***This event is by-invitation-only. For more information, please contact the Box Office at 212-517-ASIA*** 

The Osborn Elliott Prize is the premier honor bestowed for excellence in journalism on Asia. It honors the late Osborn Elliott, legendary journalist and longtime Newsweek editor, who set new standards for reporting and editing and became one of the earliest practitioners of civic journalism. Ian Urbina, Director and Founder of The Outlaw Ocean Project, will join Asia Society for a luncheon discussion on the work of The Outlaw Ocean Project, and to receive the award as the winners of the 2024 Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia. 

The prize is awarded by an independent jury, which said in making the award: 

“The Outlaw Ocean Project’s extraordinary series of reports, in multiple formats and published in media around the world, tells a complex story of China’s domination of the global seafood industry. Through years of diligent and at times perilous high-seas reporting, the Outlaw Ocean Project team tracked more than 700 vessels as far afield as Gambia and the Galapagos, staffed by workers who were in some cases virtual hostages, sending their haul back to factories where forced labor wasn’t uncommon. Their meticulous work exposed the environmental and human costs of this vast global enterprise, tracing fish from the depths of the ocean to consumers’ plates. The project was a model of transparency, too: The reporters made their exchanges with stakeholders public; produced videos tracing seafood; and explained how they were able to find and interview workers aboard ships half a world away.” 

Speakers

Ian Urbina is the director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, a non-profit journalism organization based in Washington D.C. that produces investigative stories about human rights, environment and labor concerns on the two thirds of the planet covered by water. Before founding The Outlaw Ocean Project, Urbina spent roughly 17 years as a staff reporter for The New York Times. He has received various journalism awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, two George Polk Awards and an Emmy. Several of his investigations have also been converted into major motion pictures. 

Bobby Ghosh (moderator) is an Indian-born American journalist. He is currently a senior editor at Bloomberg, based in New York. Previously, he was a member of the editorial board at Bloomberg, writing editorials and columns on the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and the wider Islamic world. Previously, he served as editor-in-chief of the Hindustan Times until November 2017. Prior to that, he was managing editor of the business news website Quartz and TIME magazine's World Editor. He is an American national and he was the first immigrant to be named TIME World Editor in more than 80 years. He was also TIME's Baghdad bureau chief, and one of the longest-serving correspondents in Iraq. He has written stories from other conflict areas, including Palestine and Kashmir. He has also worked for Time Asia and Time Europe and has covered subjects as varied as technology and football, business and social trends. He started his career as a journalist with the Deccan Chronicle, a popular English daily, at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.

The Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia honors a legendary journalist whose inclusive public dialogue and civic engagement characterized his life’s work.

Oz Elliott’s career began with the New York Journal of Commerce and TIME magazine half a century ago. He moved to Newsweek, where he served as editor, editor-in-chief, CEO and chairman from 1961 to 1976. During his long tenure, Elliott significantly shaped a new and more populist journalism. By launching the “My Turn” feature, he opened the magazine to a broader range of public opinion, in addition to engaging such regular columnists as Paul Samuelson, Milton Friedman and Meg Greenfield. His proudest accomplishment during those years was Newsweek’s outspoken support for the emerging civil rights movement: in 1963 he devoted a special issue to African-Americans.

Civic duty and journalism were constant themes in his life. In 1975 Oz Elliott became founding chairman of the Citizens Committee for NYC. A year later he became New York’s first Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. This was followed by 15 years as dean and professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he established the Poliak Center for First Amendment Studies and the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism. In 1992 he led a march on Washington of 250,000 people protesting the federal neglect of U.S. cities.

Oz Elliott was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served on numerous boards, including Asia Society, the American Museum of Natural History, the New York Public Library and Harvard’s Board of Overseers. He was among the first to be inducted into the Magazine Editors Hall of Fame. He served on the Pulitzer Prize Board, wrote books, and received honorary degrees and many journalism awards. Through his leadership as a civic journalist and civic stalwart, he inspired and trained thousands to become active partners in shaping our society. Though Oz died in 2008, his contribution is a lasting legacy.