Journalists Honored At Times Square New Year's Eve As The International Event Celebrated Press Freedom

Esteemed Group of Journalists Gathered On Stage to Press Button that Signaled Lowering of Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year's Eve Ball and Led to 60 Second Countdown to 2019

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Times Square New Year's Eve

Jan 01, 2019, 17:47 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 1, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night, an esteemed group of journalists, representing domestic and international media outlets, helped ring in the new year in Times Square, and were honored as the Special Guests of Times Square New Year's Eve.

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New Year’s Eve Special Guests, representing domestic and international media outlets, #CelebratePressFreedom and sing “New York, New York” just after the Ball drops at midnight; Credit: Amy Hart for the Times Square Alliance; (Left to right) Joel Simon, Executive Director of NYE Charity Honoree, Committee to Protect Journalists; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend on Fox News Channel; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Karen Toulon, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Alisyn Camerota, Co-Anchor, CNN New Day; Daniel Trotta, Correspondent, Reuters; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and “This Week” Co-Anchor, ABC News; Vladimir Duthiers, Correspondent, CBS News and Anchor, CBSN; Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Edward Felsenthal, Editor in Chief, TIME; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler in the Philippines
New Year’s Eve Special Guests, representing domestic and international media outlets, #CelebratePressFreedom and sing “New York, New York” just after the Ball drops at midnight; Credit: Amy Hart for the Times Square Alliance; (Left to right) Joel Simon, Executive Director of NYE Charity Honoree, Committee to Protect Journalists; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend on Fox News Channel; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Karen Toulon, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Alisyn Camerota, Co-Anchor, CNN New Day; Daniel Trotta, Correspondent, Reuters; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and “This Week” Co-Anchor, ABC News; Vladimir Duthiers, Correspondent, CBS News and Anchor, CBSN; Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Edward Felsenthal, Editor in Chief, TIME; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler in the Philippines
New Year’s Eve Special Guests, representing domestic and international media outlets, #CelebratePressFreedom and sing “New York, New York” just after the Ball drops at midnight; Credit: Ian Hardy for Countdown Entertainment; (Left to Right) Joel Simon, Executive Director of NYE Charity Honoree, Committee to Protect Journalists; Karen Toulon, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend on Fox News Channel; Alisyn Camerota, Co-Anchor, CNN New Day; First Lady Chirlane McCray; Mayor Bill de Blasio; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and “This Week” Co-Anchor, ABC News; Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Vladimir Duthiers, Correspondent, CBS News and Anchor, CBSN; Edward Felsenthal, Editor in Chief, TIME; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler in the Philippines; Daniel Trotta, Correspondent, Reuters
New Year’s Eve Special Guests, representing domestic and international media outlets, #CelebratePressFreedom and sing “New York, New York” just after the Ball drops at midnight; Credit: Ian Hardy for Countdown Entertainment; (Left to Right) Joel Simon, Executive Director of NYE Charity Honoree, Committee to Protect Journalists; Karen Toulon, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend on Fox News Channel; Alisyn Camerota, Co-Anchor, CNN New Day; First Lady Chirlane McCray; Mayor Bill de Blasio; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and “This Week” Co-Anchor, ABC News; Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Vladimir Duthiers, Correspondent, CBS News and Anchor, CBSN; Edward Felsenthal, Editor in Chief, TIME; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler in the Philippines; Daniel Trotta, Correspondent, Reuters
New Year’s Eve Special Guests, representing domestic and international media outlets, #CelebratePressFreedom and sing “New York, New York” just after the Ball drops at midnight; Credit: Amy Hart for the Times Square Alliance; (Left to right) Joel Simon, Executive Director of NYE Charity Honoree, Committee to Protect Journalists; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend on Fox News Channel; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Karen Toulon, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Alisyn Camerota, Co-Anchor, CNN New Day; Daniel Trotta, Correspondent, Reuters; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and “This Week” Co-Anchor, ABC News; Vladimir Duthiers, Correspondent, CBS News and Anchor, CBSN; Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Edward Felsenthal, Editor in Chief, TIME; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler in the Philippines
New Year’s Eve Special Guests, representing domestic and international media outlets, #CelebratePressFreedom and sing “New York, New York” just after the Ball drops at midnight; Credit: Amy Hart for the Times Square Alliance; (Left to right) Joel Simon, Executive Director of NYE Charity Honoree, Committee to Protect Journalists; Matt Murray, Editor-in-Chief, The Wall Street Journal; Jon Scott, Anchor, Fox Report Weekend on Fox News Channel; Rebecca Blumenstein, Deputy Managing Editor, The New York Times; Karen Toulon, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Alisyn Camerota, Co-Anchor, CNN New Day; Daniel Trotta, Correspondent, Reuters; Lester Holt, Anchor, NBC Nightly News and Dateline NBC; Martha Raddatz, Chief Global Affairs Correspondent and “This Week” Co-Anchor, ABC News; Vladimir Duthiers, Correspondent, CBS News and Anchor, CBSN; Karen Attiah, Global Opinions Editor, The Washington Post; Edward Felsenthal, Editor in Chief, TIME; Maria Ressa, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Editor, Rappler in the Philippines

As the event's official Special Guests, the group appeared on stage with the evening's Charity Honoree, the Committee to Protect Journalists, just before midnight to push the crystal button that signaled the lowering of the Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year's Eve Ball. The moment – seen by billions around the world – officially began the 60-second countdown to the New Year. The group included representatives from CNN, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, TIME, Rappler (Philippines), Bloomberg, Reuters, all accompanied by Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Official Charity Honoree of Times Square New Year's Eve, will join the group onstage.

"While 2018 was wild and — in Times Square at least — wet, celebrating press freedom with the Committee to Protect Journalists and representatives of some of the world's great media organizations was a welcome and wishful way to start the New Year," said Tim Tompkins, President of the Times Square Alliance.

"Journalists in the United States and around the world faced some serious challenges in the last year," said Joel Simon, Executive Director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "And so it was inspiring to see so many journalists welcome 2019 by standing together to support an essential principle of American democracy -- press freedom."

About Times Square New Year's Eve:
The Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment are the organizers of Times Square New Year's Eve. The Times Square Alliance works to improve and promote Times Square so that it retains the energy, edge, and distinctiveness that have made it an icon of entertainment, culture, and urban life.  Countdown Entertainment represents the owners of One Times Square and the New Year's Eve Ball.

For more information about Times Square New Year's Eve, visit www.TimesSquareNYC.org.

To join the Times Square New Year's Eve conversation on Twitter, follow #BallDrop.

Times Square Alliance:
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