The White House Correspondents’ Association and American University are pleased to announce the creation of a new scholarship partnership aimed at encouraging investigative journalism.

“Whether it’s seeing a pattern others have missed, or unearthing secrets deliberately concealed by those in power, or doing the demanding and grinding work of sifting through public records, investigative reporting is vital to a healthy republic,” said Olivier Knox, president of the WHCA. “I’m thrilled that the WHCA has partnered with American University to underline that fact.”

The scholarship will be awarded each year to an undergraduate or graduate student in journalism at American who shows promise in the field of investigative journalism. It will be for $5,000, with half coming from the WHCA and half coming from the university.

“At such an important time in our history and industry, we are honored to launch the first investigative journalism scholarship with WHCA,” said Amy Eisman, director of the journalism division at AU’s School of Communications.

The recipient will be recognized at the annual dinner of the WHCA, starting with this year’s event on April 27. The recipient also will be included in a scholarship luncheon that weekend and will be matched with a veteran White House journalist for a year of mentoring.

The first student to receive the scholarship will be Shelby Hanssen of Rochester, Minnesota, a graduate journalism student in the School of Communication.

Hanssen holds a law degree from the University of Oregon School of Law. She has written for The Washington Post and is attached to the paper’s investigative unit through the school’s graduate journalism practicum class, which embeds student journalists in the Post newsroom under the leadership of John Sullivan, a reporter at the Post and editor at the school’s Investigative Reporting Workshop who also teaches at the school.

American becomes the 10^th university partnering with the WHCA to encourage young journalists through scholarships. In addition to American, the full roster includes Arizona State University, Columbia University, Grambling State University, Howard University, Northwestern University, Ohio University, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Maryland and the University of Missouri.

Another two universities award scholarships that are honored by the WHCA at the annual dinner: George Washington University and Iowa State University.

For more information contact Steven Thomma, WHCA Executive Director, at 202-266-7453 or at director@whca.press

For inquiries specific to American University School of Communication, contact AJ Springer, Senior Public Relations Manager, at 202-885-5935 or at ajs@american.edu

The White House Correspondents’ Association strenuously objects to the capricious decision to exclude some journalists from a press encounter with President Trump and Chairman Kim.

This summit provides an opportunity for the American presidency to display its strength by facing vigorous questioning from a free and independent news media, not telegraph weakness by retreating behind arbitrary last-minute restrictions on coverage.

We call on the White House to not allow a diminution of the previously agreed-to press complement for the remainder of the summit. 

–Olivier Knox, WHCA President 

The White House Correspondents’ Association condemns the physical attack on our colleague at the president’s rally in El Paso, Texas. We are relieved that, this time, no one was seriously hurt. The president of the United States should make absolutely clear to his supporters that violence against reporters is unacceptable. 

-Olivier Knox, WHCA President

“This retreat from transparency and accountability sets a terrible precedent. Being able to question the press secretary or other senior government officials publicly helps the news media tell Americans what their most powerful representatives are doing in their name. While other avenues exist to obtain information, the robust, public back-and-forth we’ve come to expect in the James S. Brady briefing room helps highlight that no one in a healthy republic is above being questioned.”

-Olivier Knox, WHCA President

The White House did the right thing in restoring Jim Acosta’s hard pass.  The White House Correspondents’ Association had no role in crafting any procedures for future press conferences.  For as long as there have been White House press conferences, White House reporters have asked follow-up questions. We fully expect this tradition will continue. We will continue to make the case that a free and independent news media plays a vital role in the health of our republic.

–Olivier Knox, WHCA President

The White House Correspondents’ Association welcomes today’s ruling, in which a federal judge made it clear that the White House cannot arbitrarily revoke a White House press pass.  We thank all of the news outlets and individual reporters who stood up in recent days for the vital role a free and independent news media plays in our republic. 

The White House Correspondents’ Association strongly supports CNN’s goal of seeing their correspondent regain a US Secret Service security credential that the White House should not have taken away in the first place. Revoking access to the White House complex amounted to disproportionate reaction to the events of last Wednesday. We continue to urge the Administration to reverse course and fully reinstate CNN’s correspondent.

The President of the United States should not be in the business of arbitrarily picking the men and women who cover him.

All Americans should recoil from the president’s praise for a violent assault on a reporter doing his Constitutionally protected job. This amounts to the celebration of a crime by someone sworn to uphold our laws and an attack on the First Amendment by someone who has solemnly pledged to defend it. We should never shrug at the president cheerleading for a violent act targeting a free and independent news media.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

By now, you’ve seen the photograph from the Trump rally yesterday that shows an aide with his hand over a photographer’s lens, an attempt to prevent our colleague from getting a picture of a protester at the event.

I have spoken to both the White House and the Trump campaign. The White House referred me to the campaign.

The Trump campaign assures me that these were the actions of an inexperienced volunteer, who understands that he acted in error. The campaign has taken him off the road, and promises that this will not happen again.

Thanks to those of you who brought this to my attention last night. Please feel free to reach out to me and your other Board members anytime you run into a problem.

Best,

Olivier