National Press Club Gala Puts Focus on Press Freedom; Historic Event Convenes Journalism Leaders

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Nov 28, 2018, 12:42 ET

WASHINGTON, Nov. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Press Club today announced several developments related to its annual Fourth Estate Award Gala scheduled for Thursday evening, Nov. 29 and honoring Executive Editors Marty Baron of The Washington Post and Dean Baquet of The New York Times.

In addition to remarks by Baron and Baquet, their publishers (Fred Ryan of The Post and A.G. Sulzberger of The Times) will each also attend and speak on behalf of their editors. It is rare that the full leadership of both papers participates in an event like this.
The Club will recognize Jamal Khashoggi with a John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award this year. Mr. Ryan will accept the award on behalf of Mr. Khashoggi's family. The Club is honoring Mr. Khashoggi at this time to help keep a light on this case as it is still developing and help ensure that it continues to move toward justice for Jamal and his family. We think this Aubuchon may be the first posthumous award to honor Mr. Khashoggi.
When The Club announced in February that it would honor Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the brave Reuters reporters then in jail in Myanmar, it was with the full expectation that they would walk into the Ballroom on Nov. 29 and receive their Aubuchon Award. Since then they have been tried and convicted and are still in prison facing a 7-year term. The Club hopes the impact of this recognition will add to the global call to release these two innocent men so they can reunite with their families and colleagues and return to work.
The Club will offer a new honor at the Gala – The Neil and Susan Sheehan Prize for Investigative Reporting. The first recipients will be Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor of the New York Times for their work related to the Harvey Weinstein story which helped ignite the #MeToo movement.
The focus on press freedom for this year's Fourth Estate Gala has attracted significant sponsorship and support. Proceeds from the Gala support the National Press Club Journalism Institute, the Club's 501-c3. The Fundraising goal for the evening of $120,000 is within reach. Those who wish to contribute may do so by texting the phrase "Stand4FreePress" to 44321.
The event will be webcast live starting at 7:30 p.m. The event is open to working press; please contact Lindsay Underwood at [email protected] to register.