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Helen Thomas

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Helen Thomas
Thomas at the White House, September 30, 1976
Born
Helen Thomas

(1920-08-04) August 4, 1920 (age 104)
Winchester, Kentucky, USA
EducationWayne University
Occupation(s)Hearst Corporation Columnist
White House Press Correspondent
SpouseDouglas B. Cornell (1971-1982) [1]
Websitehttp://www.helenthomas.org/

Helen Thomas (born August 4, 1920) is an American news service reporter, a Hearst Newspapers columnist, member of the White House Press Corps and author. She served for fifty-seven years as a correspondent and, later, White House bureau chief for United Press International (UPI). Thomas has covered every President of the United States since the later years of the Eisenhower administration, coming to the forefront with John F. Kennedy. She was the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents Association, and, in 1975, the first female member of the Gridiron Club. She has written five books; her latest with co-author Craig Crawford is Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do.

Early life and career

Thomas was born in Winchester, Kentucky. Her parents, Mary (née Rowady) and George Thomas, were Lebanese immigrants from Tripoli, Lebanon;[2][3][4] her father's surname had originally been "Antonious".[5] Thomas was raised as a Christian in the Greek Orthodox church.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). She grew up in Detroit, Michigan, and attended Wayne University (now Wayne State University), graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1942. Her first job in journalism was as a copygirl for the now-defunct Washington Daily News, but shortly after she was promoted to cub reporter, she was laid off as part of massive cutbacks at the paper.

Thomas joined United Press International in 1943 and reported on women's topics for its radio wire service. Later in the decade, and in the early fifties, she wrote their "Names in the News" column, for which she interviewed numerous Washington celebrities.[6] After 1955, she covered federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Thomas served as president of the Women's National Press Club from 1959–60.

Presidential correspondent

President Barack Obama presenting Thomas cupcakes on her 89th birthday

In November 1960, Thomas began covering then President-elect John F. Kennedy, following him to the White House in January 1961 as a UPI correspondent. Thomas became known as the "Sitting Buddha", and it was during Kennedy's administration that she began the tradition of ending all presidential press conferences with a signature "Thank you, Mr. President".

Thomas was the only female print journalist to travel to China with President Richard Nixon during his historic trip in 1972. (Barbara Walters was a member of the NBC News team that went to the People's Republic of China to cover the visits of President Richard Nixon in 1972.) She has traveled around the world several times with Presidents Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, and has covered every Economic Summit since 1975, working up to the position of UPI's White House Bureau Chief, a post she would hold for over 25 years. While serving as White House Bureau Chief, she authored a regular column for UPI, "Backstairs at the White House," which provided an insider's view of various presidential administrations. Thomas is the only member of the White House press corps to have her own chair in the White House Press Room. All other chairs are assigned to media outlets.

Helen Thomas in 2009

On May 17, 2000, after 57 years with the organization, Thomas resigned from UPI the day after the announcement of its acquisition by News World Communications Inc., a company founded and controlled by Unification Church leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon. She later described the change in ownership as "a bridge too far".[7][8] Less than two months later, she joined Hearst Newspapers as a columnist, writing on national affairs and the White House.

On May 27, 2010, outside a White House Jewish heritage event, Rabbi David Nesenoff asked if Thomas had any comments on Israel. Thomas replied, "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine,"[9] and added that the people are under occupation. Asked where they should go she replied that "they should go home" to Poland, Germany, America and "everywhere else".[10][11] Thomas subsequently issued an apology on her personal web site.[11][12][13] On June 6, Thomas's agency, Nine Speakers, Inc., announced that they had dropped her as a client, due to her remarks.[14][15] Craig Crawford, who co-authored "Listen up, Mr. President", said that he "will no longer be working with Helen on our book projects".[16]

Bibliography

  • Listen Up Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do. (with co-author Craig Crawford) (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2009) ISBN 1-4391-4815-5
  • Watchdogs of Democracy? : The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006) ISBN 0-7432-6781-8
  • Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President : Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003) ISBN 0-7432-0226-0
  • Front Row at the White House : My Life and Times (Scribner, 2000) ISBN 0-684-86809-1
  • Dateline: White House (Macmillan, 1975) ISBN 0-02-617620-3

References

  1. ^ Helen Thomas, www.nndmb. Retrieved on July 2, 2009.
  2. ^ Helen Thomas, Front Row at the White House: My Life and Times, Scribner, 2000, page 17.
  3. ^ Contemporary Heroes and Heroines. Vol. 3. Gale Research, 1998; Encyclopedia of World Biography Supplement, Vol. 19. Gale Group, 1999; Current Biography, H.W. Wilson Co., 1993.
  4. ^ Thomas, Helen (1975). Dateline: White House‎. Macmillan. ISBN0026176203. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |month= (help)
  5. ^ http://www.northshire.com/siteinfo/bookinfo.php?isbn=9780684868097&item=0
  6. ^ Helen Thomas, Dateline: White House. Macmillan, 1975, page xiii.
  7. ^ Winter, Greg (2000-07-10). "Helen Thomas Is Back as a Columnist With Hearst". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
  8. ^ Stout, David (2000-05-17). "Helen Thomas, Washington Fixture, Resigns as U.P.I. Reporter". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-03-07.
  9. ^ Video: Helen Thomas Tells Jews — ‘Get the Hell Out of Palestine’ and Go Back to Germany & Poland
  10. ^ Stein, Sam (June 4, 2010). "Ari Fleischer: Fire Helen Thomas". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Ex-Spokesmen Lead Charge for White House Reporter Helen Thomas to Be Fired". Fox News. 06 June 2010. Retrieved 06 June 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Jews should leave Palestine and return to Europe, top U.S. journalist says". Haaretz. June 5, 2010.
  13. ^ Helen Thomas (04 June 2010). "Helen Thomas". Retrieved 04 June 2010. I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt 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. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  14. ^ http://www.politico.com/blogs/onmedia/0610/Thomas_gets_dropped_by_agency.html
  15. ^ ABC News
  16. ^ "Helen Thomas under fire for saying Jews in Israel should go back to Germany, Poland". Retrieved June 7, 2010.
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