Jeff Ballou

Jeff Ballou, currently a news editor for the Americas at Al Jazeera Media Network’s English language channel, is the 110th and immediate past president of the National Press Club, having served in 2017. A member since 1992, Ballou was elected to the National Press Club’s board of governors in 2012 and served as the Club’s 109th Vice President. He is the first male African-American president of the Club.

A Pittsburgh native, Ballou helped launch Al Jazeera Media Network’s English language channel in 2006, and is part of its global editorial team. His career spans nearly 30 years including stops at C-SPAN, WTTG-TV, WTOP-AM, NPR, Hearst Broadcasting and Hubbard Broadcasting (CONUS).

Ballou has served as a two-term member of the executive committee of correspondents for the Congressional Radio and Television Gallery. He is active in numerous organizations, including the National Association of Black Journalists, the Radio and TV Correspondents Association, The White House Correspondents Association, Sigma Pi Phi fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the D.C. Prince Hall Freemasons. He also has served on local and national boards for the Penn State Alumni Association, where he is a 2019 candidate for its board of trustees.