Toner Awrds 2017 Governor John Kasich Keynote Speaker

Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks at Syracuse University's Toner Prize ceremony for excellence in political reporting on Monday, March 27, 2017, in Washington, D.C.

(Stephen Sartori)

WASHINGTON -- Ohio Gov. John Kasich told a crowd of journalists at a Syracuse University event here Monday night that they should never stop pursuing the truth in an era dominated by corrosive politics and attacks on the media.

Kasich, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, said he's optimistic Americans will make it through hyperpartisan times, and that reporters will play a role in helping promote civil discourse.

The governor said he has faith in the role of a free press, even as President Donald Trump accuses some in the media of providing "fake news."

"I so respect journalism and journalists and what you do to deliver the truth," Kasich said. "I don't care who attacks you, or who criticizes you, you do your job and you will be surprised and shocked by how many people will man the barricades to protect what you do."

John Kasich, who battled Donald Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, speaks Monday, March 27, 2017 at a Syracuse University dinner in Washington, D.C.

Kasich received applause from a crowd of almost 300 people at a dinner to honor the winner of the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, a journalism award sponsored by SU's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

The two-term governor was the last candidate to drop out of the Republican presidential primary campaign after it became clear Trump had clinched the GOP nomination.

Kasich told the journalists that he believes Congress and Americans in general will return to an era when people could put their political beliefs aside and work together on common problems like poverty and hunger.

"I just have a sense deep in my soul that we'll get through this time, but it's going to take all of us," Kasich said. "Not just one or two, and not just people at the top, but most important -- where we live in our neighborhoods with our family and our friends."

Kasich was the latest prominent political figure to give the keynote address at the Toner Prize ceremony. Barack Obama delivered last year's address, Hillary Clinton spoke in 2015 and Joe Biden spoke in 2014.

The $5,000 prize honors the life and work of Robin Toner, a 1976 SU graduate who became the first woman to serve as national political correspondent for The New York Times.

David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post was honored at the dinner as the winner of this year's prize, given for his coverage of the 2016 presidential election.

In a series of stories, Fahrenthold revealed Trump's unfilled promises to donate to charity, and reported that the Donald J. Trump Foundation had been used to pay off some of Trump's business debts.

Three reporters from The New York Times -- David E. Sanger, Scott Shane and Eric Lipton -- received honorable mention for a story on Russian cyberattacks in the 2016 presidential election.

New York Times national reporter Yamiche Alcindor was also honored in a tribute to Gwen Ifill, the late "PBS NewsHour" anchor and a long-time friend of Toner's.

After Toner died of cancer in 2008, her friends and classmates from SU established the Robin Toner Program in Political Reporting at SU's Newhouse School.

SU Chancellor Kent Syverud introduced Kasich, and was among several top administrators from the school to attend Monday's event.

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