TheGrio To Air ‘Washington, D.C. Gala’ Honoring Gayle King

Allen Media Group’s African American-focused news, sports, lifestyle and entertainment multi-platform media outlet, theGrio, will honor CBS News journalist Gayle King with theGrio’s “Journalist Icon Award” for her career accomplishments and service to America during an event in Washington immediately following the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) on Saturday, April 29.

Byron Allen Presents the Washington, D.C. Gala will take place at The Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History & Culture. In addition, the best moments of the gala will be shared in a one-hour television special entitled The Washington, D.C. Gala, featuring interviews with political icons, power players and stars. The special will air on theGrio Television Network and other platforms on Monday, May 1.

Roy Wood, Jr. — comedian, Emmy-nominated producer and correspondent for The Daily Show on Comedy Central — will host the event that will feature a special musical concert by Diana Ross. Byron Allen Presents The Washington, D.C. Gala will feature guests from politics, film, music, sports and television and is sponsored by Allen Media Group, Procter & Gamble and My Black is Beautiful.

The evening’s honoree, CBS News correspondent Gayle King, is co-host of CBS Mornings, and she is also editor-at-large of Oprah Daily and hosts a live, weekly radio show Gayle King in the House on SiriusXM. King has received numerous awards for her extensive work as a journalist, including three Emmys.

Most recently, she was honored with the 39th Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism presented by Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 2018 she was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and in 2019 she was selected for the TIME 100, Time magazine’s annual list of the hundred most influential people in the world.

Diana Ross was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Supremes, and is one of the rare performers to have two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She was the recipient of a Special Tony Award in 1976, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2007, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and 2023. In 2021, Billboard magazine ranked her the 30th greatest Hot 100 artist of all time.

Byron Allen, founder/chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group, said: “Gayle King and Diana Ross are both American treasures, and I can’t think of a better way to honor their excellence than by hosting this event at The Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History & Culture.”