when you do morning radio, you watch on mute, so you see everything subtitled. i always thought it was donna. thank you. sorry for messing up your name. great work, thank you. we are going to shut up for a while so everyone can enjoy some dinner. all drinks are on will. he is paying. we will resume in about 30 minutes over dinner. please enjoy the i heart radio jazz playlist. thank you. ♪ which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018]

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> all right. are we having a good time? i think we are having a good time. our awards presentation continues with the david bloom award. which celebrates exceptional enterprise and investigative reporting for the past year with a particular i towards journalism that is fresh, daring , or undertaken in difficult circumstances. ladies and gentlemen, this award honors the memory of david bloom. a creative and gutsy correspondent and anchor for nbc news.

[applause] here to present tonight's award are two of david's daughter's, nicole and christine bloom. [applause] >> good evening. it is so wonderful to be back here again tonight. our mom, ava, our younger sister, send their best. ava is a freshman and could get away. -- and couldn't get away because of her classes. nicole and i are glad to be here with our stepdad dan, and our dinner date, peter alexander. [applause] we are so grateful that the rtca has provided us with this extra -- extraordinary platform to remember and honor our father. we feel incredibly fortunate to have been a part of the special

evening for the past 15 years. the work that every person in this room does is beyond impressive. the david bloom award recognizes those who demonstrate harrowing courage and bravery on the job. our dad had a real love for news and storytelling, just like all of you. he rode across the desert with an intensity coming passion, a bitter child let enthusiasm, and -- a childlike enthusiasm, and respect for the stories he was sharing. he also often had a huge smile on his face, despise the dust -- despite the dust storms and ours conditions that came with being embedded with the third infantry division. >> our dad always loved what he was doing. he was determined to direct the world's attention to what mattered most at the time. in iraq, it was the troops' stories as well as the difficult conditions of the war. he brought americans sitting at home to the front lines. he also, prior to his coverage

in iraq coming 2000, covered the florida recount from tallahassee . some things have changed, some things haven't. it is evident through his career that he struggled -- he strived to get the most accurate stories across to the viewers. in these times, now more than ever, journalism is such a noble profession and one that needs to be protected at all costs. tonight, we want to recognize outstanding journalist in one particular who has gone above and beyond with his daring reporting. this year's david bloom award honors an incredibly brave team. the judges unanimously selected this journalist and cameramen for their entry in the site for raqqa. they gave us an inside look at the devastation raqqa was facing after months of violence and assault by u.s.-led coalition forces.

this piece is on the final stages on the battle for the syrian city, the last major stronghold of the islamic state. the bbc's quentin sommerville described an ironclad deathtrap of a city with minefields with no option for escape. and the city was trapped during -- the video was shot during the weeks spent in raqqa, syria. >> this is the center of raqqa, the very heart of the islamic state. lying roundabout are a few missiles. hundred locals call it the circle of hell. for these fighters, it is critical territory to retake. but it is much more than that. they are the comrades and the friends of the crucified. when they take that territory, they will cleanse raqqa of islamic state. moreefore the cleansing,

blood has to be spilled. the men are pinned down. they are almost in panic, so desperate. again, an airstrike is called in. this time, it works. finally, they can get to him. he is rushed to a field hospital. but he does not survive. he was 21 years old. the fighters are exhausted. they have had too many days end like this. >> congratulations, quentin and darren. this is quentin's second win. he won last year 2017 for the challenges involved in fighting isis. congratulations. you wore a killed -- a kilt last

year and i hope you are wearing it again. congratulations. oh, you are not. [applause] >> thank you for having me back. let me just talk about your dad. i've spoken to some of his contemporaries from back in 2003. everybody talks about how he was a brilliant journalist, balls y, gutsy, but also someone you did not want as your competition. my boss now as a producer in iraq at the time. he was feeling pretty good about himself because he just paid cash for two long-range toyota land cruisers and it had a satellite dish that folded up in the back of them. and then they got a call from london and said two words. bloom-mobile.

unlike nbc, we were not able to broadcast on the go and the war was lost for the bbc. all on account of a gamble. your dad was also committed to telling these difficult stories from dangerous places to american audiences and to global audiences. i think one of the things that has changed now is telling those stories is much more difficult nowadays, because the way we fight wars and our governments fight wars have changed. they no longer use conventional forces. so the main forces, often in iraq and syria, our special -- our special operations forces and they are militias. they are very difficult to reach. my plea would be, if anyone is here from the pentagon, to let us closer to those forces earlier. we need to be on the front lines. because if you want your people and you want your audiences to understand and to believe in your causes, you need

journalists there from the very beginning. we are not the enemy of the people. we are not the bad guys. we are reporting on the bad guys. [applause] this even works from the british perspective because the brits don't admit they have special forces in iraq and syria. we see you. we know you are there. [laughter] my mom isn't here tonight, but i would like to thank her for everything. i also want to thank my team. our other great cameraman is fred. i would like to thank one particular syrian journalist who does amazing work under incredible circumstances, he's banned from coming to the u.s., thank you very much for your commitment to this story. without you, i wouldn't be able

to tell the ongoing battle against the islamic state. thank you to the bloom family. >> congratulations. i also would like to say hello to my mom who is watching on c-span. our final award of the evening, the rtca career achievement award for distinguished reporting on congress was established honor the distinguished career of a washington broadcaster who has achieved the body of journalistic work demonstrating a deep expertise of congress. the award recognizes rare, exceptional careers and signifies the admiration of the many broadcasters who follow behind and benefit from the work of the recipient. here to present tonight's career achievement award is a fellow floridian, from the 305,

district the honorable 27. republican congresswoman iliana >> it's the 305. thank you, enrique, for the kind introduction. in our program, it says enrique santos has built a following repertoiredic consisting of phone pranks. he's the reason why i hung up on president-elect barack obama, not once, but twice, when he called me. i am still afraid to answer my phone. i'm so honored to join all of you tonight and command each and -- commend each and everyone of you for your many achievements. you are the folks who keep us informed and present the facts during the most confusing and

trying times. and we don't say gracia to each and everyone of you. but among us today is a man who many of us have known for years, mr. jamie dupree of cost media group. [applause] i have had the privilege of knowing jamie for over two decades, may be a little bit longer. over his time, he has become a trusted voice for his diligent , bothoverage of politics congressional and national. in his many years as a professional journalist, jamie has covered the goings-on and the not goings-on of congress, elections, delegation meetings, enacted legislation, partisan gridlock -- jamie has covered it all with a professionalism and fairness that has become synonymous with his career. jamie is a shining example of determination and perseverance.

in 2016, jamie, a radio reporter, lost his voice to tongue protrusion dystonia, a rare neurological condition that has no treatment and can create severe breathing and speaking difficulties. he is a radio reporter. but in spite of the severe condition, jamie is not want to step down in the face of adversity. jamie has remained active as a journalism professional, first through twitter and his news blog, later through innovative technologies. and this technology allows him to type radio reports and to reproduce his words with a voice which we have all come to know so well. when life said to be quiet, jamie found a way to speak louder than ever before. he is an example for every american faced with overwhelming adversity.

jamie dupree is as committed to his great craft and professional journalism, he maintains the highest level of integrity. he is a leader in every sense of the word. he is not only a fair reporter, but he is a loving husband to his wonderful wife, emily, a wonderful dad to his three children, and a genuine nice guy. this is precisely why i am so honored to be presenting him with the prestigious 2018 career achievement award for distinguished reporting on congress. and let us take a moment now, ladies and gentlemen, to take a brief look at jamie's work on capitol hill over the years. >> i'm jamie dupree in washington. reporters on a fourth one were -- reporters on air force one were told this afternoon that, at this point, the u.s. is still try to figure out what group was behind the attacks in paris. >> i'd say he is a great journalist because no one can

ever figure out if he has an opinion on a story. >> the reason he thinks it's so important to be neutral is it doesn't matter who is in office, who is in power. whatever is going on in washington is a story that needs to be told. >> he is always in the hunt for the story. that's the mark of an old-school news guy. >> this will be the smallest debate yet. only for republicans on stage. >> megan kelly -- >> i distantly remember the last -- i distinctly remember the last night he was able to be with us, the 2016 campaign race. it was the night of the indiana primary. not long after that, his was was gone and never came back. >> he saw everybody. he went to johns hopkins. he went to mayo. nobody could put a finger on why it was that he could not speak. until he finally got someone who gave him the diagnosis of the

dystonia, where something firing in his brain that would tell his mouth to move and speak, something is not making the right connection with him. so he can't make words the way we all make words. and it has been just devastating. >> i was thinking about jamie. and i was thinking about how there must be a way to create a customized voice. >> there are a bunch of companies out there who do voices. >> mike lupo over at corporate found this little company in scotland. they create voices. we sent 250-300 samples of what jamie sounded like when he was creating a report. from that, they were able to re-create his voice. >> jamie dupree 2.0, the u.s.

supreme court has decided on gerrymandering, the rulings in apparent cases, one from wisconsin and one for maryland. the president said he would issue immigration changes next week in an executive order by left many details unclear on what exactly the white house would do. >> mr. speaker, jamie dupree is an example for every american who has been afflicted with the disease, tenacious, intelligent, determined, he is a credit to his us the and and essential profession, the media, and to his organization, the cops media group. way to go, jamie dupree. we are all with you, buddy. >> i now invite jamie dupree to join me on stage to accept the 2018 career achievement award for distinguished reporting on congress. and with him is our friend danna bash.

all right. [applause][applause] i am so honored that jamie asked me dana: i am so honored that jamie asked me to deliver his remarks for him. first, i want to thank the congresswoman. your speech on the floor of the house saved my job and my career.

i want to think the board for this honor. i want to think the hard-working staffers past and present in the house and senate radio television galleries. their help has been invaluable over 30 years. [applause] dana: i also want to thank my wife emily, who is here, for all of her support. [applause] dana: we gather tonight during an intense time for the news media, amid cries of fake news and more. my advice is simple -- ignore that talk. work harder. do your job even better. [applause] -- smother viewers

with specifics, overwhelm your viewers with facts, drench your readers with detail. my favorite journalists were old-school. bob schieffer and phil jones at cbs. frank reynolds at abc. john chancellor at nbc. in my over 30 years of covering congress, i have tried to emulate their evenhanded approach to news in capitol hill. i have been lucky feud -- lucky. two of my local lawmakers became speaker of the house, newt gingrich and john boehner. most of the members i covered did their jobs with little fanfare. many were generally nice people, some were forgettable. [laughter] dana: wait for it. then, a handful of my local lawmakers ended up in prison. [laughter] dana: what i tried to do on capitol hill was bring a fact approach and view the actions of congress through a longer lens of history instead of a knee-jerk atmosphere of partisan battling. unfortunately, my voice disappeared over two years ago and my doctors still have no

answer on how to fix it. i will still walk the halls, interview lawmakers as best i can, and report the news from capitol hill, going on the radio with my computer-generated jamie dupree 2.0 voice. i want to turn it over to jamie who will try to say a few words. as i do, i want to say that all of us who have worked with you for decades, and i can speak for myself and a lot of our colleagues here learned from you the ropes on what it is like to be a really hard-working, shoe leather reporter, just the facts, working to understand the inner workings of congress and how a bill gets passed. you taught that to me and so many people. we are also grateful. you will never lose the voice that is inside and i want to invite you up. [applause]

jamie: um, good, but that's all. i will say i will never, ever give up. [applause] jamie: and i hope that one day my old voice is back, and i say thank you very much. [applause]

enrique: another big round of applause for jamie, everyone. [applause] enrique: congratulations to all of our award winners tonight. what an inspiring story, jamie. thank you so much. truly amazing. our keynote speaker tonight is from the great state of arizona. republican senator jeff flake. senator flake is a fifth-generation arizonian and was selected to the senate in 2012 after serving 12 years in the u.s. house of representative, representing arizona's east valley.

as a member of the united states senate, senator flake serves on the energy and natural resources, for in relations, and judiciary committees. he is also the author of a rejection of destructive politics and a return to principle. please join me in welcoming arizona senator jeff flake. [applause] sen. flake: congratulations to all of the award winners tonight. i so much appreciate the invitation to speak tonight. if i'm a bit winded, it is because i have been taking the stairs all day. i have developed an aversion to elevators. [laughter] sen. flake: i saw suzanne in the scene in camera next to an elevator in the russell building this morning and i got nervous.

this morning, chris coons even suggested there surely has to be room for a television show that goes along the line of jerry seinfeld's comedians in cars getting coffee. a decaffeinated version like senators in elevators with advocates. wait for that one. there is an old joke that says when you are serving in the house of representatives, you run towards the press at every opportunity. when you are in the senate, you run away from the press as fast as you can. my experience has been that is not a joke, that is an axiom. let me get serious for a couple of minutes here. i'd like to say a few words tonight about the search for truth. which is what all of you here tonight are all about. it's what defines your profession. near the beginning of the

document that made us free, our declaration of independence, thomas jefferson wrote "we hold these truths to be self-evident." from our very beginnings, our freedom has been predicated on truth. the founders were visionary in this regard. understanding well that good faith and shared facts between the governed and the government would be the very basis of this ongoing idea of america. without truth and a principled fidelity to truth and shared facts, our democracy will not last. over the past few years, we have seen the truth objective, empirical, evidence-based truth more battered and abused in any time in our history. the term alternative facts has been enshrined in the american lexicon. we have seen an unrelenting daily assault on the constitutionally protected free press. an assault that is as

unprecedented as it is unwarranted. i would say that the truth has well been accosted -- [laughter] sen. flake: but my kids would call that a dad joke. it seems some of you agree with my kids. it is said if you serve long enough in washington, you will see just about everything. my 18 years in this town has not been that long, especially compared to politicians like orrin hatch, whose retirement party i left early to be here tonight. i can tell you that i thought i'd have to serve a lot longer than orrin hatch and still never hear the president of the united states refer to our free press as the enemy of the people. a phrase that has such an ignoble pedigree. as those in this room know well,

the president has it completely backwards. [applause] sen. flake: despotism is the enemy of the people. the free press is the t's enemy,s -- despo which makes the free press the guardian of democracy. [applause] sen. flake: the careless use of the term fake news is not just injurious to the body politic, it puts journalists in real danger. those of us who travel overseas, especially to war zones and other troubled areas around the globe, frequently encounter members of the u.s. based media who risk their lives, some lose their lives, reporting on the truth. to dismiss their work as fake news is an affront to their commitment and their sacrifice. [applause]

sen. flake: but it is more than that. it also lends language to dictators. language used to stifle legitimate dissent and to crack down on journalists in their own countries. the values of a free expression and reverence for the free press have been our global hallmark. it is our ability to freely air the truth that keeps our government honest and it keeps the people free. between the mighty and the modest, truth is the great leveler. that's why respect for freedom of the press has always been and must always be one of this country's most important exports. in our country, from the trivial to the truly dangerous, it is the range and regularity of the untruths we now see that should -- be cause for

profound alarm. as george orwell warned, the further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. america, we do not pay homage to the powerful. we question the powerful most ardently. to do so is our birthright and a requirement of our citizenship. and so, we know well that no matter how powerful, no person, not even the president, will ever have dominion over objective reality. [applause] sen. flake: of course, the major difference between politicians and the free press is the press usually corrects itself when it makes a mistake. we politicians usually don't. any of us who have spent time in public life have endured news coverage that we felt was jaded

or unfair. in our positions, to employ even to use laws or regulations to stifle criticism, or to take away credentials is corrosive to our democratic institutions. simply put, it is the press's obligations to uncover the truth about power. it is the people's right to criticize their government. it is our job as politicians to take it. [applause] sen. flake: the question of why the truth is now under such a -- such assault may be well for historians to determine. for those who cherish american constitutional democracy, what matters is the effect on america enter people, and her standing in an increasingly unstable world that is made more unstable by this parsing of truth.

what matters is the daily disassembling of our democratic institutions. if we compromise the truth for the sake of our politics, we are lost. that is why the work that you do in this room has never been more important than it is today. now, if i can address those beyond this room for a moment. to my colleagues whom you will be covering in the next congress, i'm sure they are watching on c-span. as historian john meacham in his book the soul of america reassures, history shows that we are frequently vulnerable to fear, bitterness and strife. the good news, he says, is that we have come through such darkness before. perhaps, but not with twitter and nuclear weapons. and certainly with such an anomalous president as this one.

but i take his point and i am heartened by it. we will get through this, but at the moment, we are in it and we must face it squarely, because far too much is at stake for us to turn away. a culminating event such as the election as our president scrambles binary notions of politics and we are all disoriented. we find many of the day's biggest issues do not break down neatly to familiar ideas of left versus right, but rather more along these lines. do you believe in democracy or not? are you faithful to your country or to your party? are you loyal to the law and the constitution or a man? do you reflexively ascribe the worst motives to your opponents,

but somehow denied, excuse, or endorse every repulsive thing your compatriot says, does or tweets? those questions have sent some of us wandering into the political wilderness. fortunately, i am no stranger to the wilderness. now, in fact, during one congressional recess, i spent a week alone voluntarily marooned on a tiny island, a remote spit of sand in the central pacific about 7000 miles from washington. i'm not joking. determined to test my survival skills, i brought no food or water, relying only on what i could catch or collect. that, it turned out, was the easier part. more difficult was dealing with the stultifying loneliness that set in on the first night and never left me. by day three for companionship, i began to mark the hermit crab

that wandered through my camp endlessly. i marked them with a number to see if it would recur. by the end of the week, i had 126 numbered friends. i still miss number 72. i was not so fond of number 12 , who pinched my big toe. i would not recommend such drastic measures for my colleagues to measure their independence, but i hope if they were asked to go along with policies that they cannot abide or condone behavior that simply should not be condoned, that eschew theissue -- comfort and security of the tribe and set out into the wilderness rather than compromise their conscience. [applause] sen. flake: i would urge them to challenge partisan assumptions regularly. recognize the good in their

political opponents. apologize every now and then. admit to mistakes. forgive and ask forgiveness. listen more. speak up more. partisan politics sometimes keeps us quiet when we should speak out. a prominent strain of my political party has traditionally claimed an instinctive mistrust of concentrated power. when the white house has from time to time been occupied by the other party, these stalwarts of small government and constitutional principles have been eagle eyed and in the full throat, rushing to your cameras to defend against grave threats to the institutions of american liberty posed by the democrats. where are these guardians of liberty, one could fairly ask. when the objective reality itself is commandeered by a

president of their own party, crickets, as the kids sometimes say. i would tell my colleagues, if you find yourself in a herd, crane your neck. look back, check out your brand. see if it really suits you. from personal experience, i can say it is never too late to leave the herd. when you peel off from the herd, your equilibrium returns. food taste better. you sleep well. your mind is your own again. you cease being captive to bad impulses and even worse ideas. it can strain relationships, to be sure. you can find yourself eating alone in the senate dining room every now and then, but that's ok. to revise and extend a remark the president himself might recognize, i like people whose minds weren't captured. how i miss john mccain.

[applause] sen. flake: now, if you'll indulge me for just a minute while i talk about my beloved state of arizona. nearly a century ago, a century and a half ago, brigham young sent my great great grandfather william jordan flake from utah to settle in northern arizona. he started a community and after the arrival of a man named araspas snow, the town was named snowflake for the two of them. it was in this small community that i was raised, on a ranch with 10 brothers and sisters, and 69 first cousins on my father's side alone. if you are wondering how a flake can get elected, now you know. i just wish i had more cousins in new hampshire.

[laughter] sen. flake: back in those early days, snowflake was still very much a part of the wild west. a few years after its founding, william jordan's son, james madison flake, my great-grandfather, was deputized along with his brother charles to arrest an outlaw. they did so, but not before the outlaw killed charles and wounded my great-grandfather, james madison. james madison flake pitched in to help raise his brother's four children. within three years, he lost his own wife to illness, leaving him to raise his nine kids alone. he wrote in his journal, "once andn, i must kiss the sod

face a cloudy future." the phrase sticks with me whenever i have my elevator moments, or whenever manu raju gems behind the trolley to pepper me with questions. [applause] sen. flake: you know it is true, manu. i guess i have that still pretty good. in the ensuing years, james madison flake went on to honor his wife's memory by crisscrossing the state of arizona. and as far away as colorado to promote women's suffrage. i have to think that this week, more than a century later, james madison flake would be as proud as his great-grandson that arizona has elected its first female senator. [applause] sen. flake: let me close by thanking all of you for the important work you do.

for the past 18 years, i have run towards you. i have run away from you. and i have enjoyed, well, almost every minute of it. the work you do here is more important than ever, and you do it well. please keep doing it. lastly, and most sincerely, go get 'em, acosta. [applause] sen. flake: do not back down. thank you for having me here tonight. [applause] enrique: thank you, senator. senator flake is one cool dude. i had no idea he was on

"survivor." to close out this dinner, please join me in welcoming abc news digital journalist and the next chair of next year's rtca dinner. [applause] >> thank you to everyone for coming out tonight. thank you to senator jeff flake for your eloquent remarks as keynote speaker and being such a fierce defendant of the first amendment. thank you to henrique for keeping us entertained, as well as our guest mc. we would like to give thanks to the generous support of our dinner sponsors. iheartmedia and c-span. finally, i want to especially thank the executive committee members for their service on the board during a very busy year on capitol hill. to olga and mike, and their hard-working senate and house gallery staff. to craig caplan for organizing tonight's tremendous dinner. please join me in applauding their efforts. [applause]

>> now please join us for a great after-party hosted right here behind me with iheartmedia with our entertainment tonight. we look forward to seeing you next year. this dinner is adjourned. good night. [applause] a democraticers, congressman from oregon, currently ranking member of the transportation and infrastructure committee, talks about the possibility of a bipartisan introduction bill coming out of congress. house.s at the white the president did not seem to be on board with his own advisors. and aressed an interest recognition that we need real federal investment and new

partnership with states in rebuilding america's infrastructure. just before the election, just before we left washington, the head of what has congressional affairs came to visit me. i did not even know they had a congressional affairs office, but maybe they have their finger in the wind. she and i talked about areas where i could agree in potentially work with the president. two things, infrastructure and trade. she said there is a recognition on the part of the president, and there goes that your piece again. that we need to rebuild our infrastructure and make real federal investment. i think it is doable. a few colleagues have said to me, you want to help from. trump, this is not about this is about the united states of america in the fact we of been ignoring these needs for a long time.