Posted October 27, 2009

Event Information

The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Oklahoma will honor Thomas L. Friedman, author and foreign affairs columnist for the New York Times for a lifetime of excellence in journalism.

The Gaylord Prize award ceremony and luncheon will be held at the Sheraton Hotel in Oklahoma City in the Century Ballroom at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 7. Cost to attend for Gaylord College faculty and staff and all OU students is free. Cost for non-Gaylord faculty and staff is $50. Prices for the public are $125 per person. Reservations are required by Dec. 1 to Kathy Adams at kadams@ou.edu or 405-325-2721.

Bus transportation will be provided free from Gaylord College to the hotel and back for anyone on the OU campus. Please let Kathy Adams know you will need transportation when you make your reservation.

2008 marked the inaugural year for the Gaylord Prize and the start of a new tradition for the Gaylord College. The Prize is funded from an endowment established by the Edward L. Gaylord family.

About Friedman

Friedman started his career as a general assignment reporter for the London Bureau of United Press International in 1988 before being assigned to Beirut as a UPI correspondent where he stayed for three years before being hired by the New York Times. At the Times he has worked as general financial reporter specializing in oil industry news, as chief of both the Beirut and Jerusalem bureaus, as Chief Diplomatic Correspondent and as Chief White House Correspondent during the Clinton administration.

In 1995, Friedman became the New York Times Foreign Affairs Columnist. His columns following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center provided citizens clarifying assessments of the events.

Friedman is the author of five books on foreign affairs and globalization including the best-selling “The World is Flat”, “From Beirut to Jerusalem” and his latest, “Hot, Flat and Crowded.” Several of his books focus on world affairs following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

He has received three Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism for his work, as well as the Overseas Press Club Award for lifetime achievement. The Wall Street Journal ranked Friedman as the second most influential business thinker in 2008 and U.S. News and World Report named him one of “America’s Best Leaders.”

In addition to his books and column, Friedman also has his own segment, “Tom’s Journal,” on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS and is also a frequent guest on such programs as Face the Nation and Charlie Rose.