2010- 2011 WHCA Officers
President: David Jackson, USA TODAY
Vice President: Caren Bohan, Reuters
Secretary: Steve Scully, C-SPAN
Treasurer: Doug Mills, New York Times
2010-2011 WHCA Board Members
Carol Lee, Politico
Michael Scherer, Time Magazine
Julie Mason, DC Examiner
Don Gonyea, NPR
Ed Henry, CNN
Statement Issued By the Board of the White House Correspondents' Association
June 7, 2010
Helen Thomas' comments were indefensible and the White House Correspondents' Association board firmly dissociates itself from them. Many in our profession who have known Helen for years were saddened by the comments, which were especially unfortunate in light of her role as a trail blazer on the White House beat.
While Helen has not been a member of the WHCA for many years, her special status in the briefing room has helped solidify her as the dean of the White House press corps so we feel the need to speak out strongly on this matter.
We want to emphasize that the role of the WHCA is to represent the White House press corps in its dealings with the White House on coverage-related issues. We do not police the speech of our members or colleagues. We are not involved at all in issuing White House credentials; that is the purview of the White House itself.
But the incident does revive the issue of whether it is appropriate for an opinion columnist to have a front row seat in the WH briefing room. That is an issue under the jurisdiction of this board. We are actively seeking input from our association members on this important matter, and we have scheduled a special meeting of the WHCA board on Thursday to decide on the seating issue.
Ed Chen, Bloomberg
David Jackson, USA Today
Caren Bohan, Reuters
Ed Henry, CNN
Julie Mason, DC Examiner
Don Gonyea, National Public Radio
Steve Scully, C-SPAN
Doug Mills, The New York Times
PRESS RELEASE
Washington ( APRIL 19, 2010 )
The White House Correspondents' Association is distributing a record $132,500 to eighteen (18) journalism student from five prestigious universities, and will honor the recipients at its annual scholarship luncheon on Friday, April 30th .
Since 1991, the WHCA has awarded nearly $360,000 in scholarship money to 42 graduating high school seniors and college-level students. The success of this dinner allows members of the White House press corps to give back to the next generation of reporters.This year, the students will be recognized at a noon-time luncheon at the Atlantic Media offices, 600 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W., to be followed by a panel titled: "Press & the Presidency: A Front Row Seat to History."Former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry will moderate the discussion with five veterans of the White House press corps:
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Christina Bellantoni, Talking Points Memo
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Ron Brownstein, National Journal/ Atlantic Media
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Major Garrett, Fox News Channel
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Savannah Guthrie, NBC News
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Jennifer Loven, Associated Press
"This on-the-record forum will give these students a first-hand perspective on covering the presidency," said Edwin Chen of Bloomberg News & President of WHCA. "The session will also allow these new journalists to discuss how the press corps does its job in an era with new challenges of access, and at a time when our business is undergoing profound changes." The scholarships are targeted in different ways. Columbia University's grant allows a student from the Middle East to study here and return home to share the best standards of American journalism in that crucial region. At Northwestern, our scholars must demonstrate interest in reporting on government affairs. And at Missouri, the WHCA scholarship program enables up to 10 students to attend its semester-long program in Washington. For a full list of this year's recipients, visit the SCHOLARSHIPS page
Five Journalists Win Top Journalism Awards, Press Group Announces
Contact: Julia Whiston, 202-266-7453
Washington (April 13, 2010) -- Five reporters have been named winners of three of journalism's most prestigious awards, and they will be honored at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on May 1.
Ben Feller of the Associated Press and Jake Tapper of ABC News will receive the Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure in the print and broadcast categories, respectively.
Mark Knoller of CBS News will receive the Aldo Beckman award for sustained excellence in White House coverage.
Suzanne Bohan and Sandy Kleffman of the Contra Costa, California, Times will receive the Edgar A. Poe Award for excellence in coverage of news of national or regional significance.
The awards will be presented during the annual fundraising dinner of the White House Correspondents' Association at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
Feller was cited by the Smith award judges for his coverage of President Obama's surprise, late-night visit to Dover Air Force Base. They said Feller had "little advance notice of President Barack Obama's trip to Dover Air Force Base on Oct. 28. 2009, but filed a series of middle-of-the-night compelling updates capped by a final story whose style had echoes of Edward R. Murrow in its taut, gripping writing. His story put readers at the scene while giving them context and background."
Tapper won for his story that revealed former Senator Tom Daschle's tax problems that derailed his nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. The judges said Tapper's reporting was a "perfect lesson on getting news no one else has on a beat in which it is hard to do so, getting it out fast and accurately with background and context and using the Web to augment the on-air reporting."
Each Smith award carries a cash prize of $2,500.
Knoller was cited for his body of work covering the White House for more than 35 years. The judges hailed his "insightful reporting on multiple platforms" including radio, television, blogs and now Twitter. "His meticulous record-keeping as an unofficial archivist of the presidency serves the public and keeps the White House accountable," the judges said. "Mark Knoller lives and breathes reporting. The public is well-served by his tireless efforts.
The Beckman award carries a $1,000 prize.
Bohan and Kleffman won the Poe Award for their four-part entitled, "Shortened Lives: Where You Live Matters."
"In the midst of the national health care debate, these exceptionally well-reported stories offer unique and valuable lessons for public health policy," said the Poe award judges said.
"Through extensive use of county health records, Bohan and Kleffman stand conventional wisdom on its head, providing powerful evidence that variations in disease rates and life expectancies between neighborhoods in Alameda County, Calif., are not--as widely assumed--the result of poor people making bad choices about diet and exercise. Rather the discrepancies stem from multiple forces that deny those living in poor communities access to the basic resources necessary to engage in a healthy lifestyle, however great their desire to do so. These powerful and poignant stories provide an important new lens that snaps the health care debate into sharp focus. While looking closely at these issues at the county level, the stories in this series have profound national and regional implications, providing strong evidence that blaming the victims is not a substitute for dealing seriously with the underlying causes of the health care crisis."
The Poe award carries a $2,500 prize.
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PRESS RELEASE
Leno to Headline White House Press and Scholarship Dinner
Contact: Julie Whiston
Executive Director
WHCA
202-266-7453
(Jan. 22, 2010) -- Seventeen Washington, D.C. students will receive $132,000 in college scholarships from the White House Correspondents' Association to pursue careers in journalism.
The winners will be introduced at the association's May 1 fundraising dinner, where entertainer Jay Leno will be a featured speaker.
And for the first time in its 96-year history, the association is taking action to reduce the carbon impact of its annual black-tie gala; these actions include using as much as possible renewable energy for the event, paper products, supplies and services that reduce the threat of global warming, deforestation, toxic wastes, hazardous chemicals and species extinction.
``This will be the most eco-friendly dinner ever hosted by the association,'' said Edwin Chen, the group's president and a Bloomberg News White House correspondent.
``And we encourage our members and guests to join in that effort, such as by car-pooling, using hybrid vehicles and, for long-distance travelers to Washington, buying carbon-offsets,'' Chen said.
The association also will announced at the dinner, to be held at the Washington Hilton Hotel, this year's winners of the Edgar A. Poe, the Merriman Smith and the Aldo Beckman awards, three of journalism's most prestigious prizes.
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NEWS BLOGS AND LINKS
Several White House Correspondents' Association members regularly blog about presidential coverage, delivering some of the most colorful White House stories anywhere. Here are links to a few of the most popular White House press corps blogs.
Mike Allen, Politico Playbook
http://dyn.politico.com/playbook/
Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune
http://blogs.trb.com/news/politics/blog/
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