The Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, later called the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award, was an American journalism award presented from 1944 to 2011. Named in honor of Raymond Clapper (1892–1944), the award was given "to a journalist or team for distinguished Washington reporting."

The award was presented most often at the annual White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner, but for a period in the years 1951 to 1965 it was given at the annual American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) dinner. In the early days of the Award, it was often presented to the winner by the U.S. President, who was usually a guest at the press dinner.

Starting in 2004 the award was presented as part of Scripps Howard's National Journalism Awards (later known as the Scripps Howard Awards). The Raymond Clapper Award was discontinued after 2011.

History Reporter and Scripps Howard columnist Raymond Clapper died in 1944 during World War II while covering the U.S. invasion of the Marshall Islands. Following his death, the Raymond Clapper Memorial Association was incorporated in Washington, D.C. "to perpetuate the memory of Clapper" through the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award.

"The organizing committee of the association was composed of the heads of various newspaper organizations in Washington," including Scripps-Howard Newspapers, the Chicago Sun, United Press, the White House Correspondents' Association, United Feature Syndicate, Overseas Writers Association, and the Gridiron Club.

Under the terms of the incorporation of the Clapper Memorial Association, "the Standing Committee of Correspondents, the governing body of the Washington press corps ... will be in complete control of the award, ... so that it will always be under the direction of the working, newspapermen of the national capital."

The founding trustees of the Clapper Association were George B. Parker, editor-in-chief of Scripps-Howard Newspapers; Byron Price of the Associated Press; and Eugene Meyer of The Washington Post.

Under Scripps Howard, the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award was presented from 2004 to 2011, at which point it was discontinued.

Overview In 1993, the criteria for the Award was described as "...any Washington-based daily newspaper reporter whose work most closely approximated the ideals of fair and painstaking reporting, and the good craftsmanship of Raymond Clapper."

The winner of the Award was selected by a panel of five editors/writers from a list of finalists. Most years, Honorable Mention and Second Place prizes were awarded as well.

List of awardees YearRecipientOrganizationPresenterNote/Ref 1944 Ernie Pyle Scripps Howard News Service Sigma Delta Chi "For distinguished foreign correspondence" Raymond P. Brandt St. Louis Post Dispatch WHCA Brandt is technically considered the first recipient of the award 1945 Bert Andrews New York Herald Tribune WHCA 1946 Thomas Lunsford Stokes United Feature Syndicate 1947 Nat Solon Finney Minneapolis Star and Tribune Bert Andrews New York Herald Tribune Honorable Mention Alfred Friendly The Washington Post Honorable Mention 1948 Peter Edson Newspaper Enterprise Association WHCA Award presented by President Truman 1949 Jack Steele New York Herald Tribune WHCA Award presented by President Truman 1950 Paul Logan Martin Gannett Newspapers 1951 John M. Hightower Associated Press ASNE 1952 Charles T. Lucey Scripps Howard News Service 1953 Doris Fleeson United Feature Syndicate ASNE James Free The Birmingham News Honorable Mention 1954 James Barrett Reston The New York Times ASNE 1955 Clark R. Mollenhoff Minneapolis Star and Tribune and Des Moines Register and Tribune ASNE William H. Lawrence The New York Times Honorable Mention 1956 Pat Munroe Albuquerque Journal ASNE Lyle C. Wilson United Press Association Honorable Mention 1957 Chalmers M. Roberts The Washington Post and Times-Herald ASNE Richard L. Wilson Minneapolis Star and Tribune Honorable Mention 1958 Edward T. Folliard The Washington Post and Times-Herald 1959 Vance H. Trimble Scripps Howard News Service 1960 James Marlow Associated Press ASNE Fletcher Knebel and Charles Bailey Minneapolis Star and Tribune and Des Moines Register and Tribune Honorable Mention Don Oberdorfer and Walter Pincus Knight Newspapers Honorable Mention 1961 Richard Fryklund Washington Evening Star David Wise New York Herald Tribune Honorable Mention 1962 Morton Mintz The Washington Post ASNE David Broder The Washington Star Honorable Mention Charles C. Keely, Jr. Copley Press Honorable Mention 1963 Jerry Landauer The Wall Street Journal ASNE Howard Simons and Murray Marder The Washington Post Honorable Mention Charles W. Bailey II Minneapolis Tribune Honorable Mention 1964 John Barron and Paul B. Hope Washington Evening Star ASNE Award presented by guest speaker Alfred Hitchcock James McCartney and Charles Nicodemus Chicago Daily News Honorable Mention John Cramer Washington Daily News Honorable Mention Dom Bonafede New York Herald Tribune Honorable Mention Louis Kohlmeier The Wall Street Journal Honorable Mention David Wise New York Herald Tribune Honorable Mention 1965 Nathan K. Kotz The Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Tribune ASNE Dom Bonafede New York Herald Tribune Honorable Mention Bem Price Associated Press Honorable Mention 1966 Howard Simons The Washington Post Leonard Downie Jr. The Washington Post Honorable Mention 1967 Nathan K. Kotz The Des Moines Register and Minneapolis Tribune WHCA Jerry Landauer The Wall Street Journal Honorable Mention 1968 David Kraslow and Stuart H. Loory Los Angeles Times WHCA Jerry Landauer The Wall Street Journal Honorable Mention 1969 Tom Lambert Los Angeles Times William J. Eaton Chicago Daily News Honorable Mention 1970 Jared D. Stout Newhouse News Service WHCA Max Frankel The New York Times Special Award 1971 James R. Polk Washington Evening Star Frank Wright Minneapolis Tribune Second Place James Risser The Des Moines Register Honorable Mention 1972 Jean Heller Associated Press Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward The Washington Post Second Place 1973 James R. Polk Washington Star-News Nathan K. Kotz and Adam Clymer The Washington Post and The Baltimore Sun Second Place Jerry Landauer The Wall Street Journal Honorable Mention 1974 Brooks Jackson Associated Press WHCA Peter A. Harkness and Mary Link (Frost) Congressional Quarterly Second Place 1975 James Risser The Des Moines Register WHCA Albert R. Hunt The Wall Street Journal Second Place 1976 Alan Horton and Carl West Scripps Howard News Service WHCA Scott Armstrong and Maxine Cheshire The Washington Post Second Place 1977 George Anthan and James Risser The Des Moines Register WHCA Walter Pincus The Washington Post Second Place Brooks Jackson and Evans Witt Associated Press Honorable Mention Gene Goldenberg and Dale McFeatters Scripps Howard News Service Honorable Mention 1978 Gordon E. White Salt Lake City Deseret News John P. Wallach Hearst Newspapers Second Place 1979 George Anthan The Des Moines Register James Coates and Eleanor Randolph Chicago Tribune Second Place 1980 Nicholas Lemann The Washington Post WHCA John J. Fialka The Washington Star Second Place 1981 Joseph Albright and Cheryl Arvidson Cox Newspapers WHCA James Coates and Bill Neikirk Chicago Tribune Second Place 1982 Bruce Ingersoll Chicago Sun-Times William Prochnau The Washington Post Second Place 1983 Gregory Gordon United Press International WHCA Tie Dennis Camire and Mark Rohner Gannett News Service Tie Lawrence O'Rourke St. Louis Post-Dispatch Second Place 1984 Mark J. Thompson Fort Worth Star-Telegram WHCA David Rogers The Wall Street Journal Second Place Fred Hiatt The Washington Post Honorable Mention 1985 Frank Greve Knight Ridder Newspapers Jim Stewart Cox Newspapers Second Place Robert L. Jackson and Ronald J. Ostrow Los Angeles Times Honorable Mention 1986 Bob Adams St. Louis Post-Dispatch WHCA Thomas Moore and Michael York Knight Ridder Second Place James O'Shea and Douglas Frantz Chicago Tribune Honorable Mention 1987 George Anthan The Des Moines Register WHCA Jim Stewart Cox Newspapers Second Place Keith Epstein The Plain Dealer Honorable Mention 1988 Mark Thompson Knight Ridder WHCA Don Oberdorfer The Washington Post Second Place, tie Matthew Purdy The Philadelphia Inquirer Second Place, tie 1989 Bill Lambrecht St. Louis Post-Dispatch WHCA John Hall Media General Second Place Christopher Drew & Michael Tackett Chicago Tribune Honorable Mention Jim Stewart & Andrew Alexander Cox Newspapers Honorable Mention 1990 Lee Bowman and Andrew Schneider The Pittsburgh Press WHCA Christopher Scanlan Knight Ridder Second Place 1991 Bill Lambrecht St. Louis Post-Dispatch WHCA Tom Squitieri USA Today Second Place Philip A. Kuntz Congressional Quarterly Honorable Mention 1992 Charles Shepard and Wendy Melillo The Washington Post WHCA John Solomon Associated Press Second Place Christopher Drew & Michael Tackett Chicago Tribune Honorable Mention 1993 Tom Squitieri USA Today Peter Brown and Andrew Schneider Scripps Howard News Service Second Place 1994 Susan Feeney and Steve McGonigle The Dallas Morning News Jonathan Tilove Newhouse News Service Second Place Lee Davidson Deseret News Honorable Mention 1995 Sharon Schmickle and Tom Hamburger Minneapolis Star Tribune WHCA Patrick Sloyan Newsday Second Place Wendy Koch Hearst Newspapers Honorable Mention 1996 Elizabeth Marchak The Plain Dealer Keith Epstein and Bill Sloat The Plain Dealer Second Place Jonathan Tilove Newhouse News Service Honorable Mention 1997 Marcus Stern Copley News Service Joan McKinney Baton Rouge Advocate Second Place Susan Feeney The Dallas Morning News Honorable Mention David Wood Newhouse News Service Honorable Mention 1998 Bill Lambrecht St. Louis Post-Dispatch Lee Davidson Deseret News Second Place Greg Hitt and Phil Kuntz The Wall Street Journal Honorable Mention Rowan Scarborough The Washington Times Honorable Mention 1999 Bob Davis and Helene Cooper The Wall Street Journal WHCA Richard Whittle and David Wood The Dallas Morning News and Newhouse News Service Second Place 2000 John Aloysius Farrell The Boston Globe David Wood Newhouse News Service Second Place Michael Grunwald The Washington Post Honorable Mention 2001 Sudarsan Raghavan and Sumana Chatterjee Knight Ridder WHCA Jeff Nesmith and Ralph Haurwitz Cox Newspapers Second Place Alan Elsner Reuters Honorable Mention 2002 Greg Jaffe The Washington Post Jon Sawyer St. Louis Dispatch Second Place, tie Jonathan Tilove Newhouse News Service Second Place, tie 2003 Jonathan Landay and Warren P. Strobel Knight Ridder Washington Press Club Foundation Received the award in the Senate Press Gallery Mark Benjamin United Press International Second Place 2004 Greg Jaffe The Wall Street Journal National Journalism Awards Award taken over by Scripps Howard 2005 Chris Adams and Alison Young Knight Ridder Washington Bureau National Journalism Awards 2006 Wes Allison St. Petersburg Times, Florida National Journalism Awards 2007 Marisa Taylor, Margaret Talev, and Greg Gordon McClatchy Washington Bureau National Journalism Awards 2008 David Willman Los Angeles Times National Journalism Awards 2009 Thomas Frank USA Today National Journalism Awards 2010 Adam Liptak The New York Times Scripps Howard Awards 2011 Damian Paletta The Wall Street Journal Scripps Howard Awards David Cloud and W.J. Hennigan Los Angeles Times Finalist, for "Drone Wars" Eric Lipton The New York Times Finalist, for "The Champions"

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