The Kalb Report: Covering Washington and the World

A Conversation with Judy Woodruff

In a distinguished network career that began with her coverage of Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign for NBC News, Judy Woodruff has been at the pinnacle of broadcast journalism for 40 years. Having served as a chief White House correspondent for NBC and PBS, host of CNN’s Inside Politics, and now c0-anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour, Woodruff has had a front row seat to world events, as well as some of the most notable campaigns, elections, and political scandals in American history.

On this edition of The Kalb Report, moderator Marvin Kalb and Judy Woodruff discuss an American presidential campaign that has defied conventional wisdom, coverage of today’s global news, world press freedom, women in journalism, and the challenges public television faces in a perceived partisan media landscape.

The Kalb Report will take place on Wednesday, April 20, at 8 p.m. EDT, in the main ballroom of the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, in Washington, D.C.

“Judy Woodruff is one of my all-time favorite anchors,” said Kalb. “She is fair, intelligent, and a model for any young journalist who wants to see the best at work.  I can’t wait to talk about everything with her.”

Judy Woodruff is co-anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour with Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff. For 12 years, Woodruff served as anchor and senior correspondent for CNN, where her duties included anchoring the weekday program, "Inside Politics." At PBS from 1983 to 1993, she was the chief Washington correspondent for The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. From 1984-1990, she also anchored PBS' award-winning weekly documentary series, "Frontline with Judy Woodruff."

At NBC News, Woodruff was White House correspondent from 1977 to 1982. For one year after that she served as NBC's Today Show Chief Washington Correspondent. She wrote the book, "This is Judy Woodruff at the White House," published in 1982 by Addison-Wesley.

The Kalb Report series is produced jointly by The National Press Club Journalism Institute, the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, Harvard University's Shorenstein Center, University of Maryland University College and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. For the 13th consecutive year, the series is underwritten by a grant from Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

Since 1994, the partnership has produced 90 forums with guests including Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Rupert Murdoch, Diane Sawyer, Roger Ailes, Katie Couric, Bill O'Reilly, Bob Costas, Hillary Clinton, Ken Burns, Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel and Walter Cronkite.

The Kalb Report was most recently honored with a Gold World Medal in the 2015 New York Festivals International Radio Awards competition for its program Writing History: Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and Journalism’s Finest Hour. In 2012, the series received both a Gold World Medal and the overall Grand Award in the New York Festivals for Anchoring 9-11, The Day and the Decade with Dan Rather, Brit Hume, Charles Gibson and Frank Sesno.

The Kalb Report series is distributed nationally by American Public Television. Oklahoma Educational Television Authority serves as the presenting station. The series also airs on Sirius—XM Satellite Radio, Federal News Radio in Washington, D.C. (1500 AM), District of Columbia Cable Television, University of Maryland Cable Television, and NewsChannel 8 in Washington, D.C. Each program is also streamed live at press.org.

Moderator Marvin Kalb is Edward R. Murrow Professor Emeritus at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and senior advisor to the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Over the course of his distinguished 30-year career in broadcast journalism, Mr. Kalb served as chief diplomatic correspondent for both CBS News and NBC News, and moderator of Meet the Press. He went on to serve as the founding director of Harvard's Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. Among his many honors are two Peabody Awards, the DuPont Prize from Columbia University, the 2006 Fourth Estate Award from the National Press Club and more than a half-dozen Overseas Press Club awards. Mr. Kalb has authored or co-authored 14 books including two best-selling novels. His latest book is "Imperial Gamble: Putin, Ukraine and the New Cold War.”

Executive Producer Michael Freedman is a senior vice president and professor of the practice at University of Maryland University College, as well as a professorial lecturer in journalism at the George Washington University. Freedman is the former general manager of CBS Radio Network News, and a former managing editor at United Press International. He has earned more than 85 honors for journalistic excellence including 14 Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Senior Producer Heather Date is a vice president at University of Maryland University College and former CNN producer. She received the Alliance for Women in Media’s 2011 Gracie Award as Outstanding Producer for her work on The Kalb Report.

The Kalb Report series is directed by Robert Vitarelli, a 39-year CBS News veteran and a Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

###