Quinnipiac University honors Richard Engel, late Bob Simon at annual Fred Friendly First Amendment Award Luncheon

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Jun 09, 2015, 05:06 ET

HAMDEN, Conn., June 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Quinnipiac University honored NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel and the late CBS News correspondent Bob Simon at its 22nd annual Fred Friendly First Amendment Award luncheon on June 9 at the Metropolitan Club in New York City.

Engel received the Fred Friendly Award, while Simon was recognized posthumously with the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Time and again throughout their careers, Richard and Bob put themselves in harm's way to give context to the stories of the day," said Lee Kamlet, dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac. "Although Fred and Richard are from two different eras of broadcast journalism, they have one thing in common: the desire to speak truth to power, no matter the consequences."

Since 1994, Quinnipiac has presented the Fred Friendly First Amendment Award to honor those who have shown courage and forthrightness in preserving the rights set forth in the First Amendment. The award bears the name of the former CBS News president and champion of freedom of speech.

"Fred used to say that the job of the journalist is to explain complicated stories," Friendly's widow, Ruth, told Engel. "That's what you do, Richard. You illuminate and elucidate the news, at times risking your life."

Engel is widely regarded as one of America's leading foreign correspondents for his coverage of wars, revolutions and political transitions around the world over the last 20 years.

"I see our jobs – our responsibility going forward in this digital age – as seeking out truth and separating it from the chaos; finding the music hidden in the cacophony," Engel said. "We have to be brave enough to accept it, even if it goes counter to what we think."

Simon, the longtime "60 Minutes" correspondent and legendary CBS News foreign news reporter, died Feb. 11, 2015, in a car accident in New York City. He was among a handful of elite journalists who covered most major overseas conflicts and news stories beginning in the late 1960s.

"Former colleague Dan Rather once described Bob as 'old school, in the style of Edward R. Murrow: notepad, shoe-leather, play no favorites, pull no punches, and go where the action is,'" Ruth Friendly said. "Although we lost Bob this year, his legacy is a body of work that I hope will inspire the next generations of journalists."

Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News, accepted the award on behalf of Simon's family.

CONTACT: John Morgan, 203-206-4449, [email protected]

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SOURCE Quinnipiac University