New Club President Edney assumes gavel, calls for defense of journalism under siege

Andrea Edney of Bloomberg News became the 111th National Press Club president Jan. 19 by accepting the gavel from Jeff Ballou of Al Jazeera, at the Club’s General Membership meeting.

The Club has a special role in fostering good journalism with its power to strengthen democracy and improve lives because, with nearly 3,000 members, “we have a voice,” she said.

“You understand that this is a critical year because journalism is under siege from many sides,” Edney said. “So this is the time to defend it and to make sure that we all live up to the highest ethical standards.”

In giving the Treasurer’s report, Treasurer Ferdous “Danny” Al-Faruque opened with a succinct summation: “The news is good.”

The Club ended 2017 with a profit of $918,000 -- $80,000 over budget, he reported. Cash reserves were $4 million and investments $7 million, he added. He called the investments “the Club’s 401(k).”

The Club’s budgeted profit for 2018 is $702,000 less than the 2017 realized profit due to costs of renovation and adding staff, he said.

Membership Chair Michele Salcedo reported a 5 percent slip in membership, from 3,112 in 2017 to 2,951. Responding to a question, she said the main reason members, particularly freelancers and young members, leave the Club is because of their difficulty in paying dues. The jump in dues when a young member reaches 35 and faces full dues also leads to resignations, she said.

She identified a goal of attracting more members in the Journalist category a particular challenge as more newsrooms “move across the river.” She said the Club needs to give them reasons to join.

In the good news, however, she said that the number of Young Members is rising. She attributed the increase to the Young Members team leaders and the events they developed.

A lively, upbeat video shown following the membership report recounted events of the past year during the administration of outgoing President Ballou.

After the video, Ballou declared, “The urgency of ‘now’ is addressing freedom of the press, worldwide.” But, in listing events of the year, he also noted that “we had some fun along the way.”