On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. speaks with Jeff Ballou, Al Jazeera Media Network News editor, and the 110th president of the National Press Club.
Ballou is the first African American man to hold the position, and will mark the first time someone from a non-U.S. and non-Western-based television network has been elected president of the National Press Club.
Founded in 1908, The National Press Club is a membership-based Club of more than 3,100 journalists and communications professionals. As one of the nation’s oldest journalism clubs, NPC is dedicated to supporting the ongoing improvement of the profession of journalism.
Ballou, a Pittsburgh native has been a journalists for more than two decades and has been a part of most journalism medium on the local, national and now global level and he has been a member of NPC since 1992.
As the 110th president of the National Press Club, and the first African American man to hold the position, Ballou will be responsible for the business and affairs of the Club.
Ballou’s term on the Board of Governors will be one year, and his committee appointments include House Bar and the Speakers Committee. On the House Bar committee he will assist in looking after the physical plant, bars and restaurants; and on the Speakers Committee, he will assist with the selection of NPC Speakers, the club’s most prominent committee.
Born and raised on Pittsburgh, PA, Ballou began his career at KDKA, where he worked as an intern for several summers while attending Penn State University. After graduation he worked for WTTG-TV/FOX 5 in the nation’s capitol. During his career he has covered several beats such as the White House, Congress, and the State Department.
