Distinguished journalist Robert Cox has been awarded the IAPA's Grand Prize for Press Freedom.
(IAPA/IFEX) – Miami, Florida, August 2, 2011 – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) announced today the winners of the annual awards given out by the organization to encourage excellence in journalism and the defense of freedom of expression throughout the Americas. This year the IAPA Grand Prize for Press Freedom was awarded to Robert Cox for his long career as a journalist and his courage in the defense of freedom of the press and of expression. The information was provided by Clemente Vivanco of the Quito, Ecuador, newspaper La Hora, who is chairman of the IAPA’s Awards Committee.
Winners in 11 categories will be presented with their awards during the IAPA’s 67th General Assembly, to be held in Lima, Peru, October 14-18 at the Swissotel hotel. “We are delighted to have received such a high number of high-quality entries,” Vivanco said. “The awards and honorable mentions that we are announcing today are a reflection of the better journalism being practiced today in the Americas.” The prizes consist of US$2,000 cash, as well as plaques and diplomas.
“This year we have awarded the IAPA Grand Prize to Robert Cox, a veteran and admired journalist, in recognition of his long professional career and his exemplary life. His biography illustrates like no other the importance of the press in the defense of freedom in the face of dictatorships of any stripe,” declared IAPA President Gonzalo Marroquín, of the Guatemala City, Guatemala, newspaper Siglo 21.
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