White House Correspondents' Association

White House Correspondents' Association
AbbreviationWHCA
FormationFebruary 25, 1914; 110 years ago (1914-02-25)
52-0799067[1]
Legal status501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[1]
Location
Coordinates38°53′52″N 77°03′18″W / 38.89778°N 77.05500°W / 38.89778; -77.05500
Kelly O'Donnell (NBC News)[2]
Steven Thomma[2]
Revenue (2015)
$366,481[3]
Expenses (2015)$311,090[3]
Employees (2015)
0[3]
Websitewhca.press Edit this at Wikidata

The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a United States congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson.[4]

The WHCA operates independently of the White House. Among the more notable issues handled by the WHCA are the credentialing process, access to the president and physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms.[5][6] Its most high-profile activity is the annual White House Correspondents' dinner, which is traditionally attended by the president and covered by the news media. Except for Donald Trump, every president has attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924.[7]

  1. ^ a b "White House Correspondents Association". Exempt Organization Select Check. Internal Revenue Service. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "WHCA Officers and Board". White House Correspondents' Association. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Form 990: Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax". White House Correspondents' Association. Guidestar. October 31, 2015.
  4. ^ "Unfounded Leak Leads to Modern WHCA by George Condon, former president of the WHCA". White House Correspondents' Association. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  5. ^ "White House Correspondents' Association Officers and Board". WHCA. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "Joe Strupp, "Incoming WHCA Prez: Next Year's Dinner Will Not Be 'Politically Correct", Editor and Publisher, April 25, 2007".
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).