody. He we want to cover in a fair and impartial way but the other stuff keeps getting in the way of that. Agos, our do have by job is to put those aside, and fairly. And we have any buy is a, it is a bias toward the fact president . It is not because we are rooting for Hillary Clinton or donald trump be where or whatever. We are rooting for the democracy we live in. That democracy, its foundation, it is shared, but also, adherence to truth. Mistake, donald trump is not the first president or candidate or politician to not like the press. There is longstanding tensions between us and those in power. First one to go so unbarbedly and forcefully m pan agaps us. Al he was campaigning against Hillary Clinton but really he us whichpaning against is what he admitted. He didnt care that that was out there. He wanted that to be throughout because as jake was saying so eloquently, if we report something that doesnt, that is not friendly toward him, if he undercuts the credibility, if he ates froms, he inocul the criticism. He can do whatever he wants. Most based to the fearance the most base and thations and anger worked for him partially because trust in thehave a preens longer and they were sick of washington. They felt left behind. He got up there. He said outrageous things and refused to apologize for it. He allowed people to feel like they can take control of their lives again. They can do what they want again them they can yell at the top of their lungs if they want and somebody will finally hear them. Where that grows here, well, that is a good question. I am glad to be reminded of that soundbite where he said, i am fighting you. I am battling you. I think, we have seen that again even this week in some ways. That the president wants the war the press. And some of the aides described him that way. Of course, the ground was very fertile for this in 2015 so it is why the first time i saw you on the campaign trail two weeks after trump announced in new hampshire. He was already picking you on the crowd and already calling you out boy name and complaining about the press. This was when he was having small are events before was having rally. The ground was if you are tile for it because of decades of criticism of the press mostly from the right and the left. But largely from the right so the ground was so fertile for someone to come along and take the subtexan turn it to the texan to say bluntly what others were saying softly and this idea of campaign against the press, you know, we can the the ground work for decades in the past and, and for reasons, it was trump who took it to such a level. Nt enemies people in is not the bias. Liberal. It is something that cuts deeper. Well, it wases with. We were criticizing him. Firsti, i think the respects as journalists, real think, we wish it would, i understanded that. Then there is a second level. He most important social responsible we have the challenges to question those who are in power. We have a president who lies. We have a president who may racist, sics remarks. We have a president who criticizes judges and the press. We have a president who bea haivs like a bully during the campaign and then, we cannot remain neutral. I think on certain occasions, we have to take offense and it is my decision when it comes to race im, discrimination, ies, theon, fub blick l violation of human rights. We have to take a stand. I know that. I know that many people believe that completely right in the middle. Well, he was not. He was not during. R andg the second world wa the civil rights movement. Hek to a stand. Well, i will show them to you later. But the important thing is that, that if the president said look, weat are not, remain now tral with trump, think. We normalize the behavior. He is not an example, not even for schoolchildren, and it is our responsibility to be critical, that is it. That is what. That is journalism. Ch weere is a sense end whi is not just criticizing your particular criticism of him that he is criticizing the enterprise journalism . Attempting to delig git my. That is an important point. It is so far beyond. Enemies of the people. He only said a couple of times but did say out loud and on twitter. It is about dismissing the existence of a press that can report fairly on the presidency. Now maybe because he has not been out unrecent weeks hp we shouldnt take him. We can remind him. It was during the time. Buy is in so far as it relates to him. This is not a free press that he is doing journalism across the board. He will uphold journalism when it benefits him and retweet Washington Post articles even though he says that the Washington Post is full of a bunch of liars the same thing with the new york times. He doesnt hate the press. He hates coverage of him. Period. He is doing nine interviews this week that i counted in including three today. Another one tomorrow. Then he is bringing on the plane in pens vein are a. We accumulated the evidence of his love of journalist when it is convenient. Love of attention a better word. I wonder if we relate. This is nothing new. Everybody is criticizing President Trump right now. But remember, on june 16th, 2015, he said that mexican immigrants were criminals and drug traffickers and rapist. The reaction was huge. Well, that is the reason why i am on the campaign because i that. Ories about the reaction from the general public was little bit more mute, perspective. Nn we covered it. We gave him tons of time. I dont think we were critical enough of President Trump at the beginning when he was criticizing mexican immigrants. That this, when we saw horrible, access hollywood. Things started to change. But at the beginning, we were not as critical as we should have been. You are saying criticized. Think i would say report what is we have been doing. What most of the Mainstream Press has been doing is reporting not criticize. Yet there is a rite call tone and many, many critical guests way, think you see, by the one of the benefits of 2016, 2017 is the existence of hundreds of real news outlets with different perspectives and ways going about it. I would not autos the word criticize the dwy. Alli think it fires say that four of us draw loons at different places and have different takes. Jorge is different than katy and brian. We have different views of these things. I doubt there is any yawn form way of looking at President Trump. Draw a line at a different place than jorge goes does. That is fine. I respect. I am assume he respects mine. President view of trump report is that, i cover him as i cover him. As i would cover any president. And when i feel that there is ofavior that violates norms decency or truth, i will come out and say it. He dont view everything through that prism. When says cnn is fake news, that is a cracker attack . What is happening in that ex change in. I think, first of all, i should say that, that all of all the things that President Trump has said in the last year and a half, attacking cnn, is very low on my list of what phoned me personally. What offended me personally. I was far more personally offended when he made fun of the reporter and belittled the five and a half years that senator he p. O. W. Campn t and now we are on a list. Will not keep going. I dont know if you have noticed. We have been criticized for that. Not a lot of republicans supported him in the campaign, canad to find people who manage his campaign. We have that from that respect. Payingthink from surrogates whose job it is to deliver the talking points of the administration, the bank that putting them in a cold equal position with everyone else on that panel is traditional, standard journalism . I dont think that is what we have. Lieutenant governor who was on my show less. He is a trump supporter but he h everything he says. Mcgovern lost. Something like that. It may have been rated, i forget. I forg it would have been easier ifet. Someone else had been the nominee. I think you have to make an effort to find people who support President Trump. I am missing that much of a difference when it comes to whong a democratic pundit shares his or her views as though he is reciting talking points. As somebody who supports oprah, i do not see that much of a difference. He is not only among but should we be neutral all the time . Be. Not think we should this is what i get from Walter Cronkite. Wrote in early had i reported a bomb that just gotten back. , ife was a lack of activity there is a lack of integrity then we failed. This is walter crockett. He used the term fair and balanced . [laughter] he said for the nazis. Grexit is wonderful that that came from him. He spoke about human decency, basic human decency, world war ii had everything so clearcut. Nothing could rescue the south from itself. Walter cronkite when it comes to vietnam, when it comes to the civil rights movement, he put neutrality aside because neutrality was not an option. Let me ask you if i may. I am sorry. [laughter] do you think that the position that the media should not be neutral towards President Trump . I dont think you do a sender coverage. We saw this in the last 100 days, 44 times in which he criminalized or demonized an issue we care about. You dont assume just because he takes a position on korea or nafta that he is wrong . Absolutely not. Poetry comes to his racist beliefs but with Walter Cronkite and cutting through and not be neutral with the circumstances. I think there is a reason he cut through and the other examples you can pull. These journalists who took a stand, it is because of the level of rhetoric was not up here all of the time. And the levelng of vitriol against donald trump is always on. What he says, you have to come through here and say this is what he is actually saying. It is appalling or