2024 Fourth Estate Award Gala honoring Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen of Axios

Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, co-founders of two digital news outlets that have revolutionized how audiences consume their news, will receive the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award during a gala in their honor on Nov. 21 in Washington. The award recognizes journalists who have made significant contributions to the field and is the Club’s most esteemed prize.

Allen and VandeHei co-founded Axios, which they launched with co-founder Roy Schwartz in 2017. Axios is among the most celebrated digital media success stories of the past decade and was acquired by Cox Enterprises in 2022. They launched Axios Local in 2021 to provide original reporting, scoops, and local coverage worthy of readers' time. Axios Local is now in 30 markets around the country and has nearly 2 million subscribers.

The Fourth Estate is the top honor bestowed on a journalist by the National Press Club Board of Governors. Previous winners include: Christiane Amanpour, Dean Baquet, Marty Baron, Wolf Blitzer, Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite, Lester Holt, Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell, Clarissa Ward, Kristen Welker, and Susan Zirinsky.

“Jim and I are honored by this recognition and deeply grateful for the National Press Club and journalists everywhere who fight every day for smart, consequential, deeply reported journalism,” Allen said. “Our nation is weaker when our media is not strong, fearless, and durable. The mission of protecting journalism at Axios and everywhere is a group effort. We are humbled to be a part of it."

Allen and VandeHei also co-authored Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less and were executive producers of the Emmy Award-winning docu-news series, “Axios on HBO.” Prior to Axios, Allen and VandeHei co-founded POLITICO in 2007, created POLITICO Playbook, and helped build the company for its first decade.

“Mike and Jim have long exemplified an audience-first, entrepreneurial spirit while building some of the biggest digital news success stories in our industry. Their commitment to high journalism standards and resolve to find profitable, impactful local news products at a time when news deserts are growing are among the many ways they embody the values we celebrate with this award,” said Emily Wilkins, president of the National Press Club. “We are thrilled to honor them with the Fourth Estate Award.”

VandeHei and Allen have had a lasting impact on many, Wilkins said: their many employees, the industry, and, of course, the audiences across the U.S. who depend on Axios.

“There could be no better recipients than Jim and Mike for the NPC’s Fourth Estate Award. They have dedicated their careers to journalism and have reinvented best practices for the business,” said Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor. “Their contributions at Axios to the Fourth Estate and all the important journalism that comes with it are needed now more than ever.”

The gala is a fundraiser for the Club’s nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club Journalism Institute. The Institute provides training that equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public, provides career support for journalists, and provides scholarships to aspiring journalists.

The evening also will honor the recipients of the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards and Neil and Susan Sheehan Award for Investigative Journalism. Honorees for the Aubuchon and Sheehan awards will be announced at a later date.

Sponsor the gala

Full tables for the gala are available only in sponsorship packages, which you can find here. To discuss sponsorship options, contact Mitch Harle, development manager for the National Press Club Journalism Institute, at [email protected].

About the National Press Club

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world’s leading professional organization for journalists. The Club has 3,000 members representing nearly every major journalism organization and is a leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world.

About the National Press Club Journalism Institute

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club, the Institute powers journalism in the public interest.