The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a United States congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson.
The WHCA operates independently of the White House. Application for membership is made online and granted by the association on the basis of criteria. Historically, notable issues handled by the WHCA were the credentialing process, access to the president and physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms. Its most high-profile activity is the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner, which is traditionally attended by the president and covered by the news media.
In February 2025, the White House announced that the WHCA would no longer determine which outlets are allowed access to the president.
Association leadership The leadership of the White House Correspondents' Association for 2025–26 includes: Officers President: Weijia Jiang, CBS News Vice President: Justin Sink, Bloomberg News Treasurer: Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News Secretary: Brian Bennett, Time Board members Sara Cook, CBS News Andrew Harnik, Getty Images Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters Courtney Subramanian, Bloomberg News Karen Travers, ABC News Executive Director Steven Thomma
Association presidents
YearNameEmployer William Wallace Price The Washington Star Frank R. Lamb J. Russell Young E. Ross Bartley Associated Press Isaac Gregg The Sun George E. Durno International News Service John Edwin Nevin The Washington Post John T. Lambert Universal Service J. Russell Young The Washington Star Wilbur Forrest New York Herald Tribune Lewis Wood The New York Times Paul R. Mallon syndicated columnist George E. Durno International News Service Francis M. Stephenson Associated Press Albert J. Warner New York Herald Tribune Frederick J. Storm United Press Associations Walter J. Trohan Chicago Tribune Earl Godwin The Washington Times Felix Belair Jr. The New York Times Thomas F. Reynolds United Press Associations John C. O'Brien The Philadelphia Inquirer John C. Henry The Washington Star Douglas B. Cornell Associated Press Paul Wooten The Times-Picayune Merriman Smith United Press Associations Edward T. Folliard The Washington Post Felix Belair Jr. The New York Times Ernest B. ("Tony") Vaccaro Associated Press Robert G. Nixon International News Service Carlton Kent Chicago Sun-Times Robert J. Donovan New York Herald Tribune Anthony H. Leviero The New York Times Laurence H. Burd Chicago Tribune Francis M. Stephenson Daily News Marvin Arrowsmith Associated Press Garnett D. Horner The Washington Star William H.Y. Knighton Jr. The Baltimore Sun Robert Roth Philadelphia Bulletin Merriman Smith United Press International Alan L. Otten The Wall Street Journal Robert E. Thompson Hearst Newspapers Frank Cormier Associated Press Carroll Kilpatrick The Washington Post Charles W. Bailey II Minneapolis Tribune Peter Lisagor Chicago Daily News John P. Sutherland U.S. News & World Report Edgar A. Poe The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) Ted Knap Scripps Howard Newspapers James Deakin St. Louis Post-Dispatch Lawrence M. O'Rourke Philadelphia Bulletin Paul F. Healy Daily News Aldo Beckman Chicago Tribune Ralph Harris Reuters Robert C. Pierpoint CBS News Clifford Evans RKO General Broadcasting Thomas M. DeFrank Newsweek James R. Gerstenzang Associated Press Sara Fritz Los Angeles Times Gary F. Schuster CBS News Bill Plante Norman D. Sandler United Press International Jeremiah O'Leary The Washington Times Johanna Neuman USA Today Robert M. Ellison Sheridan Broadcasting Charles Bierbauer CNN Karen Hosler The Baltimore Sun George E. Condon Jr. Copley News Service Kenneth T. Walsh U.S. News & World Report Carl P. Leubsdorf The Dallas Morning News Terence Hunt Associated Press Laurence McQuillan Reuters Stewart Powell Hearst Newspapers Susan Page USA Today Arlene Dillon CBS News Steve Holland Reuters Bob Deans Cox Newspapers Carl M. Cannon National Journal Ron Hutcheson Knight Ridder Mark Smith Associated Press TV and Radio Steve Scully C-SPAN Ann Compton ABC News Jennifer Loven Associated Press Edwin Chen Bloomberg David Jackson USA Today Caren Bohan Reuters Ed Henry Fox News Steven Thomma McClatchy Christi Parsons Tribune Media Carol Lee Wall Street Journal Jeff Mason Reuters Margaret Talev Bloomberg Olivier Knox SiriusXM Jonathan Karl ABC News Zeke Miller Associated Press Steven Portnoy CBS News Radio Tamara Keith NPR Kelly O'Donnell NBC News Eugene Daniels Politico Weijia Jiang CBS News Justin Sink (elect) Bloomberg News
White House press room The White House Correspondents' Association is responsible for assigning the seats and the standing room in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House. Even though the press office issues the passes for each session of press briefing, the correspondents' association decides who sits where. The board of directors assigns news sources to certain positions, which change about each 3–4 years.
Most media providers have their own seat, but some share seats with other providers.
The association usually publishes the seating chart on its website every time a new one is decided and comes into effect.
White House Correspondents' Dinner
The association's annual dinner, begun in 1921, has become a Washington, D.C., tradition, and is traditionally attended by the president and vice president of the United States. The dinner is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton.
Awards Note: Award years represent the date the work was published/broadcast, which is always one year before the prize was awarded.
The Aldo Beckman Memorial Award The Aldo Beckman Award for Journalistic Excellence is an annual award sponsored by the WHCA. Established in 1981, it recognizes "a correspondent who personifies the journalistic excellence and personal qualities of Aldo Beckman" for overall excellence in White House coverage. Described by CBS News as "one of journalism's most prestigious awards", past recipients include David E. Sanger, Mark Knoller, Glenn Thrush, Kenneth T. Walsh, and Carl M. Cannon. YearRecipientEmployer 1981 Helen Thomas UPI 1982 Rich Jaroslovsky The Wall Street Journal 1983 Lou Cannon The Washington Post 1984 David Hoffman The Washington Post 1985 Robert Timberg The Baltimore Sun 1986 W. Dale Nelson Associated Press 1987 Gerald F. Seib The Wall Street Journal 1988 1989 Ann Devroy The Washington Post 1990 Kenneth T. Walsh U.S. News & World Report 1991 Timothy J. McNulty Chicago Tribune 1992 Thomas DeFrank Newsweek 1993 Jeffrey Birnbaum The Wall Street Journal 1994 Kathy Lewis The Dallas Morning News 1995 John A. Farrell The Boston Globe 1996 Todd Purdum The New York Times 1997 Michael K. Frisby The Wall Street Journal 1998 John Harris The Washington Post 1999 Jeanne Cummings The Wall Street Journal 2000Steve ThommaKnight Ridder2001Anne E. KornblutThe Boston Globe2002Dana MilbankThe Washington Post2003David SangerThe New York Times2004Susan PageUSA Today2005Carl CannonNational Journal2006Kenneth T. WalshU.S. News & World Report2007Alexis SimendingerNational Journal2008Michael AbramowitzThe Washington Post2009Mark KnollerCBS News2010Peter BakerThe New York Times2011Scott WilsonThe Washington Post2012Ryan LizzaThe New Yorker2013Glenn ThrushPoliticoBrianna KeilarCNN2014Peter BakerThe New York Times2015Carol LeeThe Wall Street Journal2016Greg JaffeThe Washington Post2017Maggie HabermanThe New York Times2018McKay CoppinsThe Atlantic2019Yamiche AlcindorPBS NewsHour2020Philip Rucker The Washington Post 2021Jonathan SwanAxios2022 Matt Viser The Washington Post 2023 Barak Ravid Axios 2024Alex ThompsonAxios
Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure
The award was established in 1970 as the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for outstanding examples of deadline reporting.White House Correspondents' Association Journalism Awards. WHCA official website. Retrieved February 25, 2017. (Smith died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1970.) The award was renamed in 2022 after the WHCA determined that Smith had supported excluding Black and female journalists from membership in the National Press Club and from attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner.