
Events

Newsapalooza
Point Park University's Center for Media Innovation will host its first Newsapalooza, a celebration of local news, Sept. 27-28. CBS politics reporter Robert Costa kicks off the celebration Friday at 9:30 a.m. The event will include meaningful conversations and workshops throughout the day – including the first public discussion about Press Forward at 2 p.m. Friday culminates with a live story pitch competition on the mainstage at 5 p.m. Come for the conversation, and stay for the party! All-day tickets are $10.

2024 Bob Fryer Memorial Golf Outing
Join us for the 13th annual Bob Fryer Memorial Golf Outing on Saturday, July 20, at River Forest Country Club, 130 Clubhouse Drive, Freeport, PA (724-295-2217; riverforestgolf.com). Proceeds benefit the Bob Fryer Memorial Scholarship administered by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania and funds donated to the American Cancer Society. Shotgun start at 1 p.m.; dinner at 6 p.m. Cost is $100 per golfer. Become a sponsor here. (Pictured: Matt Fryer. Photo by Justin Merriman)

Press Clubs’ Happy Hour
Join the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh Media Partnership for a joint happy hour at Trace Brewing in Bloomfield on Tuesday, June 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Press Club Happy Hour
The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania is kicking off the new year with a networking event in collaboration with the Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation and the Pittsburgh Media Partnership at the Grist House in Millvale.
Drinks and food are on you -- great company is on us.

John Harris on ‘Tomlin: The Soul of a Football Coach’
The Center for Media Innovation will host an open Q&A and book signing with John Harris, author of the recently published book "Tomlin: The Soul of a Football Coach." John will speak with coach Tomlin's oldest brother, Ed Tomlin, about the personal side of the Steelers football coach, and reflect on his own career as the Steelers beat reporter for the Tribune Review.

PBMF holiday gathering
Pittsburgh Black Media Federation is hosting a holiday gathering as it celebrates 50 years from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the August Wilson House in the Hill District. RSVP by Nov. 28 to Donovan Harrell, donovanharrell123@gmail.com.

CMI celebration
Join Point Park's Center for Media Innovation, the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, Women's Press Club of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Media Partnership in a festive gathering to celebrate local journalism at the Pittsburgh Downtown Media Hub from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. Attendees must RSVP via eventbrite.

Bob Fryer Memorial Golf Outing
Join us for the 12 annual Bob Fryer Memorial Golf Outing on Saturday, July 22, at River Forest Country Club, 130 Clubhouse Drive, Freeport, PA (724-295-2217; riverforestgolf.com). Proceeds benefit the Bob Fryer Memorial Scholarship administered by the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania and funds donated to the American Cancer Society. Shotgun start at 1 p.m.; dinner at 6 p.m. Cost is $100 per golfer. Become a sponsor here. (Pictured: Matt Fryer. Photo by Justin Merriman)

The Cost of Not Knowing: Why Open Records Matter and How You Should Be Using Them
The open public record system has been the mainstay of the U.S. democracy and economy since the earliest colonial days—as essential to our infrastructure as roads, telephone lines and airports. Now, at a time when facts can easily become obscured by bias and watchdog media resources continue to decline, access to public records has never been more essential. Yet the task of obtaining public records is often more onerous and expensive than it should be.
Join us in the Power Center Ballroom from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, March 16 — during Sunshine Week — for an in-person and livestreamed symposium on open records featuring the executive director of Pennsylvania’s Open Records Office and a panel of experts:
Keynote, Liz Wagenseller, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records
Paula Knudsen Burke, Local Legal Initiative staff attorney
Rich Lord, managing editor of PublicSource
Melissa Melewsky, Media Law Counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association
David A. Strassburger, President of Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, civil trial attorney
Try searching for records yourself during a hands-on workshop following the formal program, when journalists will show you where to look, how to look and what to do with the information you find. You’re encouraged to bring a laptop or similar device so you can follow along.
Presented by the Duquesne University Institute for Ethics and Integrity in Journalism, this symposium is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is required.

National Geographic Program Discount for Members
Press Club members are invited to hear from photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as she shares her personal odyssey — from documenting the heartbreaking realities of war to witnessing the inspiring power of an individual to make a difference. Her work has taken her to more than 100 countries. She’s lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit — all in keeping with her philosophy of “living the story.”
Thanks to the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University, Press Club members can buy one get one tickets with the code OUTDOORs at playhouse.pointpark.edu/shows-events/speakerSeries/index.

National Geographic Program Discount for Members
Point Park’s Center for Media Innovation is offering Press Club members a discount to an upcoming program at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. National Geographic videographer Bryan Smith will be at the Playhouse on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. We’re offering a 20% discount with code CMI at checkout.

Board of Directors Meeting
The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors will meet.

Off the Record
The 22nd annual musical satire for a good cause, “Off the Record,” returns to the Byham Theater on Thursday, Oct. 20 after two years of virtual shows.
KDKA’s Ken Rice is back as emcee extraordinaire, and Mayor Ed Gainey will be the featured speaker to get things started, according to organizers. In year 22, “Off the Record,” will feature Halloween, midterm elections, a new QB and stadium name for Steelers Nation, and generally pokes fun at local news and newsmakers. Narrators Rick Sebak, Doug Oster, Heather Abraham and Larry Richert will serve as guides through a storybook world where buses fall and rise, inflation is on the run and moviemaking enters the streaming zone. Lynne Hayes-Freeland and J. Kevin McMahon will be honored for their support of OTR and contributions to the vitality of our city.
“Off the Record,” is presented through the collaboration of three local unions – the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, SAG-AFTRA Ohio-Pittsburgh and United Steelworkers – and dozens of volunteers. OTR’s sponsors include KeyBank, UPMC Health Plan, Walnut Capital, ALCOSAN and Seneca Resources.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for preshow lobby food, cash bar and mingling; curtain’s up at 8 p.m. Tickets: $80, $50 and $30 at https://trustarts.org/production/83733.
In ’20 and ’21, the online audiences, sponsors and donors came through, helping to raise $58,000 for Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, representing 290,000 meals for Western Pennsylvanians with food insecurities. In the first 21 years, OTR has raised nearly $700,000, mostly for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, scholarships and other local charitable organizations.

Book Launch and Q&A with Andrew Conte
University of Pittsburgh Press and City of Asylum, Book Launch and Q&A with Andy Conte, author of “Death of the Daily News.”
More details TBD.

Board of Directors Meeting
The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania Board of Directors will meet.