13/01/2024
The Washington Press Club Foundation is pleased to announce that Janet Hook will be honored with the Foundation's 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award at the 78th Annual Congressional Dinner.
Janet Hook, a political reporter for more than 40 years, was part of a new generation of women breaking through Washington’s male-dominated ranks in the early 1980s to report on Congress, adding their unique perspectives to political coverage.
Hook's career spanned decades of major stories on the Hill -- from the Republican takeover of Congress in the 1990s to the budget battles of the 2000s to the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 -- as well as reporting on many midterms elections, three presidential campaigns, and the transformation of the GOP by Donald Trump.
She graduated from Harvard with a degree in philosophy and government, spent a year at the London School of Economics, then turned to a career in journalism. Hook worked for The Public Interest journal in the late 1970’s. After moving to Washington D.C., she learned her way around Capitol Hill reporting for Congressional Quarterly in the 1980s, then joined the Los Angeles Times in 1995. She moved to The Wall Street Journal in 2010, still covering politics and Congress, and then returned to the Los Angeles Times from 2019-2021.
"Janet Hook is a role model for all of us who have covered Congress and national politics. She is beloved by colleagues, respected by sources and has produced so many pieces of compelling and informative journalism on the biggest stories from Capitol Hill and on the campaign trail in her four decades in our profession. We're absolutely thrilled to honor her with this year's Lifetime Achievement Award." Seung Min Kim, President, Washington Press Club Foundation and White House Reporter, Associated Press
Hook was honored with the Everett Dirksen Award in 1992 for reporting on Congress, the Carey McWilliams Award for political reporting and the John S. Knight Fellowship for Professional Journalists. In 2021 she was a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. Continuing her work to engage young journalists, Hook now serves as a mentor with Report for America, a nonprofit that supports reporters in local newsrooms.
In line with the goals of the Foundation’s predecessor, the Women’s National Press Club, Hook has been committed to excellence and equity in journalism, and her career has inspired and encouraged a new generation of reporters, especially young women.
�This award will be presented at the 78th Annual Congressional Dinner on January 31, 2024 in Washington D.C.
