Logan, Parvaz accept John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award

Each year, the National Press Club confers its John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award on two people whose actions contribute to the cause of press freedom and open government. The late Aubuchon was a former Club president and an ardent advocate of press freedom.

This year's honorees both covered the uprisings in the Mideast and both faced horrific repression. The international winner of the Aubuchon prize was Dorothy Parvaz of al Jazeera, who was detained in brutal prisons filled with political detainees in Syria and Iran. The domestic winner was Lara Logan of CBS News and 60 Minutes, who was attacked by a mob in Cairo earlier this year.

The National Press Club Board of Governors found that the work of Parvaz and Logan exemplifies how, every day around the world, journalists strive to tell the truth even under threat of physical violence.

The video below shows the riveting testimony of Parvaz and Logan as they accepted their awards at an Aug. 10 ceremony at the Club.

Video of the full 2011 National Press Club Journalism Awards ceremony is available here.