Wolf Blitzer, the longtime CNN journalist and anchor of “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” will accept the 41st Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, Arizona State University announced today.
Blitzer will receive the award at a ceremony on Feb. 4, at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. Registration is now open for the Cronkite Award Luncheon.
The Cronkite Award — named after the late CBS News anchor — has honored prominent journalists and media executives since 1984. The award recognizes the recipients’ accomplishments and leadership over the course of their careers.
“As someone who grew up watching Walter Cronkite every night with my parents, I am honored to receive this award in his name. Cronkite led me to my career in journalism. He set an incredible example for all of us who report the news that continues to inspire young journalists today,” Blitzer said. “Thank you to Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication for this honor. My mom and dad would have been so proud to see this moment.”
Blitzer has anchored “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer” for 19 years. He has built a prolific career as one of the most accomplished and well-known journalists in the country, interviewing several United States presidents and world leaders, moderating numerous U.S. presidential debates and town halls, leading CNN’s election night coverage, and reporting on high-profile events and conflicts around the globe.
Blitzer has written two books: “Between Washington and Jerusalem: A Reporter’s Notebook” and “Territory of Lies: The Rise, Fall, and Betrayal of Jonathan Jay Pollard.”
“Wolf Blitzer’s career is illustrative of the kind of journalism we need today. It is marked by integrity, excellence and a fierce commitment to serving audiences around the world,” said Cronkite School Dean Battinto L. Batts, Jr. “I look forward to honoring him and introducing him to our inspiring students.”
Blitzer began his career in 1972 with the Reuters News Agency in Tel Aviv, Israel. He then moved to Washington, D.C., to become a correspondent for The Jerusalem Post, where he worked for 15 years.
He joined CNN in 1990 as the network’s military-affairs correspondent at the Pentagon.
Blitzer graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo and earned a master of arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C.
He has also received honorary degrees from numerous major universities throughout the country.
Blitzer’s work has earned many high-profile honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards; American News Women’s Club Excellence in Journalism Award; Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism by the National Press Foundation; the Urbino Press Award from the Italian Embassy for his excellence in journalism; the distinguished Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award from The Radio & Television Digital News Foundation; and The Panetta Institute for Public Policy’s Jefferson-Lincoln Award; the George Foster Peabody Award; Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award; Edward R. Murrow Award; and multiple Emmy Awards.