THE ROAST

In the age-old tradition of the National Press Club, the annual Valley Press Club ROAST gives local journalists and politicians a chance to roast each other in good fun, while raising funds for scholarships. The journalists and media folks perform skits posing as the newsmakers, and the newsmakers perform stand-up comedy monologues. After all the jabs, insults, and laughter, it is obvious to the audience that the journalists and newsmakers have great respect for each other.

Last year's roast was replaced by the 2025 Valley Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony. Stay tuned for information on a 2026 fundraising event.

The Valley Press Club honored former Republican Executive Editor Wayne Phaneuf, who started his journalism career at The Republican in 1969. During his long career there, he worked as a reporter, columnist and managing editor before serving as the newspaper’s executive editor since 1998. He retired in 2019 and continues to write books with Joseph Carvalho about the history and culture of Western Massachusetts.

“The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.” 

― Thomas Jefferson

“Journalism largely consists in saying "Lord Jones is dead" to people who never knew Lord Jones was alive.” 

― G.K. Chesterton

“I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

"A news story should be like a mini skirt. Long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be interesting."

  ―  Anonymous