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Clarissa Ward, CNN's award-winning chief international correspondent, based in London, will receive the National Press Club’s Fourth Estate Award, at a Press Club gala in her honor on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Ward is the 50th recipient of the award, which recognizes journalists who have made significant contributions to the field.
Ward has spent nearly two decades reporting from the front lines in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt and Ukraine for CNN, ABC, CBS and Fox News.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this esteemed award from the National Press Club at a time when the fourth estate is facing unprecedented threats around the world. From harassment and intimidation to imprisonment and violence, journalists put their lives on the line to challenge and question those in power,” Ward said. “The National Press Club has long been a leading supporter of press freedom, and I’m thrilled by this recognition.”
“Clarissa’s work stood out to me last year when she covered the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and again when she was on the ground in Ukraine,” said Club President Jen Judson. “I am full of admiration for the work she does internationally and her bravery covering hot spots as well as her understanding and sensitivity to the subject matter.”
The Fourth Estate is the top honor bestowed on a journalist by the Club Board of Governors. Previous winners include: Christiane Amanpour, Wolf Blitzer, Lester Holt, Susan Zirinsky, Dean Baquet, Marty Baron, Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell, Tom Brokaw and Walter Cronkite.
The evening also will honor the winners of the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards. Rana Ayyub, an investigative journalist living in India and a Washington Post Global Opinions contributor, and Josh Renaud, a Missouri reporter. Ayuub has been invasively undermined by the Indian government in response to her critical reporting. Renaud was targeted by the governor of Missouri as a criminal hacker after his reporting revealed a vulnerability in a state education website.
The winner of the Neil and Susan Sheehan award for investigative journalism will also be honored on Dec. 7.
The Fourth Estate gala will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner and the awards program starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the gala are $150 for National Press Club members, and $300 for members of the public. Tickets can be purchased online. For information on sponsorship opportunities please email Julie Moos, executive director of the the National Press Club Journalism Institute, at [email protected].
The gala dinner is a fundraiser for the Institute, the Club’s nonprofit affiliate. The Institute advocates for press freedom worldwide, equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy, and provides scholarships to aspiring journalists.
