National Press Club

09/10/2026

The National Press Club Journalism Institute is proud to announce that Rebecca Ellis of the Los Angeles Times will receive the 2026 Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism.

Ellis's reporting uncovered evidence that people may have been recruited — and in some cases coached — to file sexual-abuse lawsuits they said were false, raising serious questions about the vetting of claims underlying the largest sex-abuse settlement in U.S. history. Her investigation prompted a criminal fraud investigation, a State Bar probe, new vetting processes for thousands of cases, and legislation to penalize unethical lawyers. It is exactly the kind of ambitious, deeply reported journalism the Sheehan Award was created to recognize.

Ellis will receive the award at our Fourth Estate Award Gala on November 12 in Washington, D.C. — alongside the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards.

Read more about Rebecca's reporting and event information at the link below.

https://www.press.org/newsroom/rebecca-ellis-los-angeles-times-honored

08/31/2026

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 31, 2026 – National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. issued the following statement today:

The National Press Club condemns the Treasury Department’s decision to bar journalists from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News from covering the G20 finance ministers meeting in North Carolina.

Americans do not need a press corps chosen by the government. They need a free and independent press capable of holding the government accountable.

We call on the Treasury Department to immediately reverse these decisions, credential the affected journalists and explain publicly how and why they were excluded.

No administration should be allowed to handpick the press corps that scrutinizes it. The public’s right to know must come before any administration’s desire to control who gets to ask the questions.

This is not happening in isolation. We have seen a disturbing pattern of government officials restricting, reshaping or selectively controlling press access to the White House, the Pentagon and now a major international gathering. Each new restriction makes it easier for the next one to become routine.

When government officials decide which journalists may enter the room, they begin to control which questions get asked, whose scrutiny they face and what the public gets to see and hear.

That should alarm every American, regardless of politics. A free press exists so the public can know what its government is doing, question those who wield its power and hold them accountable.

08/26/2026

Tonight's the night! Our 53rd annual National Press Club Journalism Awards are happening tonight in the historic National Press Club ballroom. Don't worry if you aren't able to make it - you can livestream it on our YouTube channel:

08/21/2026

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 21, 2026 – National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. released the following statement today:

“The firing of Erik Slavin, editor of Stars and Stripes, is another brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate coverage of the military and should be immediately reversed.

Firing a newspaper editor after he publicly defended his newsroom’s editorial independence is deeply troubling, and it should concern every journalist and every member of the U.S. military who depends on independent reporting.

This is an assault on the fundamental principle that journalists must be free to report the news without fear of retaliation from the government officials they cover. The Pentagon must reaffirm that principle and make clear that Stars and Stripes journalists will not be punished for doing their jobs.

Today’s action comes on the heels of Stars and Stripes’ publisher Max Lederer’s resignation announcement, in which he asserted his values and understanding of the mission of the outlet “differ in fundamental ways from the direction of the leadership of the Department of Defense.” The Defense Department also sent him a separation notice today.

This disturbing pattern follows the firing in April of the global news organization’s ombudsman, a role established and charged by Congress to provide independent oversight and protect the paper’s editorial integrity, and a March memo that asserted content restrictions and expanded Pentagon oversight of the newsroom.

For more than 150 years, Stars and Stripes has served a unique and vital role: delivering independent, fact-based reporting to U.S. service members, many serving our country far from their homes and in harm’s way.

In firing the editor of Stars and Stripes, Pentagon leadership is making clear their view that the newsroom should exist not as an independent outlet whose reporting serves to benefit U.S. troops, but as a mouthpiece to parrot Pentagon talking points.

Our service members deserve news and information they can trust, not narratives that are shaped solely by their own employer. Our military — and the public — deserve better.”

08/14/2026

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 14, 2026 – National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. released the following statement today:

“Today we mark 14 years since Austin Tice — a Georgetown University alumnus, award-winning freelance journalist, and U.S. Marine Corps veteran — was detained at a checkpoint near Damascus, Syria, on August 14, 2012. He remains today the longest detained American journalist overseas.

Austin is not forgotten. We urge President Trump to make freeing Austin a top priority. The Trump administration’s efforts to release American hostages held abroad will not be complete until Austin is safely returned to his family.

Since Austin’s detention, Democratic and Republican administrations have worked hard to secure the release of American journalists unjustly detained. In the past few years alone, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmacheva, Shelly Kittleson, and others have come home thanks to the sustained efforts of press freedom advocates including the National Press Club, families, passionate citizens, and U.S. State Department officials.

Securing the safe release of American journalists is bipartisan and demonstrates to American journalists that they have the backing of their country when they are targeted, kidnapped, or imprisoned for doing their jobs.

And yet, Austin is still missing. His family and friends have lived in uncertainty each day of the past 14 years and deserve to know that the U.S. government remains dedicated to his freedom. It must do everything in its power to bring him home.”

08/13/2026

Judges for the Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling have named two journalists at The Pudding as the 2026 recipients of the National Press Club Journalism Institute prize.

The award recognizes work that pushes the boundaries of compelling and creative storytelling through deliberate design choices. They will also be recognized during the National Press Club’s Journalism Awards Dinner on Aug. 26.

The winning project, “Sizing Chaos,” was reported and produced by Amanda Sakuma and Jan Diehm. Judges commended the team for its powerful ex*****on, creativity in presenting in-depth data, the user experience, and strong research. Judges also complimented the project as a practical deep dive into a topic that’s often talked about informally but not well covered by fact-based journalism.

“Women’s clothing sizes reflect an opaque and ever-changing system that routinely keeps consumers in the dark around what we're actually buying,” said Sakuma. “Our goal was to use hard data to validate a lived experience that so many of us have shared since we were teens, and to deepen our collective understanding of all the ways that modern clothing is not made to fit most of us.”

To read more about the winners and our runner-ups, click below:

Judges for the Pamela Tobey Award for Excellence in Visual Storytelling have named two journalists at The Pudding as the 2026 recipients of the National Press Club Journalism Institute prize. The award, which includes a $1,000 cash prize, recognizes work that pushes the boundaries of compelling and....

07/28/2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. released the following statement today:

The National Press Club once again joins journalists across Latin America and press freedom organizations around the world in standing in solidarity with Gustavo Gorriti, a Peruvian investigative journalist who is being threatened with prosecution for exposing corruption in his country.

As newly elected Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori prepares to take her oath of office on Tuesday, she has an opportunity to send an immediate signal of support for press freedom.

As she begins her presidency, we will see what kind of administration she intends to lead.

Will it be an administration committed to the rule of law and legal principles enshrined in Peru’s Constitution and the American Convention on Human Rights, which Peru ratified in 1978?

Or will it be one that tolerates the kind of corporate cronyism that Gorriti’s investigations revealed?

A Peruvian congressional commission has recommended that charges be filed against Gorriti and the government lawyers who followed up on the leads he uncovered to prosecute corrupt Peruvian politicians. As we have said before, this is a clear attempt to muzzle a globally respected journalist who has devoted his career to keeping the powerful honest.

The Press Club urges members of the U.S. delegation to the Fujimori inaugural, led by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, to encourage Peru to re-affirm its commitment to press freedom, accountability and a determination to combat corruption at all levels of the public and private sectors.

07/23/2026

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 23 — National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. released the following statement:

“The Justice Department’s decision to withdraw subpoenas targeting journalists at The New York Times is a welcome and necessary step to protect the public’s constitutional right to an independent press.

These subpoenas should never have been issued in the first place. Compelling journalists to reveal confidential sources sends a chilling message to those who seek to inform the public and threatens the very foundation of press freedom.

Every American should understand what is at stake when the government turns its investigative powers on journalists. It is not routine. It is an extraordinary intrusion that strikes at the heart of the First Amendment and your right to information about your government.

The greatest danger was not the subpoenas themselves, but the message they sent: That sources could be exposed, that whistleblowers should remain silent, and that the American people might know less about the actions of their own government.

A strong democracy depends on a press that can report freely, hold power to account, and inform the public without intimidation.

We urge continued vigilance to ensure that journalists can do their jobs without interference and that protections for source confidentiality are upheld consistently.”

07/17/2026

WASHINGTON, July 17 – The National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. today issued the following statement on new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rules put in place that would limit the ability of foreign correspondents to live, work, and report in the United States:

“Allowing foreign correspondents to work and report independently in the United States has long been a part of our country’s tradition of a free press. By implementing new and restrictive visa rules affecting international journalists, the U.S. further harms its reputation as a global leader for press freedom and a haven for journalists under threat.

We call on DHS to rescind these anti-press rules. While they’re in place, the agency must not use these restrictions as a pretext for retaliation against foreign journalists critical of U.S. policy or policymakers.

Foreign correspondents offer a vital window into the workings of U.S. democracy for international audiences, many of whom are deeply affected by U.S. policies. Limiting foreign journalists to 240-day stays – 90 days for Chinese nationals – places an undue burden on their ability to do their jobs. It also contributes to an environment of fear and uncertainty in which journalists might avoid criticising the U.S. government in order to protect their visas.

Further, these rules are likely to put Americans at risk by inviting reciprocal retaliation against American journalists reporting from abroad, making their work to inform the American public harder and less safe. Already, American foreign correspondents face regular denials of their visas in countries such as China that are hostile to independent reporting.

A free press does not stop at America’s borders. All journalists, regardless of nationality or country of origin, have the right to report freely while in the United States."

07/15/2026

WASHINGTON, July 15, 2026 — Former Voice of America White House Bureau Chief Steven Herman and nationally syndicated radio host William Bernardoni will lead a discussion on the First Amendment with Eric Hageman, Laura Handman and Toni Locy at a National Press Club Headliners Cocktails & Conversation on Tuesday, July 21 at 6 p.m.

As the United States marks its 250th anniversary this year, Bernardoni and Herman, who is now executive director of the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation at the University of Mississippi, created the radio show, “America at 250: Due Diligence,” to take a clear-eyed look at where the country stands and where it’s headed. The show examines what government owes its citizens and how the Constitution's promise has been kept, broken, or rewritten since America’s founding.

The pair will explore current challenges to the First Amendment with journalism and legal experts during Tuesday evening's discussion — a discussion that will be featured in an episode of the radio program.

Before the discussion begins, Catherine Herridge will make remarks about her ongoing legal battle. In February 2024, a U.S. federal court held Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to disclose her confidential sources behind a series of 2017 national security reports for Fox News. Later this summer, Herridge and her legal team will ask the Supreme Court to consider her First Amendment case, which carries significant implications for journalists nationwide. On July 2, the Court denied Herridge’s request to halt $800-a-day in court fines.

The panel discussion following her remarks will feature:

-Eric Hageman, a partner at Clare Locke LLP, manages public-facing crises and represents individuals, corporations, and nonprofit and religious institutions in defamation litigation.

-Laura Handman, a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, represents U.S. and foreign publishers across digital, print and broadcast, both for-profit and nonprofit.

-Toni Locy, a reporter for 25 years at some of the nation’s largest news organizations, has covered federal, state and local law enforcement, the federal trial and appellate courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Locy was held in contempt by a federal judge in 2008 for refusing to reveal confidential sources behind her USA Today stories on the FBI’s flawed investigation into the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks.

To submit questions for the speakers in advance, put “USA250” in the subject line and email to [email protected].

Get your tickets now ⬇️

Former Voice of America White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman and nationally syndicated radio host Bill Bernardoni will lead a discussion on the First Amendment with Eric Hageman, Laura Handman and Toni Locy at a National Press Club Headliners Cocktails & Conversation at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 21. The...