WaPo’s Thompson to be honored with Dorothy Butler Gilliam Trailblazer Award

The Washington Affiliation of Black Journalists (WABJ) is proud to announce that Krissah Thompson, a managing editor at The Washington Publish, shall be honored with the inaugural Dorothy Butler Gilliam Trailblazer Award on the 2023 WABJ Particular Honors & Scholarship Gala.

This award is introduced by the WABJ Govt Board to a D.C. space newsroom supervisor or editor for his or her trailblazing careers and exemplary editorial management abilities. It was established in honor of print journalism large Dorothy Butler Gilliam, who in 1961 grew to become the primary Black lady reporter on the Publish and later labored as an editor and columnist earlier than retiring in 2003.

The WABJ Particular Honors & Scholarship Gala shall be held on Saturday, Dec. 2 on the Armour J. Blackburn College Middle on the campus of Howard College. Tickets for the gala can be purchased here.

“Dorothy Butler Gilliam has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to journalistic integrity and excellence in newsroom management for many years, and she or he’s been instrumental in paving the best way for younger Black journalists and difficult the established order,” stated WABJ President Khorri Atkinson.

“The WABJ Govt Board noticed it becoming to make sure her legacy stays a part of this annual celebration whereas recognizing Krissah Thompson, whose editorial acumen and distinctive management embody the award namesake’s trailblazing legacy,” Atkinson stated. “Thompson’s rise on the Publish is inspiring to numerous younger journalists together with myself. She’s the proper inaugural recipient of this accolade.”

Thompson was promoted to the Publish’s masthead in 2020 to function the publication’s first Black, feminine managing editor after working in a number of reporter and editor roles for practically 20 years. In her present position, she oversees the Local weather, Options and Audio protection departments and leads the newsroom’s efforts within the recruitment, hiring, promotion and mentoring of workers members, with a objective towards enhancing the Publish’s variety.

Thompson began working on the Publish in 2001 as a summer time reporting intern earlier than becoming a member of as a full-time staffer.