Press clubs are organisations that bring together journalists and members of the Fourth Estate, and other people who are involved daily in the process of gathering and disseminating news. There are many levels of press clubs. Those that draw their membership from a particular country are called national press clubs.
Examples of National Press Clubs
- National Press Club of America.
- National Press Club of Austria. (This is considered to be the oldest in the world).
- National Press Club of the UK.
- Birmingham Press Club.
- Press Club of Polska in Poland.
- The London Press Club.
- The Indian Thiruvananthapuram Press Club.
Most countries have a press club, and they are even found in schools, especially high schools and universities that have a strong journalism section. These schools often create a press club that is made up of students and some members of faculty who are passionate about media and are working on a product that needs journalistic knowledge.
What Press Clubs Do
Mostly, press clubs bring journalists together and allow them easier access to information. These clubs provide both professional and social support to journalists. In some instances, such as in schools, press clubs act as the link between the people who run the editorial products such as the school newsletter, with the sources they get news from.
Press clubs also strengthen how journalism is conducted. It is through press clubs that upcoming journalists get mentorship and veterans get more opportunities to improve their skills.
They also offer a platform to network and share ideas, especially when they are made up of journalists from different media houses and affiliations. Most press clubs have rules, regulations and a constitution under which they perform. They also have a comprehensive channel of leadership that is mostly elective and dependent on the preference of the members.