Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

Alumna Tapped As Nation's Top Young Journalist By NABJ

For Immediate Release October 17, 2005

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Krissah Williams, a 2002 master’s graduate from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, has been named the nation’s top young journalist by the National Association of Black Journalists. Williams, 26, is a reporter for The Washington Post.

The Emerging Journalist of the Year award, presented at the association’s Salute to Excellence banquet in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 15, is given for exemplary work by an African American journalist with fewer than five years of experience.

“We are delighted for Krissah but hardly surprised,” said Dean Thomas Kunkel. “Her work is consistently outstanding and we can't imagine a more fitting winner for this distinguished award.”

Williams, who received her undergraduate degree in 2001 from the University of Texas, was selected as a Howard Simons Fellow while at the College. The award, which provides a stipend for minorities interested in pursuing a graduate degree, is named for the former Washington Post managing editor.

Also recognized at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel ceremony were Ed Bradley, longtime CBS News correspondent, with the lifetime achievement award; Andy Alford with the 2005 Journalist of the Year; Reginald Stuart with the Ida B. Wells Award, and more than 50 first place prizes in the annual Salute to Excellence Awards Competition.

NABJ is a partner of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism and its national headquarters is based on the University of Maryland campus. With over 3,000 members and 65 professional chapters, it is the oldest and largest minority journalism organization in the country.

For more information contact: Matthew C. Sheehan, 301.405.8320.