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| Veteran Washington correspondent Gwen Ifill |
From our friends at the American News Women's Club...
American News Women's Club to Honor Gwen Ifill
PBS Washington Week Anchor to Receive 2014 Excellence in Journalism Award at Annual Roast
The American News Women’s Club (ANWC) will honor Gwen Ifill with the Excellence in Journalism Award at their Annual Roast at the National Press Club on May 19, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.
Ifill, a veteran Washington correspondent, is the moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and co-anchor and managing editor for "The PBS NEWSHOUR w/ Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff." The ANWC will present her with the 2014 Excellence in Journalism Award at an event which supports the next generation of women in the news with annual scholarships awarded to outstanding journalism students at area universities.
“Gwen has been a national leader in the multifaceted field of journalism, consistently navigating complex political issues with a thoughtful, articulate voice,” said Julie Chase, 2014 ANWC Roast Chair. “We look forward to her sharing her experiences with us.”
Ifill will be roasted by her colleagues in both print and broadcast journalism including Slate Magazine Chief Political Correspondent and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson; ABC News Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Martha Raddatz; CNBC Chief Washington Correspondent and The New York Times political writer John Harwood; and former The Washington Post columnist Dorothy Gilliam.
“Gwen’s career spanning print and broadcast journalism has been an inspiration to many others who might have been tempted to believe the barriers to their success were insurmountable,” added Karen James Cody, event Co-chair. “She richly deserves the award with which we are honoring her.”
Ifill started her journalism career at the Boston Herald before moving to The Baltimore Sun. She went on to local and national political reporting for The Washington Post and became White House correspondent for The New York Times before making the jump to television in 1994 when she joined NBC News as a chief congressional and political correspondent. She went to PBS in 1999. Ifill has been a regular guest on political programs Meet the Press, as well as Washington Week, the weekly program she now hosts.
In September of 2013, Ifill and Judy Woodruff became the first female team to co-anchor a national daily news program on television, filling the chairs long associated with NewsHour founders Jim Lehrer and Robert MacNeil. Ifill moderated the first vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards in 2004 and the debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin in the 2008 campaign.
She is the author of The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, published in 2009. A native of New York, New York, Ifill is a graduate of Simmons College in Boston.
American News Women’s Club is one of the nation’s oldest press clubs. It was founded in 1932 by women reporters and writers employed by Washington’s newspapers and who could not join the National Press Club until 1971. Today membership has expanded to include broadcast and freelance journalists, editors, professional writers, illustrators and cartoonists, and new media and public relations professionals. With women still under-represented at the highest levels of news editing, producing, and management, ANWC serves its diverse membership with signature newsmaker programs, ongoing professional development, and senior level networking.
ANWC also supports the next generation of women in the news with annual scholarships awarded to outstanding journalism students. Scholarships have gone to scholars at American, Gallaudet, Howard, and George Washington universities, as well as the University of Maryland.
Each year at its annual benefit ANWC bestows the Award for Excellence in Journalism upon a journalist who has been a leader in the profession. Past honorees include Helen Thomas (1993), Catherine Filene Schouse (1994), Sarah McClendon (1995), Sam Donaldson (1996), Walter Cronkite (1997), Andrea Mitchell (1998), Larry King (1999), Jim Lehrer (2000), Al Neuharth (2001), Judy Woodruff (2002), Cokie Roberts (2003), Bob Schieffer (2004), Sally Quinn and Ben Bradlee (2005), Brian Lamb (2006), Katie Couric (2009), Eleanor Clift (2010), Diane Rehm (2011), Candy Crowley (2012), and Barbara Walters (2013).
ANWC is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, to which donations are tax deductible. For more information about membership or events please visit www.anwc.org
