NBC’s Craig Melvin has been named the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2026 President’s Awardee for Impact on Media.
The veteran TV journalist and anchor is the co-host of Today, together with Savannah Guthrie. He is also the host of Dateline and a fill-in anchor on the Evening News.
“We are honored to celebrate Craig Melvin at the SoCal Journalism Awards Gala. His stellar 25-year career, starting in South Carolina and rising to the pinnacle of our industry, is a testament to his unwavering dedication to the highest standards in professional news coverage,” said Los Angeles Press Club President Danny Bakewell Jr.
The President’s Award will be presented at the 68th SoCal Journalism Awards Gala on Sunday, June 28, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA.
In addition to honoring Craig Melvin, we are also honoring Filipino and American journalist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa with the Daniel Pearl Award for Courage and Integrity in Journalism. Our Lifetime Achievement Award will be bestowed on ABC7’s Rob Fukuzaki and the Guardian Award for Contributions to Press Freedom will be presented to Carol Sobel.
This event is attended by some 550 journalists and media executives.
The SoCal Journalism Awards Gala is a fundraiser for this 501 (c) (3) charitable organization and makes it possible for us to fund our educational programming, mentorship program for young journalists from underserved communities, grants for investigative journalism, scholarships, etc.
Proceeds from the Gala are the largest source of income for the Los Angeles Press Club, an organization that speaks for journalists across all media platforms. All contributions are tax-deductible.
To buy tickets, advertise or sponsor this event with a tax-deductible donation, go to LAPressClub.org or contact Diana@lapressclub.org. The LAPC is one of the oldest and most respected journalist organizations in the nation, with a storied history of honoring the most celebrated reporters of the past century. In recent years, the Los Angeles Press Club has continued to uphold its tradition in spite of ever-declining budgets and attacks on the media.
