The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) honored veteran British-American journalist Alistair Cooke, Bulgarian investigative reporter Anna Zarkova, and Peruvian magazine editor Enrique Zileri GibsЫn for their outstanding contributions to international journalism at ICFJ's first Excellence in International Journalism Awards Dinner on October 14 in Washington, D.C.

Jim Lehrer, host of "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," was guest speaker of the evening, which paid tribute to journalists around the world who struggle to uphold responsible, professional standards and to build a strong, independent press. (Complete text of Lehrer's speech.)

About 300 guests, including luminaries of the worlds of journalism, business and government, were present for the celebration of international journalism and ICFJ. The dinner and awards ceremony took place at the Westin Fairfax hotel after a reception at the Phillips Collection.

Cooke was the inaugural recipient of the Henry Brandon Award, which honors a journalist who has done an exemplary job of covering the United States for a foreign audience. The award commemorates Henry Brandon's distinguished coverage of the United States as chief American correspondent for the Sunday Times of London for 36 years. Sir Christopher Meyer, British ambassador to the United States, accepted the award on Cooke's behalf. Since 1946, when Cooke began his weekly commentary on American events for the BBC, the journalist and author has broadcast his Letter from America without interruption, making it the longest-running one-man series in the history of broadcasting, heard by 34 million listeners in 52 countries.

The Knight International Press Fellowship Award was presented to Zarkova and Zileri, two foreign journalists who embody the high professional standards fostered by the Knight International Press Fellowship Program.

Zarkova, an investigative reporter, heads the police and criminal news department at "Trud" daily in Sofia. Zarkova covers criminal investigations, the prosecutor's and customs offices, the courts and the Interior Ministry. In 1994 and 1995, Zarkova was named Best Reporter of Media Holding, Ltd., which publishes "Trud" and four other newspapers. She received the Honorary Medal of the National Police Syndicate in 1997. Zarkova has 13 years of journalism experience and is author of the book "The Big Murders of Bulgaria." Zarkova, who frequently has been threatened because of her work and recently suffered second- and third-degree burns when an assailant threw acid in her face, also received a Courage in Journalism Award this year from the International Women's Media Foundation.

Zileri, editor and chief executive officer of Caretas magazine in Lima, has spent most of his 40 years in journalism defending democracy and democratic principles, human rights and press freedom. Known for its fierce independence, Caretas has a history of conflicts with the Peruvian government; it was banned for most of 1975 and again during 1976. In 1975 Zileri won the Maria Moors Cabot Award from Columbia University and the Mergenthaler Award from the Inter American Press Association (IAPA). Zileri was president of the International Press Institute from 1988 to 1990. He is a member of IAPA, the Colegio de Periodistas del Peru, the Press Council of Peru and a founding member of the Latin American Journalism Center (CELAP).

ICFJ was established in 1984 to improve the quality of journalism worldwide through professional training, fellowships and exchanges. During the past 14 years, ICFJ has worked with about 8,000 journalists from more than 170 countries. ICFJ is an independent nonprofit institution based in Washington, D.C. The Knight International Press Fellowship Program, funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and administered by ICFJ, provides practical journalistic, management, business and technical assistance to developing independent media organizations. Since 1994 when the program began, 94 fellows have traveled to more than 55 countries to work with emerging independent media organizations.