Hillary Clinton will not answer questions at Monday’s award ceremony for the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. This is an appropriate way to honor the ceremony’s purpose.

While three members of The Daily Orange Editorial Board disagreed, the majority feel holding political figures accountable for their actions is necessary, but would be inappropriate at this particular event.

The Toner Prize is sponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and is meant to honor the life and work SU alumna Robin Toner. Toner, who graduated in 1976, was the first woman to be the national political correspondent of The New York Times and worked there for nearly 25 years. She died due to complications of colon cancer in 2008 at the age of 54. The Toner Prize, which was first awarded in 2010, recognizes the best political reporting of any medium.

Clinton was invited to the event to discuss Toner and political reporting, not to set the record straight about her own affairs. Clinton is currently amidst political scandal — regarding her use of a personal email address while conducting business at the State Department — and an uncertain presidential candidacy in 2016.

The awards ceremony is not a press conference. And considering the event is open to all press, it’s safe to assume the journalists at the event would be asking Clinton about her scandals, not her interactions with Toner, who covered Clinton’s career for The New York Times. If questions were permitted at the event, tomorrow’s headlines would focus on Clinton’s attempt at damage control, not the legacy of a notable journalist.

Disappointment at Clinton not taking questions is likely because of her current situation. When Vice President and SU alumnus Joe Biden gave a keynote address at last year’s ceremony, he did not take questions. However, there was little media coverage of that fact.

The Toner awards shouldn’t devolve into a media frenzy about Clinton’s scandals, and the restriction of questions prevents that. Clinton needs to answer to the press about her possible campaign in 2016 and recent controversies, but the Toner Awards are not the place. Instead, the event should celebrate Toner’s legacy and the journalists today who emulate the standards of her life’s work.

Correction: In a previous version of this editorial, the possibility to Hillary Clinton taking questions at this event was misstated. Clinton was never expected to take questions at the award ceremony. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on March 22, 2015 at 11:03 pm