While some vice presidents have curtailed their presidential aspiration, there’s one from Utah who’s just getting started.
The Salt Lake Tribune’s ace reporter Tommy Burr, who has spent the last year as vice president of the National Press Club, this week announced he is running for the presidency of the 107-year-old organization. The club, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has more than 3,100 members worldwide and regularly hosts high-profile speakers, including presidential candidates, heads of state and stars of sports, film and media.
“Unlike a certain other vice president named Biden, I am launching my campaign for president of the National Press Club,” Burr announced on his Facebook page. “As a proud member for more than a decade, I have been elected to several posts in club leadership and am excited to take on the most challenging job in heading the world’s leading professional organization for journalists.”
Burr has been based in Washington for the Trib since 2005, not only reporting full time but serving in various groups within the National Press Club: he’s chaired the Board of Governors, the Club’s Budget, Personnel and Audit committees, and also served as the board liaison to the Young Members Committee. He also served as the Press Club’s treasurer during “a very profitable year.”
“I’ve always sought to be a reporter’s reporter, fully engaged in the news of the day and in the institutions that support our craft,” Burr continued. “As our industry continues to fracture and the economic model remains in flux, there is still a need for a strong, unified voice on issues that impact journalists of all stripes.”
In the past, he’s also lead the Regional Reporters Association and the Congressional Standing Committee of Correspondents. In 2012, he joined the Gridiron Club and Foundation and is a regular member of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Three times he’s been honored as the top regional reporter by the Press Club.
“When a reporter wants to take a source to lunch or out for a drink, I want them to think of the Club. When a politician wants to make news, they should make it at the Club,” he said. “When governments crack down on reporters, we should have their back.”
Burr is also the only reporter from a Utah news agency based full-time in Washington.
(Well, and me.)
The election will be in early December. Tweet your well wishes to Burr here.
