At last week’s annual International Press Freedom awards dinner in New York City, CBS news anchor Dan Rather announced Knight foundation’s $3.1 million grant to the Committee to Protect Journalists – the largest awarded in CPJ history. Of that sum, $600,000 is designated for general operating support, while $2.5 million will go to establish an endowment fund.

That same evening, the Committee honored Argentine journalist and press freedom advocate Horacio Verbitsky; Mazen Dana, a Reuters cameraman who covers the West Bank; Geoff Nyarota, the editor of Zimbabwe’s only independent daily newspaper; and Jiang Weipeng, who is currently jailed in China for reporting on corruption.

CPJ also presented the prestigious Burton Benjamin Memorial Award to Joseph Lelyveld, recently retired executive editor of The New York Times. The award is given for a lifetime of distinguished achievement for the cause of press freedom. His remarks about U.S. journalism’s duties in these extraordinary times are compelling, and they show the passion that helps CPJ keep its promises.