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Donna Leinwand of USA Today Elected 102nd President of National Press Club

Tuesday 16. December 2008 - Donna Leinwand, a reporter for USA Today, was elected on Dec. 12 as the 102nd president of the National Press Club.

The National Press Club is the world’s leading organization for journalists and has 3,500 members worldwide.

Leinwand has been a member of the Club’s board for six years. She served this year as vice president. Leinwand has been an active participant in the volunteer organization and has received the Club’s Vivian Award for outstanding contributions.

She succeeds Sylvia Smith, Washington editor of the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Journal Gazette, and will assume office on Jan. 16, 2009, for a one-year term. Leinwand’s inauguration will be celebrated at a gala at the Club on Jan. 31.

“I am delighted to have been elected to serve the members of the National Press Club as their president during 2009. It is an honor to represent this important Washington institution,” Leinwand said.

“It is an unsettling time for journalists as our industry’s transformation collides with a slack economy,” she said. “I look forward to creating and continuing programs that help our members understand, weather and ultimately grow with the changes.”

She said the National Press Club will continue to use its considerable muscle to push for more access to government records and to roll back any regulatory restraints on First Amendment freedoms.

Leinwand, a native of Boca Raton, Fla., covers crime, disasters and legal issues for USA Today. She previously worked for the Miami Herald.

The Club also elected:

Alan Bjerga, Bloomberg News, vice president; Myron Belkind, retired from Associated Press, secretary; Keith Hill, BNA, treasurer; Mark Hamrick, AP Broadcast, membership secretary (re-elected).

In addition, the Club chose Jessica Brady of Roll Call and Mike Soraghan of The Hill for three-year terms on the board of governors and Shawn Bullard, owner of the Duetto Group, for a two-year term.