CHILDREN’S PRESSLINE TO LAUNCH DC-BASED NATIONAL BUREAU

Judy Woodruff and Tim Russert to be Honored at National Press Club Celebration

Washington, DC: June 3, 2009 – Children’s PressLine, the not-for-profit organization that teaches elementary through high school students to be journalists, will launch its DC-based National Bureau (CPL-DC) with a celebration at the National Press Club on Thursday, June 11, 2009 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM. The celebration will include the recognition of two highly respected journalists.

Judy Woodruff, Senior Correspondent for PBS’s The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, will receive the first annual Children’s PressLine Voice Award, recognizing the media professional who embodies the highest standards of journalistic ethics and who has made significant contributions in representing the youth perspective.

The late Tim Russert of NBC News will be awarded the inaugural Robert H. Clampitt Award for Excellence in Journalism, given to a member of the media who has earned the utmost in respect and credibility within the profession and whose body of work exemplifies courage, thoroughness and honesty. Luke Russert, Tim’s son, will accept the award on his father’s behalf.

With a 33-year legacy of reporting on issues of national importance, Children’s PressLine trains underrepresented youth age eight to 18 to advocate for children around the world through the power of journalism. CPL-DC will recruit, teach and lead youth journalists through the process of generating news. The print, broadcast, radio and online news pieces the youth reporters create will be disseminated through CPL’s mainstream media partners, allowing their work to reach millions of adults. Story content will focus on current events, as interpreted from a youth perspective and will provide a valuable public service.

“We are thrilled to be opening a National Bureau to serve young people around the Washington, DC area,” said Marsha Ralls, CEO and Publisher of Children’s PressLine. “Although Washington is the center of the world’s democratic process, it is home to a vast number of at-risk youth who have no way to address or express opinions about issues of impact to them. This bureau will empower our area youth to be heard.”

Corporate sponsorship packages and individual tickets for the celebration are still available. Please contact Christine Stuckey at 202-342-1754 or via email at cplnation@gmail.com.

ABOUT CHILDREN’S PRESSLINE:
Children’s PressLine (CPL) is a not-for-profit organization that empowers youth, teaching kids ages of eight to 18 journalism skills. Children’s PressLine participants achieve significant improvement in self-esteem, literacy, academic performance, teamwork, leadership and social skills, and they learn the importance of civic participation.

Through CPL, kids interview politicians and policymakers, enabling them to make more educated decisions about issues that impact them. Together with its predecessor organization Children’s Express, CPL has covered every major political convention since 1976. Our work has been published and broadcast by some of the most significant media outlets across the country. Currently, CPL maintains bureaus in New York, New Orleans, and Washington, DC.

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