Celebrated White House Correspondent Helen Thomas covered 10 presidencies during her tenure in the White House Press Room. (Photo by the Associated Press)
By: Jacob Elyachar
The world of journalism has lost a true pioneer!
Multiple outlets including ABC News, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN and the Hollywood Reporter have reported the death of former White House correspondent Helen Thomas.
Ms. Thomas was born to Lebanese immigrants on August 4, 1920 in Winchester, Kentucky.
As she moved with her parents and eight siblings to Detroit, Ms. Thomas began to find a passion for journalism at Eastern High School. Her work at her alma mater’s school paper lead her to Wayne University (now Wayne State University).
After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Ms. Thomas began a journey to Washington, D.C.
Her first job was a copy girl at the Washington Daily News. She left that news outlet and began her partnership with United Press International (UPI) to work on radio scripts.
Ms. Thomas’s hard work paid off when her bosses awarded her a position to cover the Justice Department and other political agencies.
Her life changed on January 20, 1961 when she joined the UPI White House press team, just in time to cover President John F. Kennedy’s first day in office.
Throughout her tenure at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, she covered 10 presidents and was a part of historical moments including being the only female reporter to accompany former President Nixon in China, witnessed former President Ford giving a presidential pardon to Nixon, heard President Reagan’s talks with the Russians in the 1980s and asked President Clinton about his involvement with Whitewater and eventually Monicagate.
However, her presence had at times angered the White House especially during the early days of the President George W. Bush administration as she challenged him on the Iraq War and declared him the worst president in history.
President Obama and Helen Thomas celebrated both of their birthdays with cupcakes in 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
During her final year covering the White House, President Obama popped into the White House briefing room unannounced to help celebrate Ms. Thomas’s 89th birthday with cupcakes and led her fellow reporters in “Happy Birthday.”
Unfortunately, Ms. Thomas’s strong opinions led to her downfall.
In 2010, Rabbi David Nesenoff asked Ms. Thomas if she had any opinions on the State of Israel. The distinguished White House Press Corps veteran stated that Israel “should “get the hell out of Palestine,” and that the Jewish people should go home to “Poland, Germany … and America and everywhere else.”
Her statements were later resurfaced on a YouTube video, where it received over 1,793,000 views, a tongue lashing from former White House Secretary Robert Gibbs and countless of angry messages from Internet chat rooms.
Ms. Thomas took her comments back and stated that the quotes did not reflect her “heartfelt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.”
A week after the controversy, Ms. Thomas retired from the White House and wrote for smaller publications.
While this controversy may have tainted her legacy, Ms. Thomas’s brash questioning and honest reporting have inspired millions of people to become journalists and helped break down barriers of the White House Press Corps.
So, with that said…”Thank you, Ms. Thomas!”
