The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are the oldest international awards in the field of journalism. They are presented each fall by the Trustees of Columbia University to journalists in the Western hemisphere who are viewed as having made a significant contributions to upholding freedom of the press in the Americas and Inter-American understanding. Since 2003, the prize can be awarded to an organization instead of an individual.
History The American Boston industrialist and philanthropist, Godfrey Lowell Cabot, who founded the Cabot Corporation and was also a major benefactor of both MIT and Harvard, where the general science library is named in his honor, established the Maria Moors Cabot Prizes in 1938, in memory of his wife. The prizes have been awarded annually since 1939, by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, on recommendation of the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism and the Cabot Prize Board, which is composed of journalists and educators.
Board The awards board consists of the following persons:
Tracy Wilkinson, from the Los Angeles Times where she covered the Iraq War, among others.
Carlos Dada, Salvadoran journalist, founder and director of El Faro. He won the Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2011.
John Dinges, The Godfrey Lowell Cabot Professor of Journalism at Columbia University is an author and journalist specializing in Latin America. He received a Maria Moors Cabot Prizes medal in 1992.
Juan Enriquez Cabot, Authority on economic and political impacts of life sciences. Best-selling author; speaker; investor/co-founder in multiple start up companies; board member for both private and public companies/non-profits. Former founding Director of Life Sciences Project at Harvard Business School.
June Carolyn Erlick, editor-in-chief of ReVista, the Harvard Review of Latin America.
Gustavo Gorritti, Peruvian journalist, the founder of lDL Reporteros. He is a recipient of a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University and a winner of the Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 1992 and the FNPI Gabriel García Marquez award. Expert in Peruvian internal war and anti corruption investigation.
Carlos Lauría, Americas Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Julia Preston, national correspondent for The New York Times. Preston received a Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 1997.
María Teresa Ronderos, serves as Director of VerdadAbierta.com. Ronderos is an editorial advisor to Semana. She received the King of Spain Ibero-American Award in 1997 and received a Maria Moors Cabot Prize in 2007.
Paulo Sotero, director of the Brazil Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.
Recipients Three to four medalists from the United States, Latin America, and Canada are selected each year. Prize winners receive the Cabot medal and a $5,000 honorarium, plus travel expenses to New York City and hotel accommodations for the presentation ceremony.
As of 2014, 273 Cabot gold medals and 56 special citations have been awarded to journalists from more than 30 countries in the Americas.
Year Honorees Country2021Eliane BrumAdela Navarro BelloMary Beth SheridanAdriana Zehbrauskas/Regina Martínez Pérez and The Cartel ProjectContracorriente2020Ricardo Calderón VillegasPatrícia Campos MelloStephen FerryCarrie Kahn2019Angela KochergaPedro Xavier MolinaBoris MuñozMarcela Turati2018Hugo Alconada Mon Jacqueline CharlesGraciela MochkofskyFernando RodriguesMeridith Kohut2017Martín CaparrósDorrit HarazimNick MiroffMimi Whitefield2016 Rodrigo Abd Rosental Alves Margarita Martínez Óscar Martínez Marina Walker Guevara and the Panama Papers Reporting Team 2015 Lucas Mendes Raúl Peñaranda Simon Romero Mark Stevenson Ernesto Londoño 2014 Frank Bajak Paco Calderón Giannina Segnini Tracy WilkinsonTamoa CalzadillaLaura Weffer 2013 Jon Lee Anderson Donna de Cesare Mauri König Alejandro Santos Rubino 2012 Teodoro Petkoff Miguel Ángel Bastenier Juan Forero David Luhnow El Universo 2011 Arizona Daily Star El Diario de Juárez Ríodoce Carlos Dada Jean-Michel Leprince 2010 Tyler Bridges Carlos Fernando Chamorro Norman Gall Joaquim Ibarz Signal FM radio station CNN and Anderson Cooper 360° 2009 Anthony DePalma Christopher Hawley Merval Pereira Yoani Sánchez 2008 Carmen Aristegui Flores Sam Quiñones Gustavo Sierra Michael Smith 2007 Alfredo Corchado José Vales María Teresa Ronderos Gary T. Marx 2006 Mario Vargas Llosa Ginger Thompson José Hamilton Ribeiro Matt Moffet 2005 Miriam Leitão Tim Padgett Mabel Rehnfeldt S. Lynne Walker La Nación 2004 Gerardo Reyes (journalist) Daniel Santoro Elena Poniatowska Joel Millman Alberto Ibargüen 2003 João Antônio Barros Raúl Kraiselburd Mac Margolis Michael Reid Sociedad de Periodistas Manuel Márquez Sterling 2002 David C. Adams Sergio Luis Carreras Michèle Montas Robert J. Rivard 2001 Monica Gonzalez Jorge Ramos Clóvis Rossi Sebastian R. Rotella 2000 Eloy O. Aguilar Paul Knox Francisco Santos Ricardo Uceda Lloyd Williams 1999 James McClatchy Raúl Rivero Linda Robinson Juan Tamayo Jorge Zepeda Patterson 1998 Jesús Blancornelas Edmundo Cruz Vílchez Andrés Oppenheimer William Lawrence Rohter, Jr. 1997 Gerardo Bedoya José de Córdoba Jorge Fontevecchia Julia Preston Enrique Santos Castillo Hernando Santos Castillo 1996 Dudley Althaus Ramón Garza García Timothy Jay Johnson Eduardo Ulibarri 1995 Roberto Eisenmann Douglas Farah Canute James Geri Smith José Zamora Marroquín 1994 James Brooke Mauricio Funes Susan Meiselas Oscar Serrat 1993 Pamela Constable Manuel de Dios Edward Seaton Patricia Verdugo 1992 Danilo Arbilla Sam Dillon John Dinges Gustavo Gorriti 1991 Ricardo Arnt Gilberto Dimenstein Otavio Frias Filho Eduardo Gallardo Alejandro Junco de la Vega 1990 Richard Boudreaux Huascar Cajias Kauffman Elsie Etheart Alma Guillermoprieto Carlos Lins da Silva Lucia Newman 1989 Felipe López Caballero Humberto Rubín Schvartzman Juan M. Vazquez Arturo Villar 1988 Nicholas Clark Asheshov Roberto Civita Stephen Kinzer Hermenegildo Sábat 1987 Luis Camacho (posthumous) Guillermo Cano Isaza (posthumous) Raúl Echavarría Barrientos Guy Gugliotta Luis Levy Roberto Muller Paulo Sotero 1986 Dario Arizmendi Alfonso Chardy Hugh O'Shaughnessy Julio Rajneri Guillermo Sánchez Borbón Gavin Scott 1985 Shirley Christian Dery Dyer Richard Dyer William H. Heath Rafael Herrera Andrew Morrison Aldo Zuccolillo 1984 William Buzenberg Kenneth Gordon John Hoagland (posthumous) Harold Hoyte Alister Hughes Cynthia Hughes Frank Manitzas 1983 Jack Fendell Emilio Filippi Everett Martin Marcel Neidergang 1982 Frances Grant William R. Long Daniel Samper 1981 Karen DeYoung Marlise Simons Stanley Swinton Jacobo Timerman 1980 Richard T. Baker Guido Fernández Penny Lernoux Alan Riding Bill Stewart (posthumous) 1979 Leslie Ashenheim Jerry Hannifin Andrew Heiskell Jeremiah O'Leary Juan Zuleta Ferrer 1978 Joseph Benham Carlos Castelo Branco Robert Cox Carl Migdail 1977 Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal Jonathan Kandell Joseph A. Taylor Anita von Kahler Gumpert 1976 Robert U. Brown Bernard Diederich Germán Ornes Jorge Remonda-Ruibal 1975 Walter Everett (journalist) Norman Ingrey David Kraiselburd (posthumous) Sam Summerlin Enrique Zileri Gibson 1974 Donald Bohning William Montalbano Fernando Pedreira 1973 David F. Belnap Donald Casey Diana Julio de Massot 1972 Pedro Beltrán Tom Steithorst Arturo Uslar Pietri 1971 Juan Carlos Colombres (Landrú) Georgie Anne Geyer Julio Scherer García 1970 Alberto Dines John Goshko John Harbron 1969 Alceu Amoroso Lima Edward W. Barrett George Beebe Luis Gabriel Cano 1968 Robert Bellerez Alberto Gainza Paz Guillermo Gutiérrez Argentina Hills José Joaquin Salcedo 1967 Peter Aldor James S. Copley James Goodsell M.F. Nascimento Brito Ramón J. Velásquez 1966 Alberto Cellario Agustín Edwards Eastman Paul Kidd (journalist) 1965 Gesford Fine Roberto Marinho Victoria Ocampo Paul Sanders 1964 Hugo Fernández Artucio Bertram Johansson Enrique Nores Virginia Prewett 1963 Germán Arciniegas William Barlow Jorge Fernández Juan de Onis Juan Valmaggia 1962 Raúl Fontaina John R. Herbert Rodolfo Junco de la Vega John Shively Knight 1961 Alejandro Carrión Fernando Gómez Martínez Albert Nevins Rómulo O'Farrill John T. O'Rourke 1960 James Canel José Dutriz, Jr. Rodolfo Luque William M. Pepper, Jr. Eduardo Santos 1959 Ricardo Castro Beeche Clement Hellyer Juan A. Ramírez Tad Szulc Hernane Tavares de Sá 1958 Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta Eduardo Cardenas Jesús Hernández Chapellín Miguel Angel Quevedo 1957 Paulo Bittencourt Luis Franzini Harry W. Frantz John Shively Knight Miguel Lanz Duret Carlos Mantilla Roberto Marinho Guillermo Martínez Márquez Herbert Moses John T. O'Rourke René Silva Espejo James Geddes Stahlman Tom Wallace 1956 Carl W. Ackerman Jesús Alvarez del Castillo Roberto García Peña Herbert Matthews David Torino 1955 Pedro Beltrán Breno Caldas John Oliver LaGorce Roberto Noble A. T. Steele 1954 Gabriel Cano Sidney Fletcher Danton Jobim Carlos Ramirez MacGregor Lloyd Statton 1953Crede Clahoun Carlos Lacerda Ismael Pérez Castro Arturo Schaerer 1952 Antonio Arias Bernal Austregésilo de Athayde Jorge Délano Frederick (Coke) Jules Dubois Juan B. Fernández 1951 Elmano Cardim Julio Garzón Ramón León Francisco María Núñez 1950 John Brogan María Constanza Huergo Jesús María Pellín Joshua Powers Ángel Ramos 1949 Milton Bracker Eduardo Rodriguez Larreta José Santiago Castillo 1948Manuel Cineros Sánchez Joseph L. Jones Orlando Ribeiro Dantas Alfredo Silva Carvallo 1947 Carlos Aramayo Alberto Lleras Camargo David Vela 1946 Grant Dexter Lee Hills Miguel Lanz Duret 1945 Assis Chateaubriand Luis Teófilo Nuñez Tom Wallace 1944 Carlos Mantilla Ortega Albert McGeachy Jorge Pinto 1943 Pedro Cue Rodrigo de Llano Edward Tomlinson 1942 Lorenzo Batlle Pacheco Luis Mitre 1941 Paulo Bittencourt Sylvia de Arruda Botelho Bittencourt Carlos Dávila José Ignacio Rivero 1940 Agustín Edwards Mac Clure James Irving Miller Enrique Santos Montejo Rafael Heliodoro Valle 1939 Luis Miró Quesada de la Guerra José Santos Gollan
Ceremony The winners of the award are announced between May and July, and the prizes are presented by the President of Columbia University each fall, at a ceremony in the rotunda of Low Memorial Library.
Yoani Sánchez case In 2009, 34-year-old Cuban writer Yoani Sánchez became the first blogger to win the Maria Moors Cabot Prize. The award was given for her blog, Generación Y, which contained much criticism of the Cuban regime. Sánchez was denied an exit visa to travel to New York to receive her prize.
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