Helen Thomas

Helen Thomas (1920-July 20, 2013) was the oldest member of the White House press corps. She served as the Associated Press reporter since 1961. Since becoming a White House correspondent, he has asked 10 U.S. presidents questions, and he is known for his sharp questions. This elder sister of American journalism holds many records in the history of American journalism. She was the first female official of the National Press Association, the first female member and first female president of the White House Correspondents Association, and the first female member of the American Celebrity Club. In 1972, as the only female reporter, she also visited with President Nixon. Through China. Passed away at his home in Washington on the morning of July 20, 2013, at the age of 92.

Chinese name: Helen Thomas

Foreign name: Helen Thomas

Nationality: United States

Birthplace: Winches, Kentucky, United States Special

Date of birth: 1920

Date of death: July 20, 2013

Occupation: Journalist

Graduation school: Wayne State University

Faith: Greek Orthodox

Main achievements: The oldest member of the White House press corps

Representative work: "Watchdogs of Democracy" ? The decline of the Washington press corps and how it broke its trust with the people"

Original place: Lebanon

Character experience

Helen Thomas was born in Kentucky, USA, in 1920. Helen Thomas was born into a Lebanese immigrant family in Kentucky. Her parents lived in Winchester and were Lebanese immigrants who did not know English. He is the eighth of nine children. Although both her parents are illiterate, little Helen has a special affection for words. When she was 11 years old, she announced that she wanted to be a reporter when she grew up.

Helen Thomas grew up in Detroit and studied English at Wayne State University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1942. After graduating, the 23-year-old stayed in Washington, the political center, on the pretext of visiting her cousin.

Her first job was as an oddball at the Washington Daily News. Later, Helen finally became a reporter through hard work, but before she had time to celebrate, she caught up with the "Washington Daily News" layoffs - Helen was fired.

In 1943, Helen joined the Associated Press.

In 1956, Helen became a reporter for United Press covering federal agencies.

In 1961, after Kennedy was elected president, at the age of 40, she became the first female reporter of the White House press corps. Ten years later, she became the chief reporter and later the head of the press corps

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In 1974, he became the chief of the United Press White House bureau.

In 2000, she resigned from United Press and became a columnist for Hearst Newspapers.

In 2010, she was forced to resign due to her remarks that "Jewish settlers should get out of Palestine" and return to Poland, Germany, the United States and other places.

July 2013 He died at his home in Washington on the morning of the 20th at the age of 92.

Journalist career

Questioning the President

Helen Thomas questioned 10 US presidents, starting with Kennedy. Bush. For more than 40 years, Americans have watched her stand up from the front row of presidential press conferences, stare into his eyes and ask questions, and the presidents tremble when the woman approaches. In fact, when George W. Bush came to power in 2000, Helen Thomas had ended her career as a White House reporter and became a columnist for the Hearst newspaper. In a 2002 column, she spoke mercilessly. Describing George W. Bush as the "Emperor President", she also never denies that "Bush is the worst president in the history of the United States" and calls him a "liar"

Although Helen still participates in the president's meetings. press conference, but she had been excluded from the list of questions. It was not until March 21, 2006, local time in the United States, that this veteran reporter, who was famous for grilling the president, finally got the opportunity to ask the current president for the first time.

Thomas' long-term work has earned her many honors.

Clinton established the "Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award" in her name in 1998, and awarded the first Achievement Award to her that year. She said in her speech: "People will only judge you based on your latest report."

On August 4, 2010, US President Obama unexpectedly appeared in the press briefing room on the west side of the White House. Celebrating a birthday with legendary journalist Helen Thomas.

Obama turned 48 on the same day, while Helen turned 89 on August 5. Holding a plate of pudding cake, Obama led the reporters in the press room to sing "Happy Birthday". Helen made a birthday wish while singing and blew out the candles on the cake.

Obama revealed that Helen’s birthday wish is for world peace, non-discrimination, and the success of American health care reform.

Helen's wish is exactly what the president wants. Obama frequently gives speeches in various places, hoping that the government's health care reform plan can gain public support.

Reply Reporter

The seventh of the nine children of the Thomas family, a Syrian (Lebanon) immigrant, decided after graduating from college at the age of 22 that he wanted to go anywhere except Washington, the political heart of this country. Don't go. She stayed in Washington on the pretext of visiting her cousin. In 1960, Kennedy was elected president. Helen, 40, was transferred to the United Press White House bureau and began her lifelong career - White House reporting. Previously, female White House reporters were not allowed to attend White House press conferences. Once, Helen protested to Kennedy: "If we can't participate, you shouldn't participate either." Kennedy agreed. Female reporters have since invaded the territory of male reporters. President Kennedy said that Helen would be a "good girl" "if she would throw away her pen and interview book." For many years, Helen was always the first or second White House reporter to ask the president a question. In 1975, she was elected head of the White House press corps. Without "Fat" Price, there might not have been Helen Thomas, whom friends jokingly called "the President's tormentor."

In 1896, a reporter from the "Washington Star" was assigned an impossible task by his editor: go to the White House and dig up news. The editor knew that then-President Cleveland hated reporters very much and wanted to exclude the "fat people". Of course, "Fat Man" couldn't interview the president, but he always stayed outside the White House and asked everyone who came out of the White House and talked with the president, and through this he got a lot of exclusive inside news. By 1900, a large number of reporters were sent to the entrance of the White House or wandering around the streets, and President McKinley appointed an aide to issue a daily news briefing to these reporters. When Theodore Roosevelt took office as president, one rainy day, he saw a group of reporters huddled under a tree outside the White House like drowned rats, and invited them to take shelter in the White House. From then on, reporters could no longer be invited out.

Theodore Roosevelt designated a lounge next to his study as a press room, and soon Congress allocated funds to build a press office in the White House. It was in this office that Helen Thomas began her career reporting on the White House. “I’ve been stationed at the White House and covering the White House longer than any other reporter,” Helen said. "Only when he faces the news media does the president have to explain to the people. There is no other public place where he can challenge the president on the issues of the day." Every time she was the first to stand up and ask a question, she always saw that the presidents were different. body language: "Carter's cringe," "Reagan's bow," and Bush Sr.'s "Oh no! Not Helen!" When he stood on the podium in the White House press briefing room, Kennedy may have asked his aides to "predict it for him in advance." "90 reporters asked questions"; Nixon had gone through various document summaries and "looked like he was sure of victory"; Carter may have had all the facts and figures at hand; Reagan may have been "as nervous as if he were participating in a thesis defense" , even when he was on vacation at Camp David, he never forgot to "sharpen his guns in battle". Every time he attends a live prime-time press conference, the head of the White House press corps wears two watches to accurately control the time to 30 minutes. When the time was up, she stood up and said, "Thank you, Mr. President.

Once, Reagan was bombarded with sharp questions at a press conference. After responding evasively for 25 minutes, he glanced at Helen with sweat, his eyes seeming to ask: "Can it be over?" Helen checked her watch and then shook her head. "In just five minutes, the president was actually controlled by me." "Helen said. "The White House press briefing room can sometimes be like a court." For example, Nixon in the Watergate incident; Carter in the Iran hostage crisis; Reagan in the "Iran-Contra"; and Clinton in the sex scandal. "It's like a Witnesses were bombarded with questioning from 60 unfriendly prosecutors at the same time." White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater once said: "No one understands the people who face reporters every day answering all the questions in the world. Kind of terrifying. ”

The road to success

As a news agency reporter and newspaper columnist, Helen has participated in the press conferences of ten U.S. presidents and is known for her sharp questions. President Obama In a statement, it said: “Helen was a true pioneer. She has attended every presidential press conference since JFK and has been a constant source of frustration for U.S. presidents. "

Helen Thomas believes that powers will try to regulate the news, but they do not always succeed. "I simply do not believe that there is a government that does not want to manage, control, or curate the news. The White House always wants to bring out the best in the president. This is only natural. Any government hopes that journalists will regard the news it publishes as gospel without any questioning. ” However, “the government can promote its position, but the job of journalists is to uncover the truth.” " In the new book, Helen writes. The White House sometimes threatens reporters by canceling certain preferential rights, such as canceling the reporter's right to travel with the president on the presidential plane. Sometimes the White House will also complain to the reporter's boss or supervisor. But good bosses Or the boss usually listens very politely, then checks the facts, and if the reporter is not wrong, he will side with the reporter.

President Lyndon Johnson often asked his press secretary to call the newspaper office. Complaining about coverage he doesn’t like because “at least it lets the bastards know what I think of them.” Helen can’t tell you how many times she’s heard the president complain: “You all have First Amendment rights. , as if it were a special weapon against the president. "There are also times when the White House only tells reporters part of the facts, or deliberately leaks some good news, or simply prevents staff from revealing any information to the media. Of course, the White House can also decide when to hold or not hold a press conference. Johnson during prime time Press conferences generally only announce good news and "bury" bad news.

Every president Helen has covered has tried to "manage the news": Kennedy once deliberately created "good news"; Johnson. It adopts a cold attitude towards reporters who write harsh reports; the Nixon administration even eavesdropped on the phone calls of those "prickly" reporters; as for Reagan, a very famous gesture was to cover his ears with his hands and pretend not to hear the reporter's questions; During the Gulf War, Bush required that coverage of the war be filtered through the Pentagon: "The powers that be try to manage the news, but they don't always succeed. "Helen wrote in the new book. Because there are always people who will "leak the news." In fact, every president she has covered has been more or less entangled in the scandal that broke out. Helen believes that "the Watergate incident may This is the best evidence that journalists’ anti-news management is effective. "The continuous exposure of reports by two reporters from the "Washington Post" eventually led to Nixon's resignation.

Personal Purpose

Helen Thomas's personal purpose is to let the people know the facts, and the country will It will be safe. In Helen's view, among all the above-mentioned presidents, the Bush administration is undoubtedly the most stringent in its management of news. The biggest difference between this president and the other eight presidents she has covered is that “the news management has become Thorough government propaganda." She criticized George W. Bush's press secretary as a "robot that only knows how to parrot words." "Even if I know it's nonsense, I don't dare to deviate even a little bit." She always follows the script, no matter what questions the reporter asks, He was "always on the same page."

The 86-year-old reporter, relying on her more than 60 years of experience, loudly asked in the book: "Have American journalists forgotten to search for the truth without fear or likes and dislikes?" Finally, she quoted Lincoln's " Famous quote: "Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe."

As one of the most famous journalists in the United States, Helen, who is short in stature, has dark eyes and a hoarse voice, has insisted on attending presidential press conferences for many years. Yes, and sat in the front row, always the first or second to ask questions. Her questions often make the President of the United States anxious. She once asked Nixon what his mysterious plan was to end the Vietnam War. She also asked Reagan, what right did the United States have to invade Grenada in 1983? When Bush announced that the U.S. defense budget would remain unchanged after the collapse of the Soviet Union, she immediately asked: "Who is our enemy?" Helen was criticizing the Obama administration. There was no hesitation at all, even though Obama celebrated her first birthday on August 4, 2009. She also told the media that even Nixon did not try to control the media like Obama did. Helen once said: "We are the only institution in this society that can regularly question the president and hold him accountable. Otherwise, he will be no different from a king."

Retired Life

Retirement

Helen Thomas "I miss that era." The old man said. Back then, reporters were able to get up close and personal with the president and his family, and have real conversations with the president and White House officials. Journalists would be invited by President Johnson to have lunch in the family living area upstairs in the White House, or ride horses with him at the ranch. Helen could watch President Carter play softball with reporters while getting bitten by mosquitoes. Reporters could also meet Kennedy's 3-year-old daughter Caroline at the White House and ask her: "Where is your father?" Caroline replied: "He is upstairs in a daze with his bare feet." "In those days, We were so close to a living president, watching his every move.”

When she told the former White House reporters, they all lamented that they would never be able to go back to the old days: President Truman walking in the morning light, followed by a group of reporters and photographers. The president and first lady "did not willingly endure" what Kennedy called a "roaring herd" of press corps, but eventually had to get used to their "close surveillance" and "tolerate" them. There is a plus”. Unlike "the president has become increasingly inaccessible," especially after 9/11, reporters are often held back with ropes at a distance. "There is no longer the same situation as before, chasing the president and throwing questions at him." Helen had thrown countless pointed questions at those presidents, "almost all of which were forgiven by the presidents."

On the 75th birthday of the "First Lady of the Press" in 1995, President Clinton gave her a 15-minute exclusive interview as a birthday gift. Clinton personally held the birthday cake and asked the female reporter who had tortured him countless times to blow out the birthday candles. Helen blew twice, and Clinton helped her blow a third, and together they blew out the candle. The president also raised Helen's tape recorder, pointed it at her, and jokingly conducted a counter-interview with her: "Miss Thomas, how have you endured listening to so many presidents evasive and unclear for so many years? "Another time that the White House "crossed" the role of a reporter was First Lady Pat Nixon. When the 51-year-old Helen finally took off the nickname "the woman who married the job" and got engaged to the 65-year-old Associated Press White House correspondent Doug Cornell, Pat announced the news to the press group first. . The first lady smiled from ear to ear and said, "I finally released the exclusive news before Helen did." In 1998, the White House Press Corps established the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award, and Helen became the first recipient.

In May 2000, Helen resigned from United Press International, ending her 40-year career as a White House reporter. Helen suddenly felt melancholy: Gone are the days when she and other White House reporters "attacked" people standing on the podium. The reporters in the White House press briefing room are no longer the same reporters as before.

Announced retirement

On June 7, 2010, Helen Thomas, the most senior White House reporter in the United States, announced her retirement, effective immediately.

89-year-old Helen Thomas has served as the Associated Press White House correspondent since 1960. She has asked 10 U.S. presidents one day and is known for her sharp questions. Despite her advanced age, she continues to attend daily White House press briefings.

Helen Thomas once caused controversy by saying that Jews "should get out of Palestine" regarding the situation in the Middle East. Against this background, Helen Thomas, who is nearly 90 years old, announced her retirement.

Died at an advanced age

On July 20, 2013, former White House correspondent Helen Thomas, who had reported news about the US president for nearly 50 years, passed away at her home in Washington on the morning of the 20th. 92 years old.

Anecdotes

The woman who "tortured" the President of the United States

As a female journalist, she has won the In exchange for respect, he also attracted slander.

On the morning of July 19, 2013, Helen Thomas passed away at her home in Washington, only 16 days before her 93rd birthday. U.S. President Obama issued a statement on the same day, praising Helen Thomas for opening the door of opportunity for generations of female journalists, breaking down the barriers that stood in front of them, and making many U.S. presidents, including himself, dare not slack off.

Helen's extraordinary life has become an elusive peak. She is the first female chief correspondent from a news agency in the White House and the first female official of the National Press Association, which once banned women from joining. As a female journalist, Helen has demonstrated professional conscience with her extraordinary persistence, courage, integrity and passion. She earned respect, even adoration, as well as anger and slander. There is little debate about her greatest highlight: Over a career that spanned more than half a century, she asked all ten U.S. presidents, from JFK to Obama, to their faces.

Breaking the restricted area and setting firsts repeatedly

Helen was born in Winchester, Kentucky on August 4, 1920. She grew up in Detroit and was the seventh of nine children in her family. Her father, George Thomas, was illiterate but encouraged his children to go to school. In 1942, after Helen graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit with an English major, she went to Washington to look for work. She once found a job as a waitress, but it didn't last long. “I couldn’t laugh very well,” she recalled years later.

After that, Helen did clerical work at the "Washington Daily News", and her duties were nothing more than fetching coffee and donuts for the editor. Soon after, in 1943, she began writing news for United Press Radio.

At that time, most female reporters wrote about social news and household affairs, while most of the people who reported on "hard news" such as war, politics, and crime were men. Helen broke this stereotype, and by the mid-1950s, she had begun reporting in the U.S. federal government. She covered the entire Kennedy campaign. After Kennedy was elected, she became United Press International's resident White House correspondent, the first woman to appear in the White House briefing room. Previously, female reporters were not allowed to attend White House press conferences. Since then, Helen has created many "firsts" such as the first head of the White House press corps. In 1972, when Nixon went on an "ice-breaking trip" to China, she was the only female journalist among the accompanying reporters. In 1998, the White House Press Corps established the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award in Helen's name, and Helen became the first recipient.

On May 16, 2000, Helen resigned from United Press International. Two weeks later, she was hired by Hearst Newspapers to write a twice-weekly column.

Relentless questioning

Not long ago, I came to the White House briefing room again. Under the middle seat in the first row, I saw a gray metal sign that read "Helen Thomas." Helen once sat here and asked the first question at every presidential briefing, and finally concluded the briefing with a signature sentence: "Thank you, Mr. President.

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It was here that she, short in stature and with dark eyes, asked Nixon in a deep voice: What was the secret plan to end the Vietnam War? She asked Reagan: What right does the United States have to invade Grenada? After the end of the Cold War, when Bush Sr. announced that U.S. military spending would remain unchanged, she asked again: "So who is the enemy? "Strongly opposed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she once said that George W. Bush was the worst American president in the history of the United States. Bush was very angry about this. Helen once apologized to him in writing for this. Although Bush accepted the apology, on 3 However, once Bush gave her the opportunity to ask questions, Helen immediately asked: "Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq resulted in the death of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, and brought great consequences to Americans and Iraqis. A lifetime of pain. All of the casus belli turned out to be untrue. Why on earth do you want war? From the moment you entered the White House, and your administration, administration officials, intelligence personnel, etc., what was your real reason for starting the war? You once said that the reason is not for oil, not for Israel or other reasons, but what is the reason? "

The sharp questions were pressed step by step. Former U.S. President Carter felt uncomfortable when he saw Helen asking questions, while Reagan lowered his head, "as nervous as a thesis defense." However, it was here. , Helen, known as the "Presidential Torturer", won special treatment from many presidents. On August 4, 1997, President Clinton sent her a birthday cake on August 2, 2006. President Bush came off the stage to wish Helen a happy birthday in advance. On August 4, 2009, Obama also sent a cake to Helen to congratulate her on her 89th birthday. That day was also Obama's 48th birthday.

Helen once said, I respect the office of the president, but I have never admired our public servants. They should tell us the truth after the "9·11" incident. She didn't dare to ask tough questions. Helen once criticized the "decline" of the White House press corps in her book "Watchdogs of Democracy". In May 2006, she still refused to back down in an interview with the New York Times. She asked: How do you define it? Questioning vs. reckless? I don't think there is anything called reckless. We are the only institution in society that can hold the president accountable every day.

Retired in anger after being convicted of speaking out

On June 7, 2010, the White House briefing room was crowded as usual, but the seat here was conspicuously vacant. The rhetoric was directed at Helen Thomas, who was no longer present. He fiercely criticized Helen's remarks as "disgusting and should be severely reprimanded." Her views "certainly do not represent" the majority of the American people, and "certainly do not represent the U.S. government before this." On May 27, when an event was held at the White House for Jewish Heritage Month, Helen, who was attending the event, was asked by a reporter from a website what she thought of the arrest of Palestinians by Israel. Helen said, "Remember, these people are occupied territories. people on. That is their land." She suggested that Jews living in Israel should return to their homes in Poland, Germany, the United States and other places. On June 7, Helen, who was nearly 90 years old, officially announced her retirement. Helen Thomas, who was outspoken throughout her life It is indeed thought-provoking that Helen was finally found guilty for her words.

Helen, who had worked hard all her life, had no children. In 1971, Helen married Douglas Cornell, a White House reporter from the rival Associated Press who was 14 years older than her. Married. Cornell died in 1982.

Helen wrote more than a dozen books about her White House interview experience. In 1999, she recalled, "I loved my job and being able to do it every day. A job that brings me joy is truly a blessing in life. "

Character evaluation

Kennedy commented on Helen, "If she throws away the pen and interview book in her hand, Helen will be a good girl."

Helen She has an unusual persistence in the journalism profession. She goes to the office before dawn every morning and travels with the president many times. She was the only female reporter in the US delegation when Nixon visited China.

Even at the age of 70 or 80, her work energy is more than that of young reporters. Her long experience covering U.S. presidents has earned her the respect and love of her peers and government officials over decades.

Helen also devoted her life to fighting for female journalists to have the same rights as male journalists. In the 1950s and 1960s, she and two other female journalists fought for the right to attend the National Press Club press luncheons. By 1971, women were finally granted membership in the National Press Club, and Helen became the club's first female member. She was also the first chief of a major news agency's White House bureau and the first female head of the White House press corps. Helen became president of the National Club of Women Press in 1959. In 1976, she was named "one of the 25 most influential women in the United States" by World Almanac.

Death news

On the 20th local time, legendary American female journalist Helen Thomas died of illness at the age of 92. Current President Obama and former President Clinton and his wife Hillary expressed deep condolences for Helen's death.