Jeff Ballou, news editor at Al Jazeera Media Network, is the 110th president of the National Press Club and first male African-American to hold the position. He replaces outgoing president Thomas Burr, Washington correspondent for The Salt Lake Tribune.
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Jeff Ballou"We are seeing some of the finest journalism of our time covering the biggest stories of our time. But faith in journalism is shaken in part by those pretending to be us and lying while doing it. We have to push back and reassert our role as guardians of truthful, solid, informative and in some cases dangerous reporting. Our team will maintain the National Press Club role as the world's oldest, leading and well-regarded conveners and promoters of excellence in journalism and communications," Ballou said.
Ballou helped launch Al Jazeera’s English language channel in 2006 and establish State Department and Congressional beats. His experience includes working as a planning editor for WTTG-TV/FOX 5, White House producer for CONUS and stints at C-SPAN, WAMU, WTOP and National Public Radio.
Well-versed in Club affairs, Ballou was elected to the board of governors in 2012 and served as VP under 109th president Burr.
Ballou was the recipient of the Hearst Broadcast News Fellowship which took him to WCVB-TV in Boston. He taught at Howard University while earning a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from American University.
Professional honors received during Ballou's 25-year career include team coverage conferrals such as DuPonts via Columbia University, Peabodys from the University of Georgia, Edward R. Murrows from the Radio Television Digital News Association, Emmys from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and spot news awards from the Associated Press.
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