MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY announces that Reporter Donna Leinwand becomes president of the National Press Club today, January 16, 2009. The National Press Club is the world's leading organization for journalists and has 3,500 members worldwide. USA TODAY is the Nation's top-selling newspaper, with an average daily circulation of 2.3 million.

"We're proud of Donna's many accomplishments and look forward to her leadership of this remarkable organization," said Ken Paulson, editor and senior vice president for USA TODAY.

Leinwand will be sworn in as the National Press Club's 102nd president at an inaugural gala on Saturday, January 31. The evening will begin with an internationally-themed cocktail reception, followed by an all-American dinner and entertainment by political satirist Mark Russell. Paulson will be offering a keynote speech, his last as editor of USA TODAY. He becomes president and chief operating officer of the Newseum and Freedom Forum in February.

Leinwand has been with USA TODAY since 2000, covering crime, justice and disasters. She has reported from Germany, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Indonesia, Thailand, Bahrain, Turkey and Iraq. Leinwand has worked for Gannett News Service, the Knight Ridder Washington bureau and The Miami Herald. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and lives in Washington, D.C. She has been a member of the Club's board for six years, serving as vice president in 2008 and chairman of the board in 2005.

USA TODAY is the nation's top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 34 locations in the USA and at four sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. USA TODAY is published by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI). The USA TODAY brand also includes: USATODAY.com, an award-winning news and information Web site that is updated 24 hours per day; USA TODAY Sports Weekly, a magazine for enthusiasts of college and professional football and baseball; USA TODAY Mobile, offering up-to-the minute news and information on a variety of mobile platforms and devices; and USA TODAY LIVE, the television arm of the USA TODAY brand that brings the spirit and quality of the newspaper to television.