Celebrating Journalism and Democracy with the National Press Foundation

One of my favorite classes at the University of Minnesota was an elective journalism law and ethics course. Ironically, I never wanted to be a journalist in the trenches of reporting the news, but I always knew the news was important and had a deep respect for The First Amendment and the press.  

 In an industry where information is everything, Dezzies (our team) are a bunch of news junkies and we’re privileged to know and work with those on the frontlines of reporting the news. As media continues to consolidate and the journalism profession is often under siege at home and abroad, Dezenhall Resources is proud to support the National Press Foundation’s work to “make good journalists better.”  

 Through professional development opportunities, reporting tools and techniques training, unique educational programming, and awards and fellowships, NPF has been helping journalists understand the impacts of public policy on readers and viewers – something that’s critical to democracy and the work we do day in and day out.  

 While NPF’s work is ongoing, one night a year journalism organizations, foundations, corporations and individual supporters gather for NPF’s annual awards dinner to reflect on the great work of journalists throughout the past year. This year, at the 41st Journalism Awards Dinner, NPF welcomed a new class of Paul Miller and Widening the Pipeline fellows and celebrated the incredible work of Jen Soreson, Hannah Dreier, Al Roker, Dorothy Butler Gilliam, Evan Gershkovich, Monica Richardson and the newsrooms of The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, The Connecticut Mirror and The Los Angeles Times.  

As Dorothy Butler Gilliam, the first African American woman reporter at The Washington Post and recipient of The W.M. Kiplinger Distinguished Contributions to Journalism Award recipient, said in her acceptance speech, “Journalism doesn’t just give once, it keeps giving.” 

I’m not a particularly optimistic person, but I found myself incredibly inspired by the evening and leaving with a renewed sense of possibility that while division is all around us, storytelling unites us and so long as there are stories being told there’s hope for a brighter tomorrow.  

A special thanks to all that joined us, Grover Norquist with Americans for Tax Reform, Erin Waters with RealClear Media Group, Jennifer Jacobs with Bloomberg News, Jared Janeczko  with The German Marshall Fund, and 2024 Widening the Pipeline Fellows Nushrat Rahman with The Detroit Free Press and Mehr Sher with Carolina Public Press. 

By Anne Marie Malecha