INFORMATION FOR
The Deadline Club, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), has elected William Paterson University professor Nicholas Hirshon as its president for 2025, the group’s centennial year. Hirshon assumes this key role leading the nation’s largest SPJ chapter as the Club commemorates a century of championing journalistic excellence and freedom of the press.
Hirshon is only the second professor elected to this role, among the most prestigious leadership positions in journalism. He joins a list of distinguished Deadline Club presidents who were critical figures in journalism history, including Roy W. Howard, a co-founder of the Scripps Howard newspaper chain; Bernard Kilgore, a longtime managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, and Myron Kandel, the founding financial editor for CNN.
The Deadline Club is SPJ’s largest chapter, with almost 400 members.
“I’m honored to lead the Deadline Club in this milestone year and in this critical moment in the history of American journalism,” Hirshon says.
A former reporter for the New York Daily News, Hirshon is a longtime SPJ leader who founded and advises the SPJ student chapter at William Paterson University, the reigning national campus chapter of the year. Hirshon is also the only two-time recipient of SPJ’s award for national campus chapter adviser.
"Dr. Hirshon has been a rising star in SPJ for many years, and I am so happy that he is taking the next step in his leadership journey to serve the Deadline Club,” says Chris Vaccaro, SPJ vice-president. “He brings a unique skill set to benefit students, student chapters, and professional journalists looking for educational support."
Hirshon recruited two William Paterson graduates to join the Deadline Club’s 10-member executive council: Anthony Locicero ’10, a copy editor for the New York Post, and Rochelle Estrada ’24, the former president of the University’s SPJ chapter, who is currently pursuing her master’s degree at William Paterson.
“Dr. Hirshon is helping to grow the next crop of journalists at William Paterson and as an alumnus, I hope I can provide an example and be a resource for them,” Locicero says.
Last month, Hirshon arranged for two William Paterson students in the SPJ campus chapter, Alexander Felix ’25 and Julia Menn ’28, to report from the White House on Election Day for a nonprofit he co-founded named Student News Live.
“Nick Hirshon has distinguished himself as a breaking news reporter and journalism educator in the toughest market in the world,” says Steve Dunlop, a longtime CBS News correspondent and past Deadline Club president. “His background, his energy, and his people skills promise to make Nick an outstanding leader of our organization.”
