FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Aug. 16, 2024
PRESS CONTACT: Kenrick Thomas
info@wabjdc.org
Washington, D.C. – The Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) is excited to announce that Rachel Scott, a senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, will receive the 2024 WABJ Young Journalist of Excellence Award. This award honors a Washington, D.C.area Black journalist under 35 who has demonstrated exceptional talent and dedication to the principles of journalism and displayed a commitment to the mission of WABJ.
Scott will be honored at the 3rd annual WABJ Special Honors & Scholarship Gala on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, at the Blackburn University Center, Howard University. Early-bird tickets for the gala are now available for purchase here.
As ABC’s lead campaign correspondent, Scott has become a driving force in political journalism, covering some of the nation’s most critical stories. Her reporting has been a pillar of ABC News’ coverage across platforms like Good Morning America, Nightline, World News Tonight, and ABC News Digital.
“Rachel Scott has been on the front lines of some of the biggest political stories of the past year, including the historic ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. She has decisively maintained a commanding lead on reporting these events.” — WABJ Awards Review Committee
In addition to exclusive interviews with top political figures such as Vice Presidents Kamala Harris and Mike Pence, Scott’s coverage of the US Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade earned her recognition from the Peabody Awards program twice in two years. She won a Peabody Award in 2021 for her work on Nightline’s special “The Appointment” and was a finalist in 2023 for Impact x Nightline: On the Brink with Diane Sawyer, a Hulu special that explored the wide-ranging effects of the high court’s landmark decision.
Scott was also part of the international press pool that accompanied President Biden for his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2021. Her tough questioning regarding human rights garnered widespread attention.
A Southern California native and graduate of USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, Scott has received several honors, including the NABJ Emerging Journalist of the Year Award in 2020, the inaugural Emerging Journalist Emmy Award in 2022, and the Washingtonian’s Outstanding Journalist in Broadcast Television Award in 2024.
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Founded in 1975, the Washington Association of Black Journalists is an organization of more than 300 Black journalists, educators, public relations professionals, and student journalists in the Washington, D.C., metro area. WABJ provides members with ongoing professional development opportunities and advocates for newsroom diversity, equity, and inclusion. WABJ was named the 2023 Professional Chapter of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists. For more information, please visit www.wabjdc.org.
