Kristen Welker will accept the 2023 National Press Club Award for a creditable fourth arrest

Kristen Welker, chief White House correspondent for NBC News and future moderator of "Meet the Press," will receive the prestigious Fourth Estate Award from the National Press Club at a gala ceremony in her honor Nov. 28 in Washington, D.C.

This award recognizes journalists who have made significant contributions to the field and is one of the club's most prestigious awards. Welker, who last aired Saturday with co-host "Weekend TODAY," is known for her political journalism that has appeared across all NBC News and MSNBC platforms, including "NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt," "TODAY," "Meet the Press" and NBCNews.com. She will become the second woman and first black journalist to host "Meet the Press".

"Fourth Estate" is the highest honor a journalist can receive from the National Press Club. Previous winners of this award include Christiane Amanpour, Dean Baquet, Marty Baron, Wolf Blitzer, Tom Brokaw, Walter Cronkite, Lester Holt, Gwen Ifill, Andrea Mitchell, Clarissa Ward and Susan Zirinsky.

"Welker's work in reporting on the White House and Washington through several administrations consistently demonstrates her professionalism, integrity and dedication to high journalistic standards. Her reporting captures our attention, just as her moderating skills do at a debate," said Eileen O'Reilly, president of the National Press Club. "Welker embodies the values we celebrate with this award and is a fantastic role model for journalists around the world. We are delighted to honor her and celebrate her role as the future moderator of 'Meet The Press'. "

This year's Fourth Estate Gala Ceremony will also mark an important event for the club as the Fourth Estate Awards celebrates its 50th anniversary. The gala will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. ET, followed by dinner and an awards ceremony at 7 p.m. at the National Press Club. Tickets for the gala are $175 for National Press Club members and $350 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased here.

The gala is a fundraiser for the club's nonprofit affiliate, the National Press Club of the Journalism Institute. The Institute provides training for journalists in the skills and standards needed to inform the public, advocates for press freedom, provides career support for journalists and offers scholarships for aspiring journalists. For information about sponsorship opportunities, please email Beth Francesco, executive director of the National Press Club of the Journalism Institute, at [email protected].

The evening will also honor the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Awards: Evan Hershkowitz, a Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained in Russia since March 29 and falsely accused of espionage, and Iranian journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who are currently in prison awaiting sentencing on national security charges that could carry the death penalty. Kat Stafford of the Associated Press, winner of the Neal and Susan Sheehan Award for investigative journalism, will also be honored Nov. 28.

O Kristen Welker

On September 17, Welker will become the 13th host of NBC's "Meet the Press," the longest-running program on television.

She will be the second woman to host the program and the first journalist of color to moderate a Sunday public broadcast. Welker joined "Weekend TODAY" as a co-host in January 2020 and began covering the White House for NBC News in December 2011, traveling the country and abroad with President Barack Obama, then-First Lady Michelle Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden. Welker has also covered President Donald Trump's administration, the 2020 presidential race and currently directs the network's coverage of all aspects of the Biden administration. During the 2020 presidential election, Welker moderated the final presidential debate between Trump and Biden on October 22, 2020, at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Welker received universal praise for her performance, and USA TODAY wrote that she was "lauded for her debate skills." In November 2019, Welker, along with The Washington Post's Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell and Ashley Parker, co-moderated the fifth Democratic presidential debate co-hosted by MSNBC and The Washington Post at Tyler Perry's studio in Atlanta, Georgia. During the 2016 presidential election, Welker covered former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's campaign. She was the first to get the exclusive information that Biden had decided not to run for election at the time. Prior to working at the White House, Welker was a network correspondent in Burbank, California, joining NBC News in 2010. During her first year at the network, Welker was nominated for a national Emmy Award for her role in NBC News' coverage of the midterm elections. She won a national Emmy Award for her role in covering the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Welker also worked as a researcher at Weekend TODAY early in her career and as an intern at TODAY during college. She previously worked at WCAU-TV, owned and operated by NBC, where she anchored NBC 10 Weekend News and began her career as a general assignment reporter in April 2005. She also previously worked at WLNE-TV in Providence, RI, and KRCR-TV in Redding, CA. Welker, originally from Philadelphia, graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in American History. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband John Hughes and daughter Margo Lane.

About the National Press Club

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing virtually every major journalism organization, the club is the leading voice for press freedom in the United States and around the world.

About the National Press Club Journalism Institute

The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes active citizen participation in the world through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards necessary to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. As the nonprofit arm of the National Press Club, the Institute supports journalism in the public interest.

Contact: Beth Francesco, [email protected]

Source: National Press Club