Watch the acceptance speeches of the 2008 Ridenhour Prize recipients Matthew Diaz (left) and Bill Moyers (right) by clicking on the images below.

The 5th Annual Ridenhour Prizes, sponsored by The Nation Institute and The Fertel Foundation, were awarded at a luncheon ceremony on April 3, 2008 at the Press Club in Washington, D.C. Read the transcript of the speeches by the Prize for Truth-Telling recipient, Matthew Diaz and the Courage Prize recipient, Bill Moyers.

Bill Moyers has been awarded the 2008 Ridenhour Courage Prize in recognition of his fierce embrace of the public interest and his advocacy of media pluralism, and for contributing an unyielding moral voice to our national discourse.
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James D. Scurlock has been awarded the 2008 Ridenhour Book Prize honoring an outstanding work of social significance from the prior publishing year. Scurlock’s book, Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit is a disturbing account of America’s unsustainable relationship with debt, revealing the vulnerability of the average person to the predatory and unethical lending methods of banks and credit card companies.
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Matthew Diaz has been awarded the 2008 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling. Diaz is a former JAG officer who, while stationed at Guantánamo Bay, was the first person to release the names of the prisoners at the detention camp. In early January 2005, on the last night of his tour, he mailed a list—with the names and corresponding serial numbers of the 551 prisoners—in a Valentine’s Day card to a lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights. Diaz hoped that his actions would help lawyers file habeas corpus petitions on the prisoners’ behalf.
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The Ridenhour Prizes seek to recognize and encourage those who persevere in acts of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society. The prizes memorialize the spirit of fearless truth-telling that one-time whistleblower and lifetime investigative journalist Ron Ridenhour reflected throughout his extraordinary life and career. Each award carries a $10,000 stipend.

Fifth Anniversary of the Awards
2008 marks the fifth anniversary of the Ron Ridenhour Prizes. It is an important milestone in the growth and reach of the prizes, which honors people who have fought for justice and democracy, fought to give voice to the marginalized and voiceless. From its inception, the Ridenhour Prizes had two principal goals: to recognize the remarkable courage and social contribution of individuals who have spoken out on unpopular social and political themes; and to offer a model that promotes the critical values of dissent and open debate. With the outstanding recipients of the prize this year—Bill Moyers (Courage Prize), James D. Scurlock (Book Prize), Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz (Prize for Truth-Telling)—we continue that tradition.

Fortieth Anniversary of the My Lai Massacre
On March 16, 1968, members of Charlie Company marched into the Vietnamese village of My Lai and killed hundreds of civilians—many of them children, women and the elderly—in the most infamous massacre of the Vietnam War. The following year, Vietnam veteran Ron Ridenhour wrote a letter to Congress and the Pentagon describing these horrific events, demanding accountability and helping to bring the scandal to the attention of the American public.

In recognition of the 40th anniversary of the massacre, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh (who first broke the story) described his on-the-ground research and the courageous actions of Ron Ridenhour to NPR's On The Media. Hersh was the recipient of the 2005 Ridenhour Courage Prize.

Read the transcript of the speech by the 2008 Courage Prize recipient, Bill Moyers

Read the transcript of the speech by the 2008 Prize for Truth-Telling recipient, Matthew Diaz

The 2009 Ridenhour Prizes nomination forms will be available shortly

For more information, call Suzanne Ceresko at 212-822-0255.