Helen Thomas

For people with a similar name, see Helen Thomas (disambiguation).

Helen Thomas
Thomas in 2000
Born
Helen Amelia Thomas

(1920-08-04)August 4, 1920
Winchester, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJuly 20, 2013(2013-07-20) (aged 92)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Alma materWayne State University (BA)
Occupations
  • Author
  • journalist
  • columnist
Years active1943–2013
Known forPioneering female reporter;
first female member of
the White House press corps
Spouse
Douglas B. Cornell
​
​
(m. 1971; died 1982)​

Helen Amelia Thomas (August 4, 1920 – July 20, 2013)[1] was an American reporter and author, and a long-serving member of the White House press corps. She covered the White House during the administrations of ten U.S. presidents—from the beginning of the Kennedy administration to the second year of the Obama administration.

Thomas worked for the United Press and post-1958 successor United Press International (UPI) for 57 years, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau manager. She then served as a columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House. Thomas was the first female officer of the National Press Club, the first female member and president of the White House Correspondents' Association and the first female member of the Gridiron Club. She wrote six books; her last (with co-author Craig Crawford) was Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do (2009).

Thomas retired from Hearst Newspapers on June 7, 2010, following controversial remarks she made about Israel in an impromptu, unstructured amateur short interview when solicited for "any comments on Israel," she replied, "tell them to get the hell out of Palestine,"[2] leading to accusations of antisemitism.[3] She then served as an opinion columnist for the Falls Church News-Press until February 2012.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnnfacts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Horn, Heather (June 7, 2010). "Helen Thomas Retires After Telling Israelis to 'Go Home'". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Jeremy W. Peters (June 7, 2010). "Reporter Retires After Words About Israel". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  4. ^ "Editor Calls for Media Correction: Helen Thomas Retired in 2012, Not 2010". July 22, 2013.