Throughout this election cycle, the WHCA has grown increasingly concerned about the lack of a media access inside debate halls. The unprecedented backsliding in access has limited our ability to chronicle the on-camera debate, in addition to the moments during commercial breaks. The American people deserve to have a clear view of these moments.

The problem stems from the campaigns’ decision to bypass the longstanding tradition of working through the Commission on Presidential Debates. Instead, they are operating directly with news organizations. For tonight’s debate, CBS is only allowing one print representative, one television representative and six still photographers, who won’t be permitted to move around to take photos during the event.

While we do appreciate ABC and CBS for the good faith negotiations that led to notable progress, the end results fell short of the WHCA’s expectations. They also broke traditions of access from decades of presidential debates. These restrictions are part of an alarming trend: as you may remember, there was no editorial presence in the debate hall at all during the CNN debate, other than CNN.

News organizations that choose to host presidential debates should adhere to the precedent of transparency. At the end of the day, the host chooses the venue for the debate. Spatial restrictions are completely in their control, so a shortage of space should not be an excuse to limit press access.

The WHCA’s insistence on having a full pool inside the room isn’t just about reporters being able to witness the debates. This is about the public having multiple sets of eyes and ears to properly record these moments for history.

As president, my expectation is that if there is another debate this election cycle, news organizations will commit to upholding the long standing precedent of press access.

-Eugene Daniels, President of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

“My understanding is that the current posture of the administration is for the press to only see the leaders drive in with no eyes, or cameras on POTUS in this historic moment. I can’t remember a time where this president has had a bilateral meeting on US soil and the press and therefore the American people were blocked from seeing it.

“And the WHCA’s position is that shouldn’t be the case this time either. [We] have talked through different scenarios and possibilities for the pool to be able to cover these moments. While we understand that there are security concerns, it’s essential for the public to have direct and independent press accounts of the greetings at the very least.

“[Press staff] has also walked me through what’s happening at the high school and all of that sounds very in line with these kinds of summits, but I request the administration rethink its posture on the bilateral access to adhere to the long-established standards of press access for these kinds of events.”

-Eugene Daniels, President, WHCA

Hello members —

I want to thank you all for your amazing work especially over the last few weeks. They have been taxing and extraordinary and our membership has met the moment.

Today, I took over as president of our association and am honored for the chance to serve alongside  Weijia Jiang, Justin Sink, Sara Cook,  Andrew Harnik, Jacqui Heinrich, Courtney Subramanian and  Karen Travers.

First, on behalf of all of the board and association: an enormous thank you to Kelly O’Donnell, our tireless outgoing president. She has left a legacy in both measurable and intangible ways and, through a political year and election cycle unlike any other, has continued to push for broader press access and public accountability. We are all, and I am particularly indebted to Kelly for her service, leadership and friendship.

We just finished our first meeting of this new term. I wanted to share with you some remarks that sum up how I am feeling and viewing our work over the next year.

We start this new term in a perilous time for our country and profession. The importance of what we do has never been more apparent or felt more urgent, nor has access to the reliable and timely information we provide been more necessary.

In the midst of this moment, a reminder of the WHCA’s mission seems worthwhile: we share the belief, held by our country’s founders and enshrined in the First Amendment, that an independent news media is vital to the health of the republic. The White House Correspondents’ Association exists to promote excellence in journalism as well as journalism education, and to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency.

That has not and will not change.

Distrust and, frankly, danger surround our jobs right now. It can be terrifying and sometimes demoralizing, but it can also be clarifying. That couldn’t have been more evident this weekend. When WHCA members like Doug Mills, Evan Vucci, Anna Moneymaker, Jabin Botsford and others ran toward an attempted assassination of a former president and current presidential candidate to chronicle that moment for the American people and for history, they represented the best of us.

They serve as a reminder of what all this is about: We are here to hold powerful people accountable but just as importantly, we are here to be the eyes and ears of people around the country and world.

For the next year, the rest of the board and I will continue to push for increased access no matter what happens in November. It’s vital to hold the line on the precedents that have already been set while fighting for even more going forward. That push won’t stop.

At a time where we are working on keeping and gaining back the trust of the public, I am committed to bringing more sunlight into how we operate for the public and members alike. There will be multiple different opportunities and lanes in which we do this — which I look forward to exploring with all of you at a later date.

Other priorities include building more robust relationships with other journalist member organizations, creating a mentorship program for people new to the beat, and developing fundraising streams to expand our reach and impact. And of course, we’re going to have a fabulous dinner that serves as a reminder of the work we do, celebrates the First Amendment and the work that our colleagues do every single day.

This board is accountable to you. I promise to have your back and do whatever is in my power to make your jobs covering the White House as easy as I possibly can. I am always accessible and open to your concerns and ideas.

I know we all have a lot of work ahead of us and the stakes have never been higher, but I couldn’t have a better board and membership beside me to meet this moment.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued service and commitment,

Eugene

For weeks, WHCA has advocated for the inclusion of our White House travel pool inside the studio for the presidential debate. Our work has included outreach to the White House, the campaigns of both President Biden and former President Trump and the debate host network CNN.

We appreciate that CNN is providing a television feed of the debate to other networks and will grant access to still photographers from various news outlets to cover the candidates inside the studio.  Those are positive actions that WHCA fully supports.

However, WHCA is deeply concerned that CNN has rejected our repeated requests to include the White House travel pool inside the studio.  Through conversations and advocacy, we urged CNN to grant access to at least one print pool reporter for the duration of the debate.  WHCA has been informed that one print reporter will be permitted to enter the studio during a commercial break to briefly observe the setting.  That is not sufficient in our view and diminishes a core principle of presidential coverage.   The White House pool has a duty to document, report and witness the president’s events and his movements on behalf of the American people.

The pool is there for the “what ifs?” in a world where the unexpected does happen.  A pool reporter is present to provide context and insight by direct observation and not through the lens of the television production.  A pool reporter is an independent observer whose duties are separate from the production of the debate as a news event.  The pool reporter works on behalf of the entire White House press corps.  Print pool reports are an important part of the historical record.  Further, the pool is screened by the US Secret Service and travels with the president on Air Force One so there is no security issue.  The Biden campaign told WHCA it supports our request.  The Trump campaign told WHCA it would not oppose the inclusion of the White House pool reporter.  The Trump campaign has a separate press corps.

Tonight’s debate will have no audience present and includes format rules that can silence candidates’ microphones.  We don’t know how this will play out in real time.  A pool reporter is there to observe what is said and done when microphones are off or when either candidate is not seen on camera but may speak, gesture, move, or engage in some way.

WHCA believes this principle of coverage matters.  The White House travel pool has been included in past presidential debates and we believe that standard of access is essential.

Precedent matters for future debates.

CNN is a good citizen of our association and a vital partner in the daily coverage of the White House press corps.  We recognize CNN is investing significant resources to host this debate and we wish them every success.

WHCA respectfully requests that CNN adjust its plan and welcome the White House travel pool print representative to witness the debate in full for the sake of the news cycle, for history and mostly importantly for the American people.

—Kelly O’Donnell, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

Here are the results of the 2024 WHCA Election to fill 3 seats on the association board for 3-year terms.

One also serves as association president in the third year.

 

WHCA Election Results – June 26, 2024

 

Here are the results of the 2024 WHCA elections. A total of 323 ballots were submitted.

 

RADIO SEAT 2024-2027

Karen Travers, ABC News                             226

Patsy Widakuswara, VOA                               94

Write-in                                                               x

Abstain                                                                3

 

WIRE SEAT 2024-2027

Trevor Hunnicut, Reuters                               301

Write-in                                                              7

—1 each: Danny Kemp, Jordan Fabian

—2 each: Seung Min Kim, Steve Holland

—1 unspecified protest

Abstain                                                              15

 

AT-LARGE SEAT 2024-2027 – AND PRESIDENT IN 2026-2027

Justin Sink, Bloomberg                                   294

Write-in                                                             13

—3 each: Francesca Chambers

—2 each: Karen Travers, Jacqui Heinrich

—1 each: Caitlin Doornbos, Simon Ateba, Peter Alexander, James Rosen, George Lehner, Khalil Abdallah

Abstain                                                               16

 

 

For more information, contact Executive Director Steve Thomma at director@whca.press

 

 

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The White House Correspondents’ Association is very happy to announce the creation of a new scholarship in partnership with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

“The WHCA is grateful for this new partnership with Syracuse University,” said Kelly O’Donnell, Senior White House Correspondent for NBC News and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.

“We know that Syracuse has a long track record as an institution that produces talented and well prepared journalists. We believe this scholarship will help WHCA support a new generation of journalists whose work will hold government to account and shine a light on important issues.” 

“Training journalism students and helping to set them up for success for a career in the newsroom is part of what we do best,” said Mark J. Lodato, dean of the Newhouse School.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to apply the skills they learn in the classroom to an exceptional experience in our nation’s capital, working with some of the country’s top political reporters.”

Syracuse becomes the 13^th university to partner with the WHCA to help promising young journalists, many of them the White House correspondents of the future.

The others are American University, Arizona State University, Columbia University, Hampton University, Howard University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Kansas, the University of Maryland, the University of Missouri and University of Tennessee.

The WHCA also has college scholarship partnerships with the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the White House Historical Association.

The White House Correspondents’ Association Scholarship at Syracuse University will be a $5,000 prize awarded annually to a journalism student with a focus on pursuing government or political reporting.

The student will be invited to a scholarship luncheon in the spring and to the annual WHCA dinner in Washington, scheduled next on April 27, 2024. The student also will be paired for a year with a volunteer mentor from among the White House press corps.

For more information, contact Executive Director Steve Thomma at director@whca.press

About the WHCA

Founded in 1914, the White House Correspondents’ Association exists to ensure robust news coverage of the president and the presidency, and to promote excellence in journalism and  journalism education. Each day, we work to ensure that the men and women who cover the White House have the ability to seek answers from powerful officials, up to and including the President. We also support awards for some of the best political reporting of the past year, and scholarships for young reporters who carry our hopes for vibrant journalism in the years to come.  Our association comprises hundreds of members from the worlds of print, television, radio and online journalism. Their work, for outlets based in the United States and overseas, reaches a global audience.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals and impact beyond what’s possible.

About the Newhouse School

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University trains the next generation of communications leaders, preparing students to not only enter a rapidly changing media industry, but to shape its future. Called one of the very best schools in its field by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) in an April 2023 reaccreditation report, Newhouse has been lauded for providing an excellent educational experience due to its outstanding students, faculty, staff, leadership and facilities, as well as financial stability and a deep curriculum. The Newhouse School is committed to expanding academic excellence through research and creative activity, as well as community engagement and professional opportunities to help students develop their skill set outside the classroom.

WHCA Election Results – June 28, 2023

Here are the results of the 2023 WHCA elections. A total of 387 ballots were submitted.

PRINT SEAT 2023-2026

Courtney Subramanian, LA Times                210

Emily Goodin, DailyMail.com                      158

Write-in                                                              4

(1 each: Khalil Abdallah, Todd Gillman

2 each: April Ryan

Abstain                                                              15

PHOTO SEAT 2023-2026

Andrew Harnik, AP                                        364

Write-in                                                               9

(1 each: Jabin Botsford, Jim Bourg,

Jordan Fabian, Ed Lewis, Meghashyam Mali,

Doug Mills, Ron Sachs

2 each: Roberta Rampton )

Abstain                                                             14    

AT-LARGE SEAT 2023-2026 – AND PRESIDENT IN 2025-2026

Weijia Jiang, CBS News                                251     

Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY              132

Write-in                                                              1

(1 each: Jeff Mason)

Abstain                                                               3

For more information, contact Executive Director Steve Thomma at director@whca.press

Statement on the online harassment of White House journalist Sabrina Siddiqui:

“Sabrina Siddiqui of the Wall Street Journal was the lone journalist from an American news outlet called on during President Biden’s joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi last week. She represented the White House press corps incredibly well and asked the questions that many of us had at the top of our lists. Unfortunately since then she has been subjected to intense online harassment, including from people with ties to the prime minister’s political party, questioning her motives, her religion and her heritage. This is unacceptable. The WHCA stands by Sabrina and the questions she chose to ask. In a democracy, journalists shouldn’t be targeted simply for doing their jobs and asking questions that need to be asked.”

– WHCA President Tamara Keith