Matthews sets Club on path toward greater diversity
Lisa Nicole Matthews took the gavel as the 114th president of the National Press Club on Friday promising to lead an effort to make the organization more diverse and inclusive.
Matthews is the third Black Club president – following Sheila Cherry in 2004 and Jeff Ballou in 2017 – and the 14th woman to hold the position.
“The very first presidents of the National Press Club did not look like me,” Matthews said at the online General Membership Meeting on Jan. 22. “They were not women. They were not Black. And they might not have imagined that some day someone like me would stand before you as your president.”
She said her election as Club president marked an advance that she will build on during her year in office.
“Throughout my term, I will encourage this wonderful institution toward a year of progress,” said Matthews, assignment editor for U.S. Video at The Associated Press. “We will focus on and celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion and educating the public about how and why you and I as journalists and communicators do what we do. This is not something that I do alone. This is something we will do together, and we will have fun and we will make progress.”
Matthews, who will be inaugurated on Jan. 30, takes over as president while the Club continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and to the political and social tension surrounding the transition from the Trump to Biden administrations.
“We meet today at a significant time in the history of the Club and of the country,” Matthews said. “We live and work in a society divided by gender, party, race, age, the list is so very long. There’s never been a time when it’s more important for us to come together. And we will come together, albeit virtually. A better future is before us, and it’s totally within our reach.”
The diversity of the Club’s 2021 leadership extends to its officer positions, all of which will be filled by female Club members – Vice President Jen Judson, Treasurer Eileen O’Reilly, Secretary Gillian Rich and Membership Secretary Emily Wilkins.
Freedman praised for leading Club during pandemic
“You have shown who we are as the National Press Club,” Matthews said. “You have set the bar extremely high and upheld our standards in a manner that would be impressive even in a normal year.”
Freedman’s term was roiled when the Club shut down in-person activities in March. Over the course of the year, the Club reopened at limited capacity but still had to furlough nearly half of its staff. But it continued to thrive as a source of news, hosting dozens of virtual Headliners events, while helping members and the community cope with the virus.
“This past year and the beginning of 2021 have tested and ultimately reinforced the resilience of the press, the resilience of the National Press Club and the resilience of our democracy,” said Freedman, former general manager of CBS Radio Network News. “I have never been prouder to be a journalist than over the past year nor more grateful professionally than to have had the privilege of serving as your president throughout 2020.”
Reliable Source remains closed
Club leaders said the Reliable Source will remain closed due to ongoing social-distancing and security concerns. The Club bar and grill was operating at partial capacity since June, but it shut down again in late December when the District of Columbia government banned indoor dining. The second closure resulted in more Club staff furloughs. The D.C. indoor-dining ban lifted on Jan. 22. It’s not clear when the Reliable Source will reopen.
Journalism Institute, finance, membership updates
The National Press Club Journalism Institute experienced a 770% growth in program registrations over 2019, said NPCJI Board President Angela Greiling Keane. The institute’s first event of the year, a session about covering the pandemic co-sponsored with the Club’s Communicators Team, drew 309 online participants.
The Club experienced substantial revenue loss in 2020 and is projected to lose money again in 2021. The 2020 loss will be partially mitigated when the Club’s Paycheck Protection Act loan is forgiven. The Club was able to manage 2020 revenue difficulties through taking out a line of credit and making payroll adjustments and did not have to tap its long-term investment reserves.
The Club’s membership in 2020 totaled 2,862, a 4% decline from 2,979 members in 2019. The number of journalist members decreased from 1,516 in 2019 to 1,437 last year, while communicator members fell from 831 to 775.