Yamiche Alcindor Named the 2020 Gwen Ifill Award Recipient by the International Women’s Media Foundation

By Maiysha Kai | Originally published: The Root

Yamiche Alcindor attends Politicon 2019 at Music City Center on October 27, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.Photo: Ed Rode (Getty Images)

As a White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour and a political contributor for NBC News and MSNBC, Yamiche Alcindor has fearlessly and consistently challenged Trump and his minions on their dangerous rhetoric and outright lies, helping to maintain the credibility of journalism amid an administration bolstering itself on the falsehood of “fake news.” On Monday, the 2020 Root 100 honoree was honored yet again for her tenacity and always-intersectional lens on American politics, as she was named the recipient of the fourth annual 2020 IWMF Gwen Ifill Award by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF).

“Through countless attacks, Yamiche remains focused on the pursuit of the truth,” said Elisa Lees Muñoz, executive director of the IWMF, in a release provided to The Root. “She mirrors Gwen Ifill’s tenacity and talent. At such a critical moment for press freedom, it is an honor to celebrate Yamiche and the barriers she has broken for young journalists of color following in her footsteps.”

From IWMF:

Now in its fourth year, the IWMF’s Gwen Ifill Award honors a remarkable woman journalist of color whose work embodies Ifill’s legacy of supporting and uplifting women of color in news media. Ifill, who passed away in November 2016, was a friend of the IWMF and trailblazer in the news media industry…

Alcindor is a force in the White House Press Corps, building a reputation as a reporter who will always ask her question despite the Trump administration’s hostility toward the media. Dedicated to shedding light on injustice and inequity, Alcindor frequently covers police brutality and systemic racism in the United States.

“It is truly an honor and a blessing to receive this award from the IWMF during such a critical and historic year,” said Alcindor. “Gwen Ifill was a journalism icon who exemplified all the virtues of the craft that we need now—fairness, bravery and truth-telling at all costs. Gwen, her dear friend Athelia Knight, and a number of other women and men in my life have helped me navigate my career and embrace my passion for civil rights journalism on many beats and in all forms. I am forever grateful for their support as I accept this award.”

“Gwen spotted Yamiche as a young journalist of great promise, and it’s thrilling to watch her grow in stature as she covers some of the most consequential stories of our time,” said Judy Woodruff, anchor and managing editor of the PBS NewsHour and a co-founder of the IWMF, in a statement. “The NewsHour is strengthened in its journalism and Americans are better informed as a result of her unflinching dedication to reporting the facts as she finds them every day.”

Alcindor will receive further recognition during the IWMF’s virtual Courage in Journalism Awards on Dec. 1, but Ifill’s legacy is also honored through the organization’s Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program, now in its second year. According to IWMF, “the program pairs young women journalists from underrepresented backgrounds with senior media professionals to address the lack of diversity and women in leadership positions in U.S. newsrooms. Together, these efforts reflect Ifill’s impact, recognizing and uplifting the next generation of women journalists of color.”