Industry Leaders to Speak at 2025 Columbia Journalism Graduation Ceremonies
The Class of 2025 will hear from journalists whose work brings clarity to complex issues and holds power to account.
Brian Lehrer to Receive the 2025 Columbia Journalism Award
Each year, CJS faculty present the Columbia Journalism Award — the School’s highest honor — to a journalist whose career reflect the highest standards of excellence in the field. This year’s honoree is Brian Lehrer, longtime host of “The Brian Lehrer Show” on WNYC. He will receive the award at the School’s May 21 graduation ceremony.
Since 1989, Lehrer has put newsmakers in conversation with everyday New Yorkers, hosting empathetic discussions that take a humane and perceptive approach to issues dominating the city and the nation.
As a seven-time winner of the New York Associated Press Broadcasters’ “Best Interview” Award, Lehrer will impart decades-long reporting wisdom to the graduating class of 2025 as the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
Katie Drummond and WIRED Staff to Deliver the Pringle Lecture
Katie Drummond, the global editorial director of WIRED, will accept the Pringle Award on behalf of the publication for pivotal coverage of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The magazine focuses on the intersection of technology, culture and the economy.
Since DOGE’s creation, WIRED has closely tracked its impact on government operations and public policy, with dozens of rigorous investigative reports that show a commitment to government accountability.
The Pringle Lecture is given annually by an outstanding journalist covering politics whose work and values inspire the next generation of professionals.
International Correspondent Hind Hassan to Keynote August Ceremony
Documentary filmmaker Hind Hassan will address graduates at the August 16 ceremony.
Hassan, a multi-Emmy Award-winning correspondent, has reported extensively on humanitarian crises for VICE News, Middle East Eye, Al Jazeera and Sky News. Her coverage spans the conflict in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen and beyond.
Her VICE Special report on the “Return of the Taliban” won both an Emmy and Peabody Award in 2022. In November, she was also awarded the 2024 Neal Conan Prize for Excellence in Journalism for “her extraordinary work embodying the spirit of public good that defined Neal Conan’s career.”
Learn more about the Class of 2025's graduation festivities.