Gwen Ifill received the 2013 Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Journalism on June 23 at the Newseum’s Knight Conference Center. The longtime print and television journalist is co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour and moderator of “Washington Week.”
The award will be presented during the 2014 Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, which brings 51 outstanding high school students to Washington, D.C. each year for discussions with leading government, legal and journalism figures. The presentation, originally planned for fall 2013, was postponed following Neuharth’s death.
“Gwen Ifill represents the best in journalism today, working across multiple news outlets, providing credible news, insight and explanation of complex issues to her viewers and readers,” said Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute, which presents the award. “She’s also an inspiration to the next generation of journalists in a profession challenged to respond to the news needs of an increasingly diverse and mobile audience.”
Ifill also is the best-selling author of “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” She has interviewed many newsmakers and reported on a wide range of issues. She covered seven presidential campaigns and moderated two vice presidential debates.
Before coming to PBS in 1999, Ifill was chief congressional and political correspondent for NBC News, White House correspondent for The New York Times, and a political reporter for The Washington Post. She also reported for The Evening Sun in Baltimore, the Bay State Banner and the Boston Herald American. She graduated from Simmons in 1977 with a major in communications.
