The APC

Our mission: to serve the evolving professional, educational and social needs of our media community, foster journalistic excellence and advance the public’s interest in and understanding of a free press.

The Atlanta Press Club, established in 1964, has grown to become one of the largest and most active professional journalism associations in the country. The membership encompasses Atlanta’s burgeoning media community — print, broadcast and digital, big and small, national and local media outlets and freelance journalists.

More than half of our members are working journalists. The balance includes public relations and communications professionals, nonprofit executives, journalism teachers and journalism students.

The Atlanta Press Club hosts numerous programs throughout the year for members and the public.  The Newsmaker Leadership Series has received recognition nationwide. Our speakers include the leaders of the city and state, as well as national CEO’s and industry professionals. The Atlanta Press Club offers regular networking socials and workshops that benefit journalists and other professionals as well as our Awards of Excellence and Hall of Fame gala.   

During election years, the Atlanta Press Club hosts televised political debates through the Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.

The Atlanta Press Club provides opportunities specifically for students studying journalism. Programs include a summer intern placement program where APC pairs interns with many of Atlanta’s top news organizations, where they receive hands-on experience in writing and reporting as well as a summer stipend.

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Our History

The Atlanta Press Club was founded in 1964 by a group of print journalists who included such notables as Celestine Sibley, Calvin Cox, Hal Gulliver and Raymonde Alexander of The Atlanta Constitution, and George Goodwin, the club’s first public relations member. As the group grew, broadcast journalists were included in the Club roster. The Club created Second Tuesdays, informal monthly programs that gave guests a chance to speak freely, knowing their remarks would be kept off-the-record. Meeting regularly at DeKalb County Commission Chairman Manuel Maloof’s restaurant, the Club soon turned the neighborhood place into a hangout for reporters and politicians alike. Manuel’s Tavern was frequently “standing room only” as the Second Tuesdays tackled issues such as city politics and equal pay for women in the newsroom. With the 1980’s membership surge and a desire to be closer to the day-to-day action, the Club opened offices at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. Reflecting Atlanta’s growing position in the international community, the Press Club was active in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, providing information and hospitality to visiting journalists. In 1997, the Club moved to Georgia Public Broadcasting, the most technologically advanced public broadcasting facility in the nation. The Club has capitalized on this partnership by expanding its televised programming, including its political debate series, one of the largest and most extensive in the country. Journalists from the print, broadcast and online communities comprise more than half of the Press Club’s more than 500-member roster, making it one of the largest and most dynamic press clubs in the U.S. Editor & Publisher Magazine has described the Atlanta Press Club as “resurgent, a glaring anomaly at a time when press clubs around the country are fading into oblivion, victims of shrinking city press legions and changing journalistic culture.”

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Board of Directors

APC Staff

APC in the News

Jim Acosta, CNN Chief White House Correspondent, to Speak at the Atlanta Press Club
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Speaks to the Atlanta Press Club
Atlanta United President Darren Eales to Speak at the Atlanta Press Club
“60 Minutes” Correspondent Scott Pelley to Speak at the Atlanta Press Club
Atlanta’s Creative Economy: How the Arts Scene is Making an Impact
The Future of Transit in the Atlanta Region -- and How the Gwinnett-MARTA Vote Could Change the Landscape
2018 General Election Runoff Debates
2018 Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame
Best-Selling Author David Kaplan To Discuss Supreme Court at the Press Club
2018 General Election Debates
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal at the Press Club
MARTA CEO Jeff Parker Speaks to the Press Club
2018 Primary Runoff Debates
2018 Primary Debates
New Mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, To Address the Atlanta Press Club
Senator Johnny Isakson Speaks to the Atlanta Press Club
CNN President Jeff Zucker Speaks to the Atlanta Press Club
Debate for Mayor of Atlanta
Raphael Bostic Makes First Public Speech as Head of the Atlanta Federal Reserve
Meet Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly
Meet Turner Chairman and CEO John Martin
Meet Georgia’s New Attorney General Chris Carr
Congressional District 6 Special Election Debate
Georgia Speaker of the House Discusses the Legislative Session
Mayor Kasim Reed Discusses Plans for His Final Year in Office
America Divided -- What is the Media’s Role?
U.S. Senate Debate, October 21, 2016
Atlanta’s Booming Film Industry
Election 2016: The Race to the White House
Arthur Blank Discusses the New Stadium and 2016 Falcons