[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 22]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 30723-30724]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF JAMES KLURFELD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 8, 2007

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to James 
Klurfeld, vice president and editorial page editor of Newsday, who last 
week retired after nearly 40 years of outstanding and tireless work at 
the paper.
  James Klurfeld was born in 1945 in New York City and is a 1963 
graduate of Syosset High School. His illustrious career at Newsday 
began in 1968, just one year after he graduated from Syracuse 
University.
  Klurfeld's first job at Newsday was as a local reporter, where he 
covered various news stories on Long Island. But he quickly rose 
through the ranks at the paper, where his extraordinary reporting 
propelled him into several key positions. He led Newsday's Albany 
bureau, and he served as the newspaper's Washington bureau chief 
between 1980 and 1986. After his exceptional leadership during these 
stints, Klurfeld was appointed editor of the editorial pages in 
December 1987.
  James Klurfeld's constant pursuit of journalistic excellence has 
earned him numerous honors and recognitions. He was a member of the 
Newsday investigative team that won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Public 
Service, as well as the New York State Publisher's Association and 
Deadline Club award in the same category. The awards were for a 3-year 
effort that disclosed political corruption in several townships on Long 
Island. He also won the Sigma Delta Chi National Reporting Award with 
other members of the Washington bureau in 1982, and he was the 
recipient of the 1988 American Society of Newspaper Editors 
Distinguished Writing Award for editorials on the Iran-Contra hearings. 
In addition, the staff of Newsday's editorial and viewpoints pages won 
several major awards under his leadership. These included everything 
from brilliantly written editorials to exceptionally creative cartoons.
  Over the years, Klurfeld has become incredibly knowledgeable about 
local and national issues and is an expert on foreign affairs matters, 
most notably through his extensive travels around the globe and from 
his work with the Council on Foreign Relations. To this extent, he has 
provided Newsday readers with extraordinary insights into politics, 
national security and international policy through the informative and 
lively column he has written in the paper each week.
  Klurfeld's achievements in the news business have also extended 
beyond print journalism. For the past 12 years, he has asked the tough 
questions on The Cutting Edge, a weekly television program on WLNY/TV55 
that focuses on Newsday's Sunday editorials, a show in which I have 
been honored to appear. I was also privileged to be part of some of his 
many appearances on Long Island's public broadcasting station, WLIW/
Channel 21. In addition, he has provided exceptional analysis and 
commentary on other broadcast outlets including the CW11 in New York 
City.
  James Klurfeld's exit from Newsday is the end of an era for 
journalism on Long Island, in New York City and across the Nation. We 
will miss his leadership, his quest for the truth and his shaping of 
local and national policy debates.
  But fortunately, Klurfeld will not be going far. He will remain on 
Long Island, where he will pass on the craft he has mastered to the 
next generation of journalists as the interim director of the Center 
for News Literacy at Stony Brook University's School of Journalism. He 
will also continue to write his weekly column.
  Although we are sad to see him retire as Newsday's editorial page 
editor, we are comforted to know that many students of journalism will 
learn the press trade from one of

[[Page 30724]]

the best to have ever worked in the news business.
  I know that Newsday's staff and readers will be forever grateful for 
all of James Klurfeld's exceptional and memorable contributions, which 
have made Newsday a stronger newspaper and have helped the Long Island-
New York City area become a better place to live and work.
  Madam Speaker, I ask all my colleagues in the House of 
Representatives to join me now in congratulating James Klurfeld for 
nearly 40 years of outstanding service to Newsday. I am confident that 
he will prevail in his new endeavor and continue to enjoy success for 
many more years to come.

                          ____________________