Funniest DC Journalist Takes the Prize April 8

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Mar 11, 2010, 12:00 ET

Commedia del Media Tickets Now on Sale

WASHINGTON, March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Forget Pulitzer, Polk, and Peabody. This year's most highly sought media award comes with the title "DC's Funniest Journalist." Tickets go on sale today for Commedia del Media, a charitable spectacle of hilarity that will anoint the winner April 8 at the National Press Club.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO )

Veteran journalist and "Washington's Funniest Celebrity" Matt Cooper will moderate the fierce battle between Melissa Bell (Washington Post), Jamila Bey (NPR/WAMU), Lizzie O'Leary (Bloomberg TV), Rich Edson (FOX Business Network), Jamie McIntyre (Military.com), and Walter Shapiro (Politics Daily).

Survivors of the inaugural Commedia del Media, David Corn (Mother Jones), Mark Hosenball (Newsweek), and Shaun Waterman (Washington Times), will sit in snarky judgment of this year's amateurs. The show will open and close with special performances by professional comedian Doug Hecox, the "Writer of Wrongs," and renowned impressionist Sylvia Traymore Morrison, appearing as Michelle Obama.

All proceeds from Commedia del Media will benefit three great media causes: The Committee to Protect Journalists/Journalist Assistance Fund, The Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library, and Reporters Without Borders.

The CPJ Journalist Assistance Fund saves journalists who must go into hiding or exile to escape threats and helps those in need of medicine or material support in prison. National Press Club's Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library helps hone skills of current and future newsgatherers with an array of training programs and scholarships. Reporters Without Borders is the international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting journalists' rights, fighting censorship, and promoting freedom of expression.

Tickets on sale now at http://www.press.org/comedy/

Prices are $15 in advance, or $20 at the door.

COMMEDIA DEL MEDIA EVENT DETAILS

When: Thursday, April 8, 2010

Doors and Bar: 7:00

Show starts: 8:00

Where: National Press Club ballroom

529 14th Street, NW, 13th Floor

How much: $15 in advance, $20 at the door

SOURCE National Press Club