Times Union receives honor

Press Club to convey Truth to Power Award

The New York Press Club announced Wednesday that the staff of the Times Union will be the recipient of the Club’s 2022 Gabe Pressman Truth to Power award. The award honors a journalist or news team “whose body of work challenges the power establishment and/or defends journalists.” The organization cited the extensive reporting by Brendan J. Lyons and his Capitol Bureau and investigations team on abuses of power by former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

“The Times Union’s refusal to bow to pressure from the very top of state government while diligently reporting accurate, unfiltered information to its readers is at the very heart of the ‘Truth to Power’ award,” said Debra Toppeta, president of the New York Press Club. “Their commitment to journalism’s highest principles is a model for all working journalists and students to imitate.”

“It’s an honor to receive this recognition from a storied organization with a history of fighting for the rights of reporters,” Lyons said. “I’m lucky to work alongside assiduous journalists in a newsroom that strives to be fair and thorough, and to hold public officials accountable.” Past recipients of the “Truth to Power” award include Nikole Hannahjones, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at the New York Times and creator of The 1619 Project; CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta; and New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who broke numerous stories at the advent of what became known as the #Metoo era; and former Washington Post editor-in-chief Martin Baron. The award will be presented to the Times Union at the New York Press Club’s Annual Journalism Awards and Installation dinner on Tuesday, June 7, in Manhattan.

The “Truth to Power” award memorializes the character and ethos of Gabe Pressman, the late WNBC-TV reporter known for his strong advocacy for press freedoms.