WASHINGTON, D.C. — The RTDNA Foundation and their 2026 First Amendment Awards has honored Steve Bertrand with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The foundation’s awards celebrate the efforts to promote responsible journalism and preserve the constitutionally guaranteed rights to do so. Past honorees include local reporters, network anchors, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple U.S. Senators.
Heard on Midwest radios for four decades, Bertrand retired from Nexstar Media Group-owned and former Tribune flagship WGN Radio in Chicago in November.
His tenure with the station began as an intern in the 1980s, eventually transitioning to anchoring the news in 1992. Over the years, Bertrand earned the confidence of listeners across Chicagoland, hosting various programs and anchoring news across every daypart of the station’s lineup.
“Steve may be retired, but his insights aren’t going anywhere,” WGN Radio said. That’s because he’s still a regular at the roundtable on WGN Radio’s Mincing Rascals podcast.
Bertrand was honored along with the following broadcast media figures:
JuJu Chang, ABC News
Vladimir Duthiers, CBS News
Kevin Goldberg, Freedom Forum
Jennifer Griffin, Fox News
Tom Llamas, NBC News
NPR and PBS
Bill Owens, (former) 60 Minutes
Manu Raju, CNN
Jim Rodenbush, (former) Indiana Daily Student
Vitus “V” Spehar, Under the Desk News
Asal Rezaei, CBS News Chicago (Citation of Courage Award)
