Ali Velshi, host of MSNBC’s Velshi and an NBC business correspondent, is this year’s Ann M. Sperber Book Prize from Fordham University for his memoir “Small Acts of Courage: A Legacy of Endurance and the Fight for Democracy.”
Speaking before an audience that included Fordham journalism students, Velshi encouraged the next generation of journalists to find the human element, ask tough questions, and maintain their moral compass.
“I’m reminded that citizenship is not a spectator sport for any of us, journalists or not,” he said. “But especially for journalists, citizenship is not a status you hold. It’s a responsibility that you bear, and journalism, rather than being the act of documenting and bearing witness, is actually the act of standing up for democracy, of bearing truth.”
Velshi went on to say that those who criticize journalists for being in their own bubble are, for the most part, not wrong. “We often have validating conversations with ourselves instead of difficult conversations with others,” he said.
The Sperber Prize, established in 1999 with generous support from Lisette Sperber, honors the late Ann M. Sperber, author of the critically acclaimed biography “Murrow: His Life and Times.” It recognizes outstanding biographies and memoirs focused on journalism and media. Past winners include distinguished authors and journalists Robert Caro, Seymour M. Hersh, and Douglas Brinkley, among others.
