July 17, 2012
PBS NewsHour Anchors Judy Woodruff and Gwen Ifill to Hold National Press Club Newsmaker Event:

ELECTION 2012: THE VOTERS, THE ISSUES and THE POLITICS

(Arlington, VA)--On Tuesday, July 24 from 1 p.m. - 2 p.m. EST, veteran political reporters and PBS NEWSHOUR Anchors Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will discuss the 2012 presidential campaign and the impact that recent healthcare legislation and the faltering economy will have on the upcoming election. They will also address the role that recent demographic shifts, including the nation's growing ethnic diversity and increasing influence of millennial voters, will play in the outcome.  The event will take place at The National Press Club as part of its Newsmaker Luncheon series.  

"This is the tenth presidential election that I have covered as a reporter," said Woodruff.  "Each election gives me a unique opportunity as a journalist to inform voters on the issues that impact their lives. I have enormous respect for the viewers who rely on PBS and NewsHour to go beyond the horse race and focus on the developments that will shape the country and their future."

"I am very fortunate to have the best of both worlds at PBS," said Ifill. "Each week, I get to discuss issues and news with some of our nation's best journalists on Washington Week.  And, for both NewsHour and Washington Week, I get to do one of the things I enjoy most: getting out of the DC bubble and hitting the campaign trail to speak with American voters about the issues that motivate and inspire them and, ultimately, will have an impact on who wins the White House." 

Woodruff, whose first national news job was as a reporter with NBC News based in their Southeastern bureau in Atlanta during an election year, told her bosses to keep an eye out for a little known governor named Jimmy Carter. When he won, Woodruff was sent to Washington to cover the White House and has been covering presidential politics ever since. This marks her tenth presidential election as a political journalist. Ifill, who has moderated two vice presidential debates, will be covering her seventh presidential election.  Ifill and Woodruff have overseen the program's political reporting team since 2011, when veteran anchor Jim Lehrer stepped down from his nightly anchor duties. That same year, they won the distinguished Walter Cronkite Award for excellence in television political journalism.  In presenting the award, the judges praised Ifill and Woodruff for focusing on the issues, talking with real voters and letting the candidates explain themselves. The 2012 presidential election will be the first one to bear the mark of Ifill and Woodruff's editorial oversight of the NewsHour's political coverage.  

The National Press Club is located at 529 14th Street NW, Floor 13; Washington, DC  20045.  A lunch is available from 12:30-1 pm to Press for an additional charge.  There is no charge to Press covering the event from 1 p.m.-2 p.m.  A transcript will be available following the event at www.press.org.  The event will be streamed live on the web at www.press.org.

PBS NEWSHOUR is seen by over 5 million weekly viewers and is also available online, via public radio in select markets and via podcast. The program is produced in association with WETA Washington, D.C., and WNET in New York. Major funding for the PBS NEWSHOUR is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public television viewers. www.pbs.org/newshour

For more information on PBS Election 2012, including programming from PBS NEWSHOUR, WASHINGTON WEEK, FRONTLINE and NEED TO KNOW, visit pbs.org/election2012 and follow #pbsElection on Twitter.

Contacts:

Anne Bell                     

PBS NEWSHOUR       

703-998-2175

abell@newshour.org

Leslie Young

PBS NEWSHOUR

202-369-9824

lfy@mac.com

Contact: Anne Bell 703-998-2175.