New York Press Club

The New York Press Club, sometimes NYPC, is a private nonprofit membership organization which promotes journalism in the New York City metropolitan area. It is unaffiliated with any government organization and abstains from politics. While the club is headquarters in New York City, it serves as an association for journalists based in the United States.[1]

History
The club has a tradition of having annual dinners. Photo: image of a dinner invitation from 1901.

The organization in differing forms has been around since the nineteenth century.[2] In 1887, its members erected a 38-foot obelisk to mark the gravesite of a deceased reporter.[2] But during the Great Depression in the United States, the organization fell apart. A revitalized organization was founded in 1948 as the New York Newspaper Reporters Association, and its name was changed to its current one in 1972.[2]

Activities

In conjunction with its foundation, New York Press Club Foundation, the club focuses on furthering the interests of journalists and media people. It sponsors lectures and presentations relevant to journalism such as press freedom, investigative reporting, the relationship between the media and the government, the role of community newspapers, changes in media, topics in the news,[3] foreign press coverage of New York, and questions about how the press covers itself. For example, it spurred discussion on the subject of concussions in American football.[3] It sponsors debates among candidates for public office, provides support for journalists faced with media-related legal issues, and works with government agencies on issues such as issuing press credentials. For example, when New York mayor Bill De Blasio called for a closed-down session to exclude reporters, the Press Club's president Larry Seary criticized the decision, arguing for greater transparency.[4][5] It sponsors an annual Conference on Journalism which is held at New York University, and it used to publish Byline Magazine which features topics of interest to journalists.[6] When prominent newspeople die, the organization issues statements about their contributions; for example, when news reporter Gabe Pressman died in 2017, the club issued a statement that Pressman "fought ferociously for journalists' rights".[7][8]

The organization promotes the freedom of the press.[9][1] It has criticized decisions to shut down news sites.[9] When U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions vowed to review "media subpoenas" as an attempt to quell leaks in government, the club criticized the remarks as "a not-so-veiled shot across the bow at the news media" and suggested that journalists must not be intimidated by such threats.[10] When CNN journalist Jim Acosta was singled out by then president-elect Donald Trump during a press conference, in which the reporter's questions went unanswered, the club wrote a letter to Trump in Acosta's defense.[11]

The current president is Jane Tillman Irving, who took office in 2018; she is retired from WCBS NewsRadio. The foundation also offers scholarships to local journalism students.

Award programs
Nellie Bly (1864-1922) was a crusading reporter who stretched the boundaries of investigative journalism; the club names an award after her.

Awards are given in categories such as writing, editing, and video production. Its awards are often cited by publishers and newspapers and reporters.[12] They include:

  • Gold Keyboard Award[13] for excellence in investigative journalism. This award has been described as the association's most prestigious award.[14][15] Typically the organization gives out the awards at an annual dinner in June.[14]
  • The Reverend Mychal Judge Heart of New York Award for reporting about New York City.
  • The Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award, given to reporters with less than three years of experience.[16][17][18][19] This award has been given annually since 1978; past recipients include investigative journalists such as Mina Kimes and Jonathan Kanterman.[16][20][21] The award was named after crusading journalist Nellie Bly, who was employed by Joseph Pulitzer in the 1890s who, according to one account, went to great lengths to get material for her stories; for example, she got herself committed to an insane asylum for ten days in order to report on what happened within the institution.[22] H. Claire Brown is another recipient of the Nellie Bly award.[23]
  • The New York Journalism Hall of Fame Award for journalists whose careers in New York media characterized by long tenure, integrity and achievement.
  • The New York Press Club President's Award in recognition of careers which have had a salutary impact on journalism.

Past presidents
In OfficePresidentEmployer
1948William J. KeeganNew York Post
1949Anthony MarinoNew York Daily News
1950Alfred E ClarkNew York Times
1951Joseph EndlerNew York Herald Tribune
1952Rodney "Budd" StahlNew York Mirror
1953Frank EngleFairchild Publications
1954Syd LivingstonNew York Journal American
1955Raymond DoyleAmerican Weekly
1956James RitchieAssociated Press
1957Arthur RosenfeldNew York Post
1958James C O'ConnorNew York Mirror
1959Thomas D ZumboUPI
1960Edward KirkmanNew York Daily News
1961James AntoneFairchild Publications
1962Harry SingerNew York Mirror
1963Robert MindlinLong Island Press
1964Charles GrutznerNew York Times
1965Harold PhelanWorld-Telegram and Sun
1966George DourisLong Island Star-Journal
1967Gus EngelmanWABC-AM
1968-69Thomas PosterNew York Daily News
1970John San AntonioLong Island Press
1971-72John ShanahanAssociated Press
1973Pati DavisUPI
1973-74John MulliganAssociated Press
1975-76Patrick MuldowneyWABC-TV
1977Joe BraggWHN
1978-79Vincent LeeNew York Daily News
1980-81Mark LiebermanNew York Daily News
1982-83Len BuderNew York Times
1984Jerry SchmettererCNN
1985-86Marcia KramerNew York Daily News
1987Mitch LebeWYNY
1988Larry SuttonNew York Daily News
1989-90Larry CelonaNew York Daily News
1991-92Harry RyttenbergWNBC
1993-94Phil O'BrienNY 1 News
1995-96Deborah WetzelWCBS-FM
1997-2000Gabe PressmanWNBC[8]
2001-2003Carol Anne RiddellWNBC
2003–2005Rich LambWCBS Newsradio
2006–2008Stephannia CleatonStaten Island Advance
2009-2012Glenn SchuckMetro Networks
2012-2015Larry SearyWNBC
2015-2018Steve ScottWCBS Newsradio


References
  1. Michael Tutton (January 17, 2018). "Man charged after female CTV Atlantic reporter taunted sexually during live broadcast". Canadian Press / Canoe. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ... The New York Press Club, a U.S.-based association of journalists, tweeted several days after the incident that no journalist should be attacked while doing their job....
  2. David W. Dunlop, November 27, 2011, The New York Times, Known, Retrieved March 19, 2018, "...In 1887, The New York Press Club rallied its members, dug into its pockets and erected a 38-foot obelisk to set the place apart, staking out the ground with granite markers. Nearly 2,000 people attended the dedication..."
  3. ELLIOTT ALMOND, DARREN SABEDRA, MIKE LEFKOW (August 9, 2017). "'Concussion' doctor: Youth football is child abuse: Bennet Omalu, the pathologist who discovered CTE, says children under 18 shouldn't play the game". Mercury News. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...comments this week at the New York Press Club have ignited a conversation about the safety of a sport that is part of American culture...CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Rich Calder, Carl Campanile and Lorena Mongelli (October 10, 2017). "De Blasio's Statue Committee Meets Behind Closed Doors". New York Post. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...Steve Scott, president of the New York Press Club, said his group was “surprised and dismayed” the meeting was “held behind closed doors,” adding future meetings should be open to the public....
  5. Katie Honan, May 28, 2015, DNA Info, NYCLU and New York Press Club Decry De Blasio's 'Free Speech Zone' Archived 2018-03-20 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved March 19, 2018
  6. ISUUU, Byline is the annual magazine published by the New York Press Club, Retrieved March 19, 2018
  7. Staff writers (June 23, 2017). "New York Legend Gabe Pressman Dead at 93". NBC New York. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...Steve Scott, president of the New York Press Club, issued a statement calling Pressman "a tenacious seeker of truth" who fought "ferociously for journalists' rights" and tirelessly defended the First Amendment of the Constitution....
  8. Staff writers, June 27, 2017, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Gabe Pressman, pioneer of television reporting, dies at 93, Retrieved March 19, 2018, "...served as president of the New York Press Club from 1997 to 2000...."
  9. Max Greenwood (November 3, 2017). "NYC mayor tears into billionaire who shut down news sites". The Hill. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...The move to shut the sites drew criticism from journalists and press organizations, including the New York Press Club, whose president called the decision "a gut punch for journalism in New York City."...
  10. Geneva Sands and ADAM KELSEY (August 4, 2017). "Sessions vows review of 'media subpoenas' amid ramped-up leak investigations". ABC News. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...The New York Press Club called Sessions' remarks about a Justice Department crackdown on information leaks to the media "a not-so-veiled shot across the bow at the news media."... "Journalists will not be intimidated by the attorney general's threats," the press club said in a statement.
  11. Keith J. Kelly (January 13, 2017). "Jim Acosta has a friend in The New York Press Club". New York Post. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...The New York Press Club has come to the defense of Jim Acosta, CNN’s White House correspondent, who was singled out by President-elect Donald Trump during Wednesday’s press conference. Trump refused ... Acosta is a tenured, highly respected journalist....
  12. Staff (May 16, 2017). "Newsday wins 5 New York Press Club awards". Newsday. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...Newsday won five awards in the New York Press Club's Awards for Journalism contest, with honors including the newspaper's online coverage of the presidential debate at Hofstra University....
  13. Note: formerly The Gold Typewriter Award
  14. Staff writers (June 5, 2017). "Voice Writer Wins 2017 NY Press Club Award". Village Voice. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...the New York Press Club ... This year’s grand prize — called the Gold Keyboard — went to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for their work on the Panama Papers. ... All of this year’s winners will be honored tonight at Manhattan’s Water Club.
  15. Michael Hudson, August 24, 2015, ICU, Evicted and Abandoned, Retrieved March 19, 2018, "...the New York Press Club’s highest accolade, the Gold Keyboard Award for enterprise or investigative reporting...."
  16. Sue Macy, Linda Ellerbee, National Geographic Books, 2009, Bylines: A Photobiography of Nellie Bly, (see page 59), Retrieved August 3, 2015, "...In 1978, the New York Press Club erected an elegant memorial stone at her gravesite ... Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award ... given to the best journalistic effort by a reporter who has been at the business less than three years..."
  17. Chris O'Shea, April 27, 2015, Adweek, New York Press Club Award Winners Announced, Retrieved August 3, 2015, "...The New York Press Club Awards ...NELLIE BLY CUB REPORTER (Single Award) Best journalistic effort by an individual with three years or less professional experience...."
  18. Dean Starkman, Martha Hamilton, Ryan Chittum, Felix Salmon, Columbia University Press, May 21, 2013, The Best Business Writing 2013, Retrieved August 3, 2015, "...Mina Kimes ... Received the Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award..."
  19. WFUV radio, 90.7, AWARDS, Retrieved August 3, 2015, "...Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award ... Scott Detrow* (best journalistic effort by an individual with three years or less overall experience)...."
  20. CHRIS ROUSH, OCTOBER 18, 2012, Talking Biz News, Covering finance and learning on the job, Retrieved August 3, 2015, "...In 2009, she received the Nellie Bly Cub Reporter award from the New York Press Club for her story, “The End of Oil.”..."
  21. "NYPC Journalism Awards – The New York Press Club". www.nypressclub.org. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  22. Kim Todd, Smithsonian Magazine, November 2016, These Women Reporters Went Undercover to Get the Most Important Scoops of Their Day: Writing under pseudonyms, the so-called girl stunt reporters of the late 19th century played a major role in exposing the nation’s ills, Retrieved November 24, 2019, quote= "...After Nellie Bly, whose 1887 series “Ten Days in a Mad House” had been a windfall for Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World ... In little more than two years after Bly got herself committed to New York City’s notorious Blackwell’s Island insane asylum,...."
  23. H. Claire Brown and Joe Fassler (February 23, 2018). "Prison Food Is Making U.S. Inmates Disproportionately Sick: U.S. prisoners are six times more likely to get a foodborne illness than the general population". Alternet. Retrieved March 19, 2018. ...Claire Brown joins The New Food Economy after working on the editorial team at Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn. She won the New York Press Club's Nellie Bly Cub Reporter award in 2017....
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