2022 Gala Hosts Announced

Peter Alexander

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Aug. 8, 2022) – The White House News Photographers Association has announced that co-anchor of “Weekend TODAY” and Chief White House correspondent for NBC News, Peter Alexander, and 7News Anchor, Alison Starling, will be the hosts and emcees of the 101st WHNPA ‘Eyes of History®’ awards gala to be held on Sept. 10, 2022, at Washington’s Ritz Carlton Hotel.
The top winners of the still, video, and digital storytelling as well as the student contests will be honored at the black-tie gala. Highlights of the evening will include presenting the WHNPA Lifetime Achievement Awards. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 recipient Robert Williams of NBC News, 2021 recipient Carol Guzy of ZUMA Press and 2022 recipient, Joni Mazer Field of BBC News will be honored. WHNPA President Whitney Shefte said, “The WHNPA is elated that Peter and Alison will host this year’s ‘Eyes of History®’ awards gala. Alexander and Starling are remarkable journalists and we’re lucky to have them. The fact that they are friends and colleagues of so many of our members and guests makes having them even more special.”

Peter Alexander’s reporting appears across all platforms of NBC News and MSNBC including “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt,” TODAY, “Meet the Press,” “Dateline,” and NBCNews.com.

“I am thrilled to celebrate the best in photojournalism. These outstanding photographers have been my friends and partners throughout my career, and I have enormous admiration for their work. Each day, they peruse the power of a photograph,” Alexander said.

Alexander has covered many international stories including Iraq’s historic election in 2005, the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, and the tsunami in Indonesia. He has traveled to Afghanistan, the Galápagos Islands, Gaza Strip, Israel, Laos and Mexico. He has reported on the international controversy surrounding WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange and received an Emmy nomination for his work in the 2005 NBC News Special Report: The Death of Pope John Paul II. Alexander has also served as an NBC Sports host and covered both the 2008 and 2010 Olympics.

Starling said: “We are ecstatic to be part of this special event. The White House News Photographers Association represents the best of the best when it comes to professionalism, work ethic, and determination. It’s humbling to help honor this year’s award winners.”

Originally from Orlando, Fla., Alison Starling hails from a military family and spent part of her childhood in Washington. She was a congressional intern and later graduated from University of Florida. She later earned a Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship from Rotary International to study in Tours, France. Starling began her career in broadcast journalism at WDEF-TV in Chattanooga, Tenn., as a reporter and anchor before joining KIRO-TV in Seattle, in 1998, where she covered the Seattle earthquake.

In 2003 Starling joined 7News and one year later, became co-anchor of Good Morning Washington and ABC7 News at Noon. Washingtonian Magazine named her one of the area’s rising stars in local television news in 2005. Starling also co-anchored the early morning program Good Morning Washington.

The White House News Photographers Association is a 101-year-old non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the efforts of Washington’s professional visual journalists. The WHNPA aims to provide professional and educational outreach to its members and the community through scholarships, programming, an annual competition, and a celebration of the industry at the annual “Eyes of History®” gala. For more information, please contact Whitney Shefte at [email protected] or executive director Heidi Elswick at [email protected]. For further information about ‘The Eyes of History®’ and to view the winning images and videos, visit the WHNPA website at www.whnpa.org.

The WHNPA and ‘The Eyes of History® are sponsored by Nikon and Tiffen.

The full news release can be found here.