Programs & Events

Evening Enrichment Series
The Evening Enrichment Series presents monthly educational programs to Press Club members and the general public. This series keeps news media and allied communications specialists attuned to the latest trends in the industry by offering professional development workshops, panelist discussions and book-signing events. Organized by the programming committee, topics have included reporter’s privilege, journalists and trauma, and how to be a successful freelancer.

Gorilla Ball
A night of laughs!  Atlanta’s four local television stations, WAGA, WGCL, WSB and WXIA share their bloopers from the previous year.  A panel of celebrity judges selects the “best” bloopers to determine which station will take home the coveted Otto Focus Award.  CNN also participates by sharing their most embarrassing moments from the year.

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame is an annual event that recognizes journalists for their
lifetime achievements, whose careers represent the highest standards of journalistic integrity and ethics.  They have made outstanding contributions either to journalism in Georgia, and/or the Atlanta Press Club, often courageously overcoming obstacles to pursue and find the truth that the public needs to know.

To learn about the Hall of Fame click here.

On October 10, 2012, the following people were inducted into the second Hall of Fame class:

• Xernona Clayton, the noted journalist and founder of the Trumpet Awards
• Anne Cox Chambers, Barbara Cox, and James M. Cox, the founders of Cox Enterprises, the Atlanta-based media conglomerate
• Conrad Fink, the renowned University of Georgia journalism professor
• George Goodwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who is best known for his longtime dedication to the Atlanta communications professions
• Ralph McGill, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editor for the Atlanta Constitution and leading voice for racial tolerance in the South in the 1950’s and 60’s

Holiday Author Party
The Holiday Author Party is considered one of Atlanta’s most anticipated seasonal events for the media. We host more than 30 local and national authors to sign their latest books.  The event is held at a different venue around the city each year and features a silent auction.   Atlanta’s top journalists, reporters and media professionals attend the event each year.

Journalist of the Year Awards
The Atlanta Press Club Awards of Excellence and Journalist of the Year award are the most prestigious the Atlanta Press Club presents each year.  They recognize excellence in reporting among one’s peers and professional colleagues for a single story or a series for the previous calendar year.

The Atlanta Press Club presents an Award of Excellence in the following categories:

• Print Reporting – divided into distribution over 100,000 and less than 100,000
• Television reporting – divided into local and national news
• Radio Reporting
• Online/multi-media – entries should be material originally published on a website
• Photojournalism
• Opinion – media from news, feature, sports, blogs, etc. are eligible for this award

When appropriate, separate awards are given for news and feature stories for each of the above categories excluding the award for opinion.  An overall Journalist of the Year is then selected from the winners.

Newsmaker Luncheons

The Atlanta Press Club hosts newsmakers from around Atlanta, Georgia and the country to speak to our members and guests at our luncheon series.

Past speakers include Director of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, General David Petraeus, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Tom Brokaw and Barbara Walters.