Carl Bernstein will keynote 2016 Oklahoma awards banquet for Society of Professional Journalists


OKLAHOMA CITY – During the early 1970s, Washington Post Journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward broke the Watergate scandal in The Washington Post. The pair’s modern investigative reporting eventually led to President Richard Nixon’s resignation and Pulitzer Prizes for the newspaper and Bernstein and Woodward.

Bernstein will be the keynote speaker during the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), Oklahoma Chapter’s 2016 Annual Awards Banquet beginning at 7 p.m. April 30 at the Sheraton Midwest City Hotel at the Reed Center, 5750 Will Rogers Road in Midwest City.
Bernstein will highlight lessons learned from Watergate and the need for investigative journalism. The awards banquet honors Oklahoma’s top newspaper, print, broadcast and online journalists and public relations professionals.

A prolific author and political analyst, Bernstein also wrote the acclaimed biography, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton, All the President’s Men (with Woodward) and The Final Days, and, with Marco Politi, of His Holiness: John Paul II and the History of Our Time.

He is also the author of Loyalties, a memoir about his parents during McCarthy–era Washington. He has written for Vanity Fair (he is also a contributing editor), Time, USA Today, Rolling Stone, and The New Republic. He was a Washington bureau chief and correspondent for ABC News.

During the awards banquet, three special awards will be presented. The Carter Bradley Award will be awarded to Mvskoke Media (an independent tribal media entity for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation). The SPJ Oklahoma Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Janet Pearson, a retired journalist and editor for The Tulsa World and the SPJ Oklahoma Teacher of the Year will be awarded to Darla Tresnor, a Bartlesville High School Journalism instructor.

Tickets are available online through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-oklahoma-spj-awards-banquet-tickets-24518370105.

Journalists being honored in various categories include Clifton Adcock, MJ Alexander, Judy Allen, Silas Allen, Cary Aspinwall, Mike Averill, Rob Backus, Brianna Bailey, Brandi Ball, Ibtisam Barakat, Michael Barber, Sonya Barrett, James Beaty, Jim Beckel, Anna Bennett, Steve Bennett, Holly Bergbower, Leighona Bernstein, Mark Bettis, Shane Bevel, Nate Billings, Lourdes Blazek, Bill Bleakley, Ed Blochowiak, Gerry Bonds, Mark Bradshaw, Dana Branham, Ziva Branstetter, MJ Brickey, Georgia Brooks, Billy Brown, Taylor Brunwald, Amy Bryant, Robert Burch, Paula Burkes,Jeremy Burson, Kent Bush, Aaron Byrd, Susan Cadot, Kevin Canfield, Jenni Carlson, Tim Carson, Chase Carter, and Ray Carter.

Also, Jennifer Chancellor, Nolan Clay, Matt Clayton, Bryan Clemmer, Mark Cooper, Michael Corey, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Madeline Crawford, Connie Cronley, Rebecca Cruise, Dre Dabars, Tony D’Astoli, Sam Des Prez, Kristin Dickerson, Marc Dillard, Paige Dillard, David Dishman, Robin Dorner, Brian Doyle, Dustin Drew, Lori Duckworth, Laura Eastes, Andrea Eger, Randy Ellis, Greg Elwell, Moran Elwell, Lis Exon, Jack Fain, Ben Fenwick, Garett Fisbeck, Peter Fleisher, Collin Fowler, James Gibbard, Brad Gibson, Tiffany Gibson, Tom Gilbert, Steve Gill, Mitch Gilliam and Dylan Goforth.

Continuing with Steve Gooch, Rick M. Green, Wayne Greene, Kate Carlton Greer, Gary Griggs, Nathan Gunter, Bill Haisten, Richard Hall, Lauren Hammack, Samuel Hardiman, Brian Hardzinski, Paighten Harkins, Jay Harness, Kevin Harvison, Victor Henderson, Joe Henke, Dawnyal Hill, Carla Hinton, Doug Hoke, John Hoover, Rob Howard, Rachel Hubbard, Simon Hurst, Joy Jenkins, John Jernigan, Corey Jones, Jamie Richert Jones, Kevin Josefy, Debby Kaspari, Allen Keefner, Juliana Keeping, Nellie Kelly, Adam Kemp, Amanda Kerri, Jason Kersey, Elizabeth Keys, John Klein, DeJon Knapp, Andrew Knittle, Kaelynn Knoernschild, Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton, Steve Lackmeyer, Ryan LaCroix, Judy Langdon, Mark Lash, Logan Layden, Tom Lindley, Ray Lokey, Jacob Longan, Ryan Lorg, Melissa Lukenbaugh, Jeremy Luther, Rick Maranon, and Mike Massey.

Also gaining recognition will be Ian Maule, Jacob McCleland, Brandy McDonnell, James McGirk, Rachel Meinke, Dennis Meister, Daltyn Moeckel, Dave Morris, Burt Mummolo, Felicia Murray,

Ryan Naeve, Leilah Naifeh, Mark W. Nault, David Norris, Adrian O’Hanlon III, Phillip O’Connor, Scotty O’Daniel, Sue Ogrocki, Michael Overall, Vanessa Pearson, Todd Pendleton, Mark Pennie, Bill Perry, Parker Perry, Jessica Phillips, Morgan Phillips, Sarah Phipps, Arianna Pickard, Michelle Pollard,

Matthew Price, Glenn Puit, Robert Reid, JJ Ritchey, Sara Ritsch, Nate Robson, Adam Ropp, Bobby Ross Jr., James Royal, Nathan Ruiz, Bob Sands, Brandon Schmitz, Kyle Schwab,

M. Scott Carter, Steve Sisney, Darla Slipke, John Small, and Joshua Small.

Wrapping up winners in individual categories are Janna Smith, Michael Smith, DeWayne Smoot, Cody Stavenhagen, Janelle Stecklein, Christopher Street, Dave Tamez, Eriech Tapia, Bryan Terry, Franque Thompson, Ken Townsend, Erik Tryggestad, Jacob Unruh, Brady Vardeman, Chandler Vessels, Samantha Vicent, Warren Vieth, Jarrell Wade, Carla Walker, Morgan Welch, Emily Wendler, Joe Wertz, Lance West, Andy Wheeler, Jerry Wofford, and Maureen Wurtz.

Institutional winners for 2016 include 405 Magazine Staff, Gazette Staff, NewsOK.com, O’Colly Staff, Oklahoma Daily Staff, Oklahoma Humanities Council, Oklahoma Today Staff, Oklahoman Staff, The Oklahoman, Tulsa People Staff, Tulsa World Magazine Staff, and Tulsa World Staff.