Bio

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal is the program formerly known as Washington Week in Review. The program merged with National Journal in February 2006 to expand its media influence. Washington Week is the longest running public affairs program on PBS. In January 1969, Washington Week in Review became the first local program to air on the Public Broadcasting Service. The program features a group of journalists participating in a round table discussion of major news events and has a small group of regular correspondents and a large group of occasional guests. The show is hosted by Gwen Ifill, who became the original program's moderator in October 1999. Regular panelists include Fortune Magazine Washington bureau chief Jeffrey Birnbaum, Washington Post correspondent David Broder, National Staff Writer for the Washington Post Cece Connolly and Wall Street Journal political editor John Harwood. In 1974, the program won the Alfred duPont-Columbia University Award. Other awards include a Silver Medal from the International Film and Television Festival of New York, Emmy Awards from the Washington Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and many other local awards from around the country. Washington Week is currently carried by 90 percent of the over 300 PBS stations around the country and reaches 97 percent of US television households. The program is viewed predominantly by men and women over 25 years of age who are interested in public affairs and politics. Press releases are best sent to the program's news desk by fax, where they will be allocated appropriately. This show offers a digital podcast, both audio and video. A podcast is a downloadable video or audio broadcast show. Most podcasts are available by subscription through an RSS reader or other aggregator. The fundamentals of working with podcasters are the same as with traditional journalists at traditional media outlets: respect their schedules; take time to watch or listen to their material to learn their interests; and only contact them if/when they want to be contacted.