
Every year more than 600 members and friends gather to support MLRC at a gala dinner featuring distinguished speakers, including prominent journalists and editors, media executives, and public officials. At the Dinner, MLRC presents its William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award given to those whose actions have advanced the cause of freedom of expression.
A special online event focusing on how the media covered the campaign and the future of journalism, featuring the Executive Editors of The New York Times and The Washington Post, Dean Baquet and Marty Baron, and news anchors from CBS and NBC.
MLRC will bestow its highest honor, the William J. Brennan Defense of Freedom Award, to Besieged Journalists Abroad. It will be accepted by Maria Ressa, founder and publisher of The Rappler, and Hatice Cengiz, the fiance of assassinated Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The after dinner program, It's Different for Us: Women Journalists on Their Stories from the Campaign Trail, will feature top reporters discussing the challenges of being a women journalist, or candidate, in Campaign 2020.
MLRC Annual Dinner 2018
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 1968: Echoes of a Tumultuous Year
Wednesday, November 8, 2017 Trump and the Press: A Conversation with Former Press Secretaries
Wednesday, November 11, 2016 The Tension Between National Security and an Independent Media
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 A Night at the Movies - Media Law & Ethical Issues in Recent Documentaries & Films
Wednesday, November 12, 2014 A Conversation With Hugh Grant Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2013
Wednesday, November 13, 2013 A Conversation With Aaron Sorkin Aaron Sorkin, Screenwriter, Playwright; Chris Matthews, Journalist and Host of MSNBC's "Hardball" Press Release | Transcript & Video
MLRC Annual Dinner 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 Politics, Media & Money:ÂÂÂÂ Campaigning in the New Media and Money Environment Alex Castellanos, Founding Partner, Purple Strategies and CNN Political Analyst; Edward G. Rendell, Former Governor of Pennsylvania and NBC News Analyst; and moderator Andrea Mitchell, NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and Host, “Andrea Mitchell Reports” Press Release | Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 Presentation of MLRC's William J. Brennan Jr. Defense of Freedom Award to Anthony Lewis, Author, Former New York Times Columnist and Supreme Court Reporter, Two-Time Pulitzer Winner. Introduction by Jeffrey Toobin, Staff Writer at The New Yorker, Senior Analyst at CNN.ÂÂÂÂ Interview of Mr. Lewis by Terry Moran, Co-Anchor of ABC News "Nightline" Press Release | Transcript | Video
MLRC Annual Dinner 2010 (30th Anniversary)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010 Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Changing Business of News Jill Abramson, The New York Times; Michael Kinsley, POLITICO; Jonathan Klein, formerly with CNN; and moderator Jonathan Alter, Newsweek Press Release | Transcript | Video
MLRC Annual Dinner 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 The Power of Creativity: The Arts and Social Change Oskar Eustis, The Public Theater; Arnold Lehman, The Brooklyn Museum; Peter Yarrow, singer-songwriter; and moderator Ken Paulson, Freedom Forum, Newseum and the Diversity Institute; William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to Václav Havel, playwright and former President, Czech Republic Press Release | Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 Presidency and the Press Michael Beschloss, historian, commentator; David Gergen, Harvard Kennedy School, CNN; and Joe Lockhart, White House Press Secretary (1998-2000); and moderator Martha Raddatz, ABC News Press Release
MLRC Annual Dinner 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 Witnesses to our Time: Independent Voices of the Documentary Lowell Bergman Producer/correspondent for FRONTLINE; Heidi Ewing Director of Jesus Camp Director of The Boys of Baraka; Alex Gibney Director and writer of “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”; and moderator Judy Woodruff, senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to David Fanning, Executive Producer of FRONTLINE. Press Release | Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2006
Wednesday, November 16, 2006 Reporting on National Security under Threat of Indictment Dana Priest, The Washington Post; David Remnick, The New Yorker; James Risen, The New York Times; Pierre Thomas, ABC News; and moderator Scott Pelley, CBS News Press Release | Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2005 (25th Anniversary)
Wednesday, November 9, 2005 A Discussion on the Reporter’s Privilege Matt Cooper, TIME Magazine; Judith Miller, The New York Times; Congressman Mike Pence, R-6th District of Indiana; Jim Taricani, WJAR-TV, NBC 10; and moderator Terry Moran, ABC News Press Release | Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2004
Wednesday, November 17, 2004 A Conversation between Ted Turner and Tom Brokaw Ted Turner, Turner Enterprises, Inc. and Tom Brokaw, "NBC Nightly News" MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Enterprises, Inc.; Introduction by Tom Johnson, Former Chairman and CEO, CNN Press Release | Transcript
MLRC Annual Dinner 2003
Wednesday, November 12, 2003 In the Trenches Revisited: War Reporting and the First Amendment-Part II Cheryl Diaz Meyer, The Dallas Morning News; Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post; Michael Weisskopf, TIME Magazine; and moderator Brian Williams, NBC News MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to Howard H "Tim" Hays, former owner and publisher, Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Cal.; Presented by Gary B. Pruitt, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO, The McClatchy Company Press Release | Summary | Transcript
LDRC Annual Dinner 2002
Wednesday, November 13, 2002 In the Trenches: War Reporting and the First Amendment Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker; John Kifner, The New York Times; Bob Simon, CBS News; and moderator Ted Koppel, ABC News “Nightline” Presentation of MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award to war correspondents (collectively). Press Release | Transcript
LDRC Annual Dinner 2001
Wednesday, November 7, 2001 A Conversation with Benjamin C. Bradlee, The Washington Post; Don Hewitt, CBS News; Diane Sawyer, ABC News; and moderator Walter Isaacson, CNN Press Release | Transcript
LDRC Annual Dinner 2000 (20th Anniversary)
Monday, November 13, 2000 20 Years: Law, Lawsuits, Lawyers – Their Legacy for News Alex MacLeod, The Seattle Times; Brian Ross, ABC News; David Schneiderman, Village Voice Media; P. Cameron DeVore, Esq., Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; Victor Kovner, Esq., Davis Wright Tremaine LLP; and moderator Floyd Abrams, Esq., Cahill Gordon & Reindel
Press Release | Transcript
LDRC Annual Dinner 1999
Wednesday, November 10, 1999 Sullivan in the Year 2000: Will it – Should it – Survive? Harold Evans, U.S. News & World Report, New York Daily News; Nina Totenberg, NPR; and Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Time Presentation of MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award to Floyd Abrams, Esq., Cahill Gordon & Reindel; Presented by Dan Abrams, NBC News Transcript
LDRC Annual Dinner 1998
Wednesday, November 11, 1998 Keynote: Congressman John Lewis, D-Fifth District of Georgia Terry Adamson, Esq., National Geographic, moderated panel with Karl Fleming, Prime Time Communications; Reuvan Frank, NBC News; Vernon Jarrett, Channel 7, WLS-TV; and Jack Nelson, Los Angeles Times MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to civil rights journalists of the 1950's and 1960's (collectively)
LDRC Annual Dinner 1997
Wednesday, November 12, 1997 Tribute to Justice Brennan by Floyd Abrams, Cahill Gordon & Reindel Tribute to Fred Friendly by Joseph A. Califano, Jr., The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University Hot News, Good Journalists and Hard Choices: A Fred Friendly Seminar Floyd Abrams, Cahill Gordon & Reindel; Joseph A. Califano, Jr., The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University; Lyle Denniston, The Baltimore Sun; Jerry Nachman, New York Post, WCBS-TV; Dan Rather, CBS News; E.R. Shipp, Columbia University, New York Daily News; John J. Walsh, Esq., Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft; and moderator Professor Charles Nesson, Harvard Law School MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to Fred Friendly by Robert J. Hawley, Esq., The Hearst Corporation
LDRC Annual Dinner 1996
Thursday, November 7, 1996 Keynote Address: David Halberstam, author (The Best and The Brightest, The Powers That Be, The Reckoning), journalist (The New York Times, Harper’s Magazine) Transcript Presentation of MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award to Arthur Ochs Sulzberger and Katherine Graham to Honor the 25th Anniversary of the Pentagon Papers Decision
LDRC Annual Dinner 1995 (15th Anniversary)
Thursday, November 9, 1995 MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to Justice Harry A. Blackmun by Solomon B. Watson IV, Esq., The New York Times Special Tribute by Justice Blackmun’s Daughters: Sally and Susan Blackmun Introductory Remarks: P. Cameron DeVore, Esq., Davis Wright Tremaine and Luther T. Munford, Esq., Phelps Dunbar
LDRC Annual Dinner 1994
MLRC’s William J. Brennan, Jr. Defense of Freedom Award presented to Dr. Jan Moor-Jankowski
LDRC Annual Dinner 1993
No program
LDRC Annual Dinner 1992
A Tribute to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.: New York Times v. Sullivan and the Judicial Role in the Advancement of Free Expression and Peaceful Social Change MLRC’s Defense of Freedom Award presented to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. Transcript
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