Game On: Angela Greiling Keane, sworn in as 106th Club president, vows action on FOIA, press freedom

The National Press Club will focus on freedom of the press, women’s contributions to journalism and journalism training in 2013, National Press Club President Angela Greiling Keane, a reporter for Bloomberg News, said in her inaugural address Saturday, Jan. 26.

“We will continue to contribute our voice to calling attention to breaches of press freedom overseas, but also expect us this year to highlight problems journalist face right here in Washington obtaining information from the government,” Keane told an inaugural dinner audience of 250 after being sworn in as the Club's 106th president.

“Be it FOIA or insisting that information be provided by named sources as often as possible, the Press Club will be here to push for open access to government information," she said.

The inaugural theme “Game On” reflected not only Keane’s die-hard love for the Green Bay Packers but also her vision for the Club’s direction in 2013 and her commitment to getting things done. Quoting Henry Ford, a fitting nod to her work as a Bloomberg transportation reporter, she said, “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

“So with your help -- and I can't do this without your help -- this year won’t be about what we say we are going to do for the Club,” she said. “It will be about what we do.”

Other featured speakers of the night agreed that Keane would be able to get the job done. Keynote speaker Tim Franklin, managing editor for Bloomberg News, lauded Keane’s journalistic chops.

“Angela is exactly the kind of reporter every editor wants on his staff,” he said. “She breaks news. She gets the story behind the story. She carefully reports and researches and, not surprisingly to those of you who know her, she’s a great colleague as well. If she does for the National Press Club what she’s done for Bloomberg, you’re about to have a year in which you get down to business.”

Donna Leinwand Leger, the Club's 2009 president and mistress of ceremonies, caught the attention of the audience with a whistle while dressed in a football referee’s jersey, an homage to the theme of the evening.

The event featured special video messages from Mark Murphy, president and chief executive of the Green Bay Packers, Anna Maria Chavez, chief executive of Girl Scouts of the USA, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

See a photo gallery of the event here.