The St. Louis Press Club is for those who make, cover and
influence the news. Its mission is to raise awareness and funding for student journalism scholarships and for enterprise
grants to working, independent journalists to spotlight
under-reported topics in our region. It serves its members
through professional development activities to bolster their
skills to address the changing needs of the global
communications profession and to offer social activities that
build a vital media community.
Next Press Club
Zoom Executive Committee Meeting
Friday, October 15th at 11 a.m.
Next Press Club Zoom Board Meeting
Monday, October 18th at Noon
Co-Chairs Miran Halen and Phyllis Langsdorf and Advisory Chair Alice Handelman knocked it out of the park!!
We raised more than $17,000 to fund student journalism scholarships and enterprise grants for working journalists to spotlight marginalized issues in our region.
From left, Jasmine Huda, emcee; Miran Halen, chair, Dan Kramer, Neiman Marcus general manager; Phyllis Langsdorf, co-chair; and Joan Lee Berkman, Press Club president. Photo by Suzy Gorman.
St. Louis Press Club Launches Contest for Writers
St. Louis Press Club is announcing the inaugural writing contest for local writers. The awards will recognize the best writing for the past year
among high schools, colleges and universities, and professionals.
“At its heart, the St. Louis Press Club is a membership association of writers,” said Joan Lee
Berkman, president of the St. Louis Press Club. "Our members represent all forms of media
found in the St. Louis region, and we all know that the heart of all media - print, broadcast, digital
- is writing. With these awards, we want to celebrate the craft of writing and to honor those
writers whose work represents the best in the profession in St. Louis.”
The awards will be open to writers in high school, colleges and universities and to professionals
who make their living by writing. Entries are eligible in four categories:
● News story -- Judges will consider planning and general organization of story, initiative in
obtaining story, news writing, readability and impact.
● In-Depth Reporting -- The article should demonstrate the ability of entrant(s) to provide
treatment of an issue that has had an impact on publication’s coverage area.
● Feature Story -- Judges will review interest and unusual aspects of the feature material
itself and/or the handling of it, writing style, readability and comprehensiveness of
coverage.
● A fourth category will cover original writing based on a theme. This year, we want to
know what was the biggest impact on a writer’s life from the pandemic.
“We’re excited to have this opportunity to recognize the writers in St. Louis whose words help
influence and inspire their readers to achieve greater things and to better understand the world
in which they live,” Berkman said. “We hope that through these awards, we can help the winning
writers reach a greater audience who can enjoy and benefit from their craft.”
Judges for this first annual St. Louis Press Club Writing Contest will include some of the best
and the brightest journalists from the St. Louis market.
Finalists will be announced by December 1, 2021. Winners of each category will receive a prize of lunch or breakfast with a well-known pro.
St. Louis Press Club's immediate past president, William Greenblatt,
will be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame for Sports Photography on November 14, 2021.
William Greenblatt
WILLIAM GREENBLATT MEDIA: Photographer Born: June 9, 1954; St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame Photographer (2009-Present), St. Louis Cardinals Photographer (2012-Present) (by Mike Knopfel) Capturing the raw emotion in your subjects ...
St. Louis Press Club's online initiative, featuring conversations with St. Louis-area professional communicators, continues.
Looking Back. Imagining the Future.
Communications colleagues speak with St. Louis Press Club board member, Jessica Z. Brown Billhymer,
on work and life during a pandemic, protests, economic stress and a community facing frank and varied discussions about racism.
In early 2020, it became clear to the St. Louis Press Club (STLPC) pivoting to a new way of connecting with community was a must, with the usual and varied local on-the-ground programming having to take on a new fa... READ MORE.
There are four takeaways from these conversations:
1. Media communicators are adept at pivoting to new solutions in the face of disruption.
2. Technology's role as a star and integral player, in our society and in the communications business, is dynamic and key to connecting all stakeholders, and is invaluable in facilitating collaborative team energy to meet deadlines and provide uninterrupted public service.
3. Media institutions and individuals seriously take safety of others as a primary concern during a pandemic and civil unrest.
4. Communicators reveal honest, inspirational feelings of wins, losses and amazement regarding their and colleagues' communications journey. And, we learn from these professionals what it takes to do their jobs in these times, and what it means to carry on, no matter what.
Don Corrigan
Alvin Reid
St. Louis Press Club's Our IN THE NOW with Don Corrigan, Emeritus Editor, Webster-Kirkwood Times, Emeritus Journalism Professor, Webster University, recorded December, 30, 2020, running time 38:09.
Regarding the pandemic and Webster-Kirkwood Times ceasing publication, "It's been a pretty horrible year; there are so many commentaries out there about what happens to democracy when you don't have news to tell people what's going on." On the slow reaction to the pandemic: "This makes me angry because the information was there; we knew what could happen, and I can pretty much say, "I lost my business." On audience reaction to the demise of the Webster-Kirkwood Times that is now back in publication: "It's a pretty unique community that continues to want its print edition."
St. Louis Press Club's Our IN THE NOW with Alvin Reid, Editor, St. Louis American; panelist, Donnybrook, NinePBS, recorded July 21, 2020, running time: 38:42
On pivoting to the ZOOM platform for Donnybrook broadcasts: "I had my ZOOM worries.....but after we did one show I was comfortable with it.....I'm certainly looking forward to being back in the studio, but I think we found a way to bring the show to people, and people have really acknowledged it, and really, really like it." On his many years as a journalist on various platforms: "I still like to think of myself as a print journalist; I still see things through a print journalist's eye."
You're invited to the Urban League and Urban League Guild Salute to Women in Leadership Gala where St. Louis Press Club's board member, Charlotte Ottley, will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
KTVI-TV FOX 2 TO LAUNCH LIFESTYLE SHOW
Studio STL to Premiere on Tuesday, September 7, 2021.
ST. LOUIS, MO (July 22, 2021) – KTVI-TV FOX 2, Nexstar Media Inc.’s television station serving the St. Louis
area announced today that it will premiere a new, live, and local lifestyle show, Studio STL.
Hosted by FOX 2’s Chelsea Haynes, the one-hour, show will air weekdays at Noon and will help viewers
discover St. Louis in a whole new way, focusing on the people, places and personalities that make the city a
great place to live, work, and play.
“We are excited to bring this fast-paced, festive hour to St. Louis viewers on both side of the river,” said Kurt
Krueger, Vice President and General Manager, KTVI FOX 2 and KPLR 11. Viewers who spend their lunch hour
with Studio STL can expect entertainment, live music, local businesses, food, fashion, trending topics, health &
wellness, and fun.
Ms. Haynes comes to St. Louis from WATE-TV, Nexstar’s television station in Knoxville, where she was the
reporter and alternate co-host of Living East Tennessee. “I spent many weekends in St. Louis when I was at the
University of Missouri, Columbia (MIZZOU), and since moving here in May, I haven’t stopped exploring the
region for a second,” said Ms. Haynes. “There is so much this city has to offer, I look forward to showcasing all
of it!”
Studio STL will livestream and be available on www.FOX2Now.com and on the FOX 2 St. Louis App.
For more information, go to https://www.StudioSTL.tv
https://www.facebook.com/InsideStudioSTL
https://www.instagram.com/insidestudiostl/
Press Club Welcomes Gilbert Bailon to Board of Directors
Gilbert Bailon
Gilbert Bailon, editor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has been elected to the board of the St. Louis Press Club.
Bailon has held the top editorial position at the 143-year-old metropolitan daily newspaper since 2012. He was hired as editorial page editor in 2007.
Bailon won the Benjamin C. Bradlee 2014 Editor of the Year Award from the National Press Foundation for the Post’s coverage of a police shooting and social unrest in Ferguson that gained national attention. The newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for photography the next year and was a Pulitzer finalist for editorial writing.
Joan Lee Berkman, president of St. Louis Press Club, said that Bailon’s knowledge of local and national journalism would be a great asset to the Press Club.
“Gilbert's impressive journalistic background and leadership experience will be instrumental to Press Club's growing program of work,” Berkman said. “We are thrilled to welcome him to the board.”
Before coming to St. Louis, Bailon worked at the Dallas Morning News and rose through the ranks from nightside reporter to deputy managing editor to vice president and executive editor.
In 2003, he was named founding president and editor and then publisher of Al Dia, the newspaper’s Spanish-language daily subsidiary. AlDiaTx.com won a national Edward R. Murrow Award.
Bailon has won numerous other awards for his work. A past president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, he was inducted into the NAHJ Hall of Fame. He is president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan St. Louis foundation board and participates in other local Hispanic civic organizations.
He’s also a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and has served on nominating juries for the Pulitzer Prizes.
A native of Arizona, he was educated in journalism at the University of Arizona and earned a master’s degree in American History from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Early in his career, he worked at the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union and Kansas City Star.
2021 MEDIA AND JOURNALISM SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED
Fifteen college and one high school student from our region are being awarded scholarships by the St. Louis Press Club and St. Louis Journalism Foundation.
The 2021 scholarships and their winners are:
$4,000 St. Louis Press Club/St. Louis Post-Dispatch David Lipman Journalism Scholarship - Max Baker, University of Missouri – Columbia
$2,500 St. Louis Press Club Ronald W. Wade Journalism Scholarship - Micah Barnes, Webster University
$2,000 St. Louis Press Club Neiman-Marcus Media Scholarship - Meghan Gunn, New York University
$1,500 St. Louis Press Club Sarah Bryan Miller Journalism Scholarship - Greta Cross, Missouri State University
$1,500 St. Louis Press Club Summer Internship Scholarship - Becca Newton, University of Missouri-Columbia
$1,500 St. Louis Press Club Summer Internship Scholarship - Mary Boser, Maryville University
$1,500 St. Louis Press Club Donald Burris Journalism Scholarship - Charlotte Renner, Webster University
$1,500 St. Louis Press Club Karlheinz and Doris Finzel Photojournalism Scholarship - Dasia Chavis, Webster University
$1,000 St. Louis Press Club Joe Bonwich Media Scholarship - Mark Burbridge, St. Louis University
$1,000 St. Louis Press Club Joan Foster Dames Women's Journalism and Media Studies Scholarship - Arielle Adams, Southeast Missouri State University
$1,000 St. Louis Press Club Spring Internship Scholarship - Tirzah Williams, Webster University
$1,500 FleishmanHillard Journalism Foundation Scholarship - Bethany Spitzmiller, Central Missouri State University
$1,000 Missouri Professional Communicators and St. Louis Press Club and Journalism Foundation Scholarship - Regan Mertz, University of Missouri-Columbia
$1,000 United Media Guild Journalism Foundation Scholarship - Ellen Killeen, University of Missouri-Columbia
$1,000 Times Newspapers and Webster University Journalism Foundation Scholarship - Jasmine Willis, Webster University
$1,000 St. Louis Press Club High School Journalism Scholarship - Abby Prywitch, Parkway Central High School to attend Indiana University
(selected by the Missouri Journalism Educators' Association)
Scholarship recipients are chosen based on aptitude, interest in pursuing a communications career, academic standing, and financial need. The awards are made in cooperation with the St. Louis Press Club, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Society of Professional Journalist, Missouri Professional Communicators, United Media Guild, Times Newspapers/Webster University, Fleishman-Hillard, and private donors.
Our IN THE NOW with Major Garrett
Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News
Speaker: Major Garrett St. Louis Press Club's 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
When: 7pm, Thursday, May 6th, 2021
Garrett shared his analysis of the issues of our time and his thoughts on journalism and how the industry has changed in his lifetime. His remarks were followed by a Q&A curated by Charlie Brennan, the host of The Charlie Brennan Show with Amy Marxkors on KMOX and the Provocateur of Donnybrook on NinePBS.
In addition, Garrett was presented with the St. Louis Press Club's 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award for excellence in journalism throughout his distinguished career in news broadcasting.
Donations support the Press Club’s ongoing scholarships and enterprise grants efforts — including offsetting costs of programs like this one. Click Here to donate.
When: Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 10:30 a.m.
Where: Neiman Marcus
What: Beauty Buzz!
Join St. Louis Press Club and Neiman Marcus either in-person or virtually for its annual Beauty Buzz -- our beauty mix, mingle, and runway party to raise a little “fun” and “funds” for media scholarships/enterprise journalism grants, while learning cosmetic and skincare tricks of the trade from NM experts. Enjoy brunch lite bites from the Mariposa, coffee and mimosas, and a chance to win prizes. Plus a great line-up of cosmetic demonstrations modeled on the runway.
Make Your Reservation Now!
Tickets - $75/Person
One-Time Special Opportunity - guests who purchase a sponsorship for $125 and above
will receive a one-year Saint Louis Press Club membership.
Other 2021 Beauty Buzz Sponsorship Levels Include...
$1,000 Publisher
$500 Editor
$250 Reporter
$125 Writer
All donations are 100% tax deductible.
