Jump to content

Helen Thomas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Cyberbot II (talk | contribs) at 05:49, 28 February 2016 (Rescuing 1 sources. #IABot). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Helen Thomas
Thomas in February 2009
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.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materWayne University (B.A., 1942)
Occupation(s)Author, journalist, columnist
Years active1943–2013
Known forPioneering female reporter;
first female member of
the White House press corps
Spouse(s)Douglas B. Cornell
(1971–1982; his death)
Parents
  • George Thomas (né Antonious)
  • Mary Thomas (née Rowady)
Relatives8 siblings

Helen Amelia Thomas (August 4, 1920 – July 20, 2013) was an American author and news service reporter, member of the White House press corps and opinion columnist. She 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 was a columnist for Hearst Newspapers from 2000 to 2010, writing on national affairs and the White House. She covered the administrations of eleven U.S. presidents—from the final years of the Eisenhower administration to the second year of the Obama administration.

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 comments she made about Israel and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[1]

Early life and education

Born in Winchester, Kentucky, Thomas was the seventh of the nine children of George and Mary (Rowady) Thomas, immigrants from Tripoli in what was, at the time, part of the Ottoman Empire (later, the area became Lebanon).[2][3][4] Thomas has said her father's surname, "Antonious", was anglicized to "Thomas" when he entered the U.S. at Ellis Island,[3] and that her parents could neither read nor write.[2] Thomas was raised mainly in Detroit, Michigan, where her family moved when she was four years old, and where her father ran a grocery store.[3][5] Of her experience growing up, Thomas has said:

We were never hyphenated as Arab-Americans. We were American, and I have always rejected the hyphen and I believe all assimilated immigrants should not be designated ethnically. Or separated, of course, by race, or creed either. These are trends that ever try to divide us as a people.

— Helen Thomas[6]

She has also said that in Detroit in the 1920s, she came home crying from school, "They wanted to make you feel you weren't 'American'... We were called 'garlic eaters' ".[5] She was a member of the Antiochian Orthodox Church.[3]

Thomas attended public schools, and decided to become a journalist while in high school.[7] She enrolled at Wayne University in Detroit, receiving a bachelor's degree in English in 1942,[8] as the school did not yet offer a degree in journalism.[9]

Early career

Thomas moved to Washington, D.C.. Her first job in journalism was as a copygirl for the now-defunct Washington Daily News. After eight months at the paper, she joined with her colleagues in a strike action and was fired.[9]

Thomas joined United Press in 1943 and reported on women's topics for its radio wire service.[10][11] Her first assignments focused her on societal issues, women's news and celebrity profiles.[12] Later in the decade, and in the early fifties, she wrote UP's Names in the News column, for which she interviewed numerous Washington celebrities.[13] In 1955, she was assigned to cover the United States Department of Justice. She later was assigned to cover other agencies, including the United States Department of Health, as well as Capitol Hill.[14]

Thomas served as president of the Women's National Press Club from 1959 through 1960.[14] In 1959, she and a few of her fellow female journalists forced the National Press Club, then barred to women, to allow them to attend an address by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.[12]

Presidential correspondent

In November 1960, Thomas began covering then President-elect John F. Kennedy, taking the initiative to switch from reporting the "women's angle" to reporting the news of the day.[15] She became the White House UPI correspondent in January 1961. Thomas became known as the "Sitting Buddha," and the "First Lady of the Press."[16] It was during Kennedy's administration that she began ending presidential press conferences with a signature "Thank you, Mr. President,"[17] reviving a tradition started by UPI's Albert Merriman Smith during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.[18]

Thomas with President Ford and
chief of staff Dick Cheney (left) in 1976

In a 2008 article, The Christian Science Monitor wrote: "Thomas, a fixture in American politics, is outspoken, blunt, demanding, forceful and unrelenting. Not only does she command respect by the highest powers in the US, her reputation is known worldwide."[19] When Cuban leader Fidel Castro was asked in the early 2000s what was the difference between democracy in Cuba and democracy in the United States, Castro reportedly replied, "I don't have to answer questions from Helen Thomas." Thomas considered Castro's reply to be "the height of flattery."[20]

In 1962, Thomas convinced President Kennedy not to attend the annual dinners held for the White House correspondents and photographers if they disallowed women from attending. President Kennedy moved for the dinners to be combined into one event, with women allowed to attend. In 1970, UPI named Thomas their chief White House correspondent, making her the first woman to serve in the position. She was named the chief of UPI's White House bureau in 1974.[14]

Thomas was the only female print journalist to travel to China with President Richard Nixon during his 1972 visit to China.[21] During the Watergate scandal, Martha Beall Mitchell, wife of United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell, frequently called Thomas to discuss how the Nixon administration was using Mitchell as a scapegoat.[12]

Thomas circled the globe several times, traveling with every U.S. president from Richard Nixon through Barack Obama. She covered every Economic Summit since 1975, working up to the position of UPI's White House Bureau Chief, a post she would hold for over 25 years. While serving as White House Bureau Chief, she authored a regular column for UPI, "Backstairs at the White House."[22] The column provided an insider's view of various presidential administrations.

In 1975, the Washington Press Corps club, known as the Gridiron Club, admitted Thomas, making her the first woman to become a member. From 1975 through 1976, she served as the first female president of the White House Correspondents Association.[14]

Thomas was the only member of the White House Press Corps to have her own seat in the White House Briefing Room. All other seats are assigned to media outlets.

In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Thomas's name and picture.[23]

Departure from UPI

On May 17, 2000, the day after it was announced that the UPI had been acquired by News World Communications Inc., an international media conglomerate founded and controlled by Unification Church leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon which owns The Washington Times and other news media, Thomas resigned from the UPI after 57 years with the organization.[24] She later described the change in ownership as "a bridge too far."[24][25] Less than two months later, she joined Hearst Newspapers as an opinion columnist, writing on national affairs and the White House.[26]

After leaving her job as a reporter at the UPI, Thomas became more likely to air her personal, negative views. In a speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she quipped, "I censored myself for 50 years when I was a reporter. Now I wake up and ask myself, 'Who do I hate today?'"[27]

George W. Bush administration

During President George W. Bush's first term, Thomas reacted to Press Secretary Ari Fleischer's statements about arms shipments to the terrorists by asking: "Where do the Israelis get their arms?" He responded "There's a difference Helen, and that is --". "What is the difference?", she asked. He responded: "The targeting of innocents through the use of terror, which is a common enemy for Yasir Arafat and for the people of Israel, as well as --". She interrupted him, saying: "Palestinian people are fighting for their land." He responded: "I think that the killing of innocents is a category entirely different. Justifying killing of innocents for land is an argument in support of terrorism."[28]

In January 2003, following a speech at a Society of Professional Journalists banquet, Thomas told an autograph-seeker, "I'm covering the worst president in American history." The autograph-seeker was a sports writer for The Daily Breeze and her comments were published. After that she was not called upon during a press conference for the first time in over four decades. She wrote to the President to apologize.[29]

Traditionally, Thomas sat in the front row and asked the first question during White House press conferences. However, according to Thomas in a 2006 Daily Show interview, this ended because she no longer represented a wire service.[30] During the Bush administration, Thomas was moved to the back row during press conferences; She was called upon at briefings on a daily basis but no longer ended Presidential news conferences saying, "Thank you, Mr. President." When asked why she was seated in the back row, she said, "they didn't like me...I ask too mean questions."[31]

Thomas in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room half an hour before morning gaggle, 2007

On March 21, 2006, Thomas was called upon directly by President Bush for the first time in three years. Thomas asked Bush about the War in Iraq:

I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, [about] your decision to invade Iraq ... Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is: Why did you really want to go to war? .... You have said it wasn't oil...quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

Bush responded by discussing the War on Terror, and stated as a reason for the invasion that Saddam Hussein chose to deny inspectors and not to disclose required information.[32] Thomas was criticized by some commentators for her exchange with Bush.[33][34][35]

In July 2006, she told The Hill, "The day Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is another liar... I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does."[36]

At the July 18, 2006, White House press briefing, Thomas remarked, "The United States ... could have stopped the bombardment of Lebanon. We have that much control with the Israelis... we have gone for collective punishment against all of Lebanon and Palestine." Press Secretary Tony Snow responded, "Thank you for the Hezbollah view."[37] Other members of the press weighed in. According to Washington Post television critic Tom Shales, questions like the one above have sounded more like "tirades" and "anti-Israeli rhetoric."[38]

In a press conference on November 30, 2007, Thomas questioned White House Press Secretary Dana Perino as to why Americans should depend on General David Petraeus in determining when to re-deploy U.S troops from Iraq. Perino began to answer when Thomas interjected with "You mean how many more people we kill?" Perino immediately took offense, responding:

Helen, I find it really unfortunate that you use your front row position, bestowed upon you by your colleagues, to make such statements. This is a...it is an honor and a privilege to be in the briefing room, and to suggest that we, the United States, are killing innocent people is just absurd and very offensive.[39]

Refusing to back down, Thomas responded immediately by asking Perino if she knew how many innocent Iraqis had been killed and then questioned the worth of regret when Perino responded that the administration regretted the loss of all innocent Iraqi lives.[40]

Obama administration

President Barack Obama presenting Thomas cupcakes on her 89th birthday[41]

On February 9, 2009, Thomas was present in the front row for newly elected President Obama's first news conference. President Obama called on her with the statement, "Helen. I'm excited, this is my inaugural moment,"[42] seemingly a reference to her long-term presence in the White House Press Corps.[43] Thomas asked if any Middle Eastern country possessed nuclear weapons. Obama replied that he did not want to "speculate" on the matter.

On July 1, 2009, Thomas commented on the Obama administration's handling of the press, "we have had some control but not this control. I mean I'm amazed, I'm amazed at you people who call for openness and transparency and you have controlled...".[44][45][46] She also said that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press as much as President Obama.[47]

On August 4, 2009, Thomas celebrated her 89th birthday. President Obama, whose birthday is on the same day, presented Thomas with birthday cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to her before that day's press conference.[48]

Resignation

Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com, on the White House grounds with his son and a teenage friend[49] for a May 27, 2010, American Jewish Heritage Celebration Day,[50] questioned Thomas as she was leaving the White House via the North Lawn driveway.[51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] When asked for comments on Israel, she replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine." and "Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland..." When asked where Israeli Jews should go, she replied they could "go home" to Poland or Germany or "America and everywhere else. Why push people out of there who have lived there for centuries?" She also mentioned she was of "Arab background." A one-minute excerpt of the May 27, 2010, interview was posted on Nesenoff's website on June 3.[55][60]

On June 4, Thomas posted the following response on her Web site:

I deeply regret my comments I made last week regarding the Israelis and the Palestinians. They do not reflect my heart-felt belief that peace will come to the Middle East only when all parties recognize the need for mutual respect and tolerance. May that day come soon.[61][62][63]

Thomas's agency, Nine Speakers, Inc., immediately dropped her as a client because of her remarks.[64][65] Craig Crawford, who co-authored Listen up, Mr. President, said "I ... will no longer be working with Helen on our book projects."[66] Her scheduled delivery of a commencement speech at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, was canceled by the school.[67] The White House Correspondents' Association, over which she once presided, issued a statement calling her remarks "indefensible."[68] In January 2011, the Society of Professional Journalists voted to retire the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement.[52][69]

On June 7, Thomas abruptly tendered her resignation from Hearst Newspapers.[52] The next day, in an interview on NBC's Today Show, President Obama called her remarks "offensive" and "out of line" and said her retirement was "the right decision." He remarked that it was a "shame" her celebrated career had to end in such controversy, and at the same time he recognized her long service covering U.S. presidents, calling her "a real institution in Washington."[70] Her comments also garnered rebukes from numerous others, including White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, former special counsel to and White House spokesman for President Bill Clinton, Lanny Davis, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Hoover Institution senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson.[61][71][72][73]

Thomas also had her share of defenders who felt she was being attacked too harshly, including former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader, Fox News contributor Ellen Ratner, former UPI managing editor Michael Freedman and The Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel. Nader noted the "double standard" where one off-hand "ill-conceived remark" ended Helen Thomas' career while "ultra-right wing radio and cable ranters" engaged in "bigotry, stereotypes and falsehoods directed wholesale against Muslims, including a blatant anti-semitism against Arabs."[74]

Thomas said in an October 2011 radio interview with Scott Spears of WMRN that she realized soon after making the comments that she would be fired, stating, "I hit the third rail. You cannot criticize Israel in this country and survive." She added that she issued an apology because people were upset, but that ultimately, she still "had the same feelings about Israel's aggression and brutality."[75]

Later career

2010 speech on Arab Americans

On December 2, 2010, shortly before a speech for the eighth annual "Images and Perceptions of Arab Americans" conference in Dearborn, Michigan, Thomas told reporters that she still stood by the comments she had made to Nesenoff. Referring to her resignation, she said "I paid a price, but it's worth it to speak the truth."[76][77][78] During the speech, Thomas said: "Congress, the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street are owned by Zionists. No question, in my opinion."[76] Thomas defended her comments on December 7, telling Scott Spears of Marion, Ohio radio station WMRN, "I just think that people should be enlightened as to who is in charge of the opinion in this country."[79]

The next day, the Anti-Defamation League called for journalism schools and organizations to rescind any honors given to Thomas. The organization said that Thomas had "clearly, unequivocally revealed herself as a vulgar anti-Semite" in the speech.[80] Hours later, Wayne State University in Detroit discontinued the Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity in Media Award, which it had been granting for more than ten years, citing what it called her anti-Semitic remarks.[76] Thomas reacted with scolding remarks, saying that "the leaders of Wayne State University have made a mockery of the First Amendment and disgraced their understanding of its inherent freedom of speech and the press."[81] Asked by the Detroit Free Press how she would respond to people who say she is anti-Semitic, Thomas responded: 'I'd say I'm a Semite. What are you talking about?'".[82]

Subsequent employment

Thomas was employed as a weekly columnist by the Virginia Falls Church News-Press from January 2011 to January 2012.[83] Owner-Editor Nicholas Benton repeatedly defended the decision to hire her despite her controversial comments.[84] He noted in 2011 that he was "outraged" when the Society of Professional Journalists voted on retiring a scholarship award named for Thomas.[85] Benton said that Thomas "is herself a Semite" and was "expressing a political point of view [in the interview with Nesenoff above], and not a bigoted racial sentiment."[86] From January 2011 to January 2013, Thomas contributed columns almost weekly to the Falls Church News-Press. They are archived at www.fcnp.com.

Personal life

Thomas described herself as a liberal.[12] For most of her adult life, she chose her work over her personal life.[87] At age 51, Thomas married a colleague, Douglas Cornell, who was just retiring as the White House reporter for the Associated Press.[9] Four years later he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and she cared for him until his death in 1982.[87]

Death

Thomas died on July 20, 2013, at her home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 92, two weeks short of her 93rd birthday.[88][89] Many female journalists memorialized Thomas on Twitter, including Judy Woodruff, who called her a "trailblazer", and Lynn Sweet, who said she was a "glass ceiling breaking journalist".[90] Andrea Mitchell tweeted that Thomas "made it possible for all of us who followed."[91] Dana Perino, who served as press secretary to President George W. Bush, remembered that on her first day as Press Secretary, Thomas approached her to give her words of encouragement.[90] President Obama released a statement calling her "a true pioneer" and that "she never failed to keep presidents—myself included—on their toes.".[92] Thomas was cremated and her ashes were buried in Detroit, following a traditional Antiochian Orthodox funeral service.

Awards

Thomas received numerous awards and more than 30 honorary degrees. In 1976, Thomas was named one of the World Almanac's 25 Most Influential Women in America.[93]

In 1986 she received the William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit from the University of Kansas.[17] Thomas received an Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media from the Freedom Forum in 1991. The White House Correspondent's Association honored her in 1998 by establishing the "Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award". In 2000, her alma mater, Wayne State University, established an award for journalists in her honor, the "Helen Thomas Spirit of Diversity award".[94] In December 2010, the award was discontinued by Wayne State which cited her renewed remarks similar to those in May 2010. Speaking for Wayne State, Matthew Seeger, its interim dean said, that the award is given to promote the importance of diversity in the media and that this award "is no longer helping us achieve our goals."[95] In 2007, Thomas received a Foremother Award from the National Research Center for Women & Families.

In October 2010, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) honored Thomas with a lifetime achievement award.[96][97]

In April 2012, Thomas received an award from the Palestine Liberation Organization's General Mission to the United States. The award was presented by PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi to "recognize Thomas' long career in the field of journalism, during which she defended the Palestinian position every step of the way."[98]

Bibliography

  • Listen Up Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do. (with co-author Craig Crawford) (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2009) ISBN 1-4391-4815-5
  • The Great White House Breakout. (with co-author and illustrator Chip Bok) (Penguin Group, 2008) ISBN 978-0-8037-3300-8 (children's book)
  • Watchdogs of Democracy? : The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed the Public (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2006) ISBN 0-7432-6781-8
  • Thanks for the Memories, Mr. President : Wit and Wisdom from the Front Row at the White House (Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003) ISBN 0-7432-0226-0
  • Front Row at the White House : My Life and Times (Scribner, 2000) ISBN 0-684-86809-1
  • Dateline: White House (Macmillan, 1975) ISBN 0-02-617620-3

See also

References

  1. ^ Jeremy W. Peters (June 7, 2010). "Reporter Retires After Words About Israel". New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Elders with Andrew Denton – episode 4: Helen Thomas". Abc.net.au. July 7, 2008. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d Helen Thomas (May 3, 2000). Front Row At The White House: My Life And Times (link to Ch. 1). Simon & Schuster. Retrieved June 11, 2010. I was born in Winchester on August 4, 1920, the seventh of nine surviving children -- Katharine, Anne, Matry, Sabe, Isabelle, Josephine, myself, Barbara and Genevieve. My older brother Tommy was killed when he was twelve in a terrible accident when... A wall... collapsed on the roof of the theater during a blizzard, killing 115 people inside. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. ^ Helen Thomas (1975). Dateline: White House. Macmillan. ISBN 0-02-617620-3.
  5. ^ a b Gregory Orfalea (November 2005). The Arab Americans: a history. Interlink Pub Group Inc. ISBN 1-56656-597-9. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  6. ^ Hugh Downs (September 3, 2002). My America: what my country means to me by 150 Americans from all walks of life. Simon & Schuster. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-7432-3369-9. Retrieved March 14, 2011.
  7. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica staff. "Helen Thomas (American journalist)". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 20, 2010.
  8. ^ CBS News and AP (May 16, 2000). "Helen Thomas Quits UPI". CBS News. The Associated Press. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c "Profile: Newswoman Helen Thomas". MLive.com. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  10. ^ BBC staff (May 16, 2000). "Veteran journalist quits White House". BBC News. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  11. ^ Kayyali (December 2005). The Arab Americans. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-313-33219-7. Retrieved August 6, 2010.
  12. ^ a b c d "Helen Thomas, iconic White House correspondent, dies at 92 - The Middletown Press : Serving Middletown, CT". The Middletown Press. Associated Press. 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  13. ^ Thomas, Helen. Dateline: White House. Macmillan, 1975, page xiii.
  14. ^ a b c d "Helen Thomas Fast Facts". CNN.com. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  15. ^ NPR staff (July 13, 2000). "Helen Thomas, Consumer Advocate". NPR. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  16. ^ "Journalism icon says Obama can learn from Trudeau – CTV News".
  17. ^ a b Pittsburgh Press staff (June 24, 1985). "Helen Thomas honored". The Pittsburgh Press. p. A2. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  18. ^ Mike Allen (February 20, 2007). "Helen Thomas Moving Back After 46 Years Down Front". Politico. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  19. ^ Jimmy Orr (August 16, 2008). "Helen Thomas featured on HBO special". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  20. ^ "NOW with Bill Moyers" (Transcript). PBS. January 16, 2004. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  21. ^ UPI staff (February 8, 1972). "Nixon's China Trip Journalists Chosen". The Pittsburgh Press. UPI. p. 8. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  22. ^ Helen Thomas (March 11, 1980). "Backstairs At The White House". Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire). UPI. p. 7. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  23. ^ Wulf, Steve (2015-03-23). "Supersisters: Original Roster". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
  24. ^ a b Stout, David (May 17, 2000). "Helen Thomas, Washington Fixture, Resigns as U.P.I. Reporter". The New York Times. Retrieved March 7, 2008.
  25. ^ Greg Winter (July 10, 2000). "Helen Thomas Is Back as a Columnist With Hearst". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2008.
  26. ^ AP staff (July 6, 2000). "Helen Thomas joins Hearst as a columnist". The Free-Lance Star (Fredericksburg, VA). Associated Press. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  27. ^ Susan Stewart (August 17, 2008). "Just a Few More Questions, Ms. Thomas". The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  28. ^ Ari Fleisher (March 1, 2005). Taking Heat: The President, The Press And My Years In The White House. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-074762-6. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  29. ^ Ann McFeatters (Summer 2006). "Thank 'You', Ms. Thomas". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  30. ^ "Helen Thomas". The Daily Show. 27 June 2006. Comedy Central. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  31. ^ "Five Minutes With: Helen Thomas" (Interview). Campus Progress. Center for American Progress. February 28, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  32. ^ "Press Conference of the President". The White House. March 21, 2006. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  33. ^ Jonah Goldberg: Right invasion, wrong explanation. March 24, 2006.
  34. ^ MSNBC: Scarborough Country: March 21, 2006.
  35. ^ MSNBC: The Situation With Tucker Carlson: March 21, 2006.
  36. ^ Albert Eisele (July 28, 2006). "Reporter: Cheney's Not Presidential Material". The Hill. Archived from the original on November 13, 2006. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Lynn Sweet (July 18, 2006). "Tony Snow: On Lebanon-Not calling for cease fire if it leaves status quo intact". Lynn Sweet: The scoop from Washington. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  38. ^ Tom Shales (August 18, 2008). "A Story With a Few Holes: Portrait of Helen Thomas Obscures Flaws". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  39. ^ White House Office of the Press Secretary (November 30, 2007). "Press Briefing by Dana Perino and Mark Dybul, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator". The White House. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
  40. ^ "When The Press Presses Perino - Couric & Co". CBS News. 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  41. ^ Cook, Dave.; Orr, Jimmy.Obama shares a birthday and a smooch with Helen Thomas. Christian Science Monitor. August 4, 2009.
  42. ^ NBC News, February 9, 2009
  43. ^ Jeff Zeleny (February 10, 2009). "New Media Breaks in, but Tradition Lives On". New York Times.
  44. ^ "White House Reporters Grill Gibbs Over 'Prepackaged' Questions for Obama". CSPAN-2. July 1, 2009. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  45. ^ Kim LaCapria (July 2, 2009). "Helen Thomas calls Obama administration out on social media smokescreen". The Inquisitr. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  46. ^ Daniela Sicuranza; Stephen Clark (July 1, 2009). "White House Disputes Criticism That Health Care Town Hall Meeting Is Staged". FOX News. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
  47. ^ Penny Starr; Fred Lucas (July 1, 2009). "Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama". Cybercast News Service. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  48. ^ Jimmy Orr, Obama sings Happy Birthday to himself (and Helen Thomas), Christian Science Monitor, August 4, 2009.
  49. ^ Ron Kampeas, Little-known rabbi brings down Helen Thomas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 8, 2010.
  50. ^ AFP staff reporter (June 9, 2010). "Hezbollah lauds Helen Thomas". YNetNews. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  51. ^ JTA staff (June 7, 2010). "Helen Thomas quits". Washington DC: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
  52. ^ a b c Berger, Judson (June 10, 2010). "Groups Consider Renaming 'Helen Thomas' Awards". FOX News. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  53. ^ Timothy Bolger (June 16, 2010). "L.I. Rabbi Faces Blowback for Helen Thomas Expose". Long Island Press. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  54. ^ Sam Youngman; Emily Goodin (June 7, 2010). "Helen Thomas quits after Israel remarks". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010.
  55. ^ a b , Rabbi David Nesenoff; Helen Thomas (June 7, 2010). Helen Thomas, Complete Version, (2 minutes) (video). Washington D.C.: RabbiLive.com. Retrieved June 17, 2010. (recorded May 27, 2010)
  56. ^ BBC News staff (June 7, 2010). "US reporter Helen Thomas quits over Israel comments". BBC News. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  57. ^ Jon Ward (June 13, 2010). "Why we'll miss Helen Thomas". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 14, 2010.
  58. ^ Sam Stein (June 4, 2010). "Ari Fleischer: Fire Helen Thomas". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
  59. ^ Amy Goodman (June 8, 2010). "Veteran White House Reporter Helen Thomas Retires After Israel Remarks" (Transcript). Headlines. Democracy Now!.
  60. ^ "Helen Thomas Complete (original)". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-03-14.
  61. ^ a b Fox News staff (June 6, 2010). "Ex-Spokesmen Lead Charge for White House Reporter Helen Thomas to Be Fired". Fox News. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  62. ^ Natasha Mozgovaya (June 5, 2010). "Jews should leave Palestine and return to Europe, top U.S. journalist says". Haaretz. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  63. ^ Helen Thomas (June 4, 2010). "Helen Thomas". Archived from the original on June 10, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
  64. ^ Patrick Gavin (June 6, 2010). "Thomas gets dropped by agency". Politico. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  65. ^ Kristina Wong (June 6, 2010). "Columnist Draws Fire for Telling Jews 'Go Home'". ABC News. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  66. ^ Martina Stewart (June 6, 2010). "Helen Thomas under fire for saying Jews in Israel should go back to Germany, Poland". CNN. Retrieved June 7, 2010.
  67. ^ Martin Weil (June 7, 2010). "Helen Thomas agrees to bow out as commencement speaker at Walt Whitman High". The Washington Post.
  68. ^ "Statement issued by the board of the White House Correspondents' Association". June 7, 2010.
  69. ^ Steele, Micki (January 14, 2011). "Journalism group shelves Helen Thomas award". The Detroit News. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  70. ^ Mimi Hall (June 8, 2010). "Obama calls Helen Thomas' comments "offensive"". USA Today. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
  71. ^ Patrick Gavin (June 7, 2010). "Gibbs rebukes Thomas". Politico. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  72. ^ Times, Arkansas (June 17, 2010). "Smart Talk,". Arkansas Times. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  73. ^ Victor Davis Hanson. "Helen Thomas, Turkey, and the Liberation of Israel" (Opinion). National Review. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
  74. ^ Ralph Nader, A Deep Regard for People's Right to Know, The Scourging of Helen Thomas, CounterPunch, June 16, 2010.
  75. ^ "Helen Thomas on being anti-Semitic: 'Baloney!'". Associated Press. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 12 October 2010. [dead link‍]
  76. ^ a b c Wayne State ends Helen Thomas Award, UPI 04-12-2010
  77. ^ "Helen Thomas stands by remarks about Israelis". The Detroit News. 2 December 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  78. ^ Helen Thomas: Thrown to the wolves, Danny Schechter, Aljazeera, December 28, 2010
  79. ^ Warikoo, Niraj (December 9, 2010). "Helen Thomas says Anti-Defamation League is intimidating her". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  80. ^ Helen Thomas: 'Congress, White House owned by the Zionists', Jerusalem Post 05-12-2010
  81. ^ Warikoo, Niraj (December 7, 2010). "Helen Thomas blasts Wayne State University for ending award in her honor". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  82. ^ Warikoo, Niraj (Dec 3, 2010). "Thomas stands by her remarks on Israel". Detroit Free Press.
  83. ^ FCNP.com staff (2011-01-06). "Veteran Journalist Thomas Resumes Column in News-Press". Falls Church News-Press. Falls Church, VA 22046, US: Falls Church News-Press Online. Archived from the original on 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2015-06-21. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
  84. ^ "Veteran Journalist Thomas Resumes Column in News-Press". FCNP. January 6, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  85. ^ "Editorial: Helen Thomas' Moral Victory". FCNP. October 5, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  86. ^ "Editorial: Helen Thomas' Moral Victory". Retrieved July 14, 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  87. ^ a b Neuman, Johanna. "Helen Thomas, pioneering journalist, dies at 92". latimes.com. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  88. ^ "Helen Thomas Dies at 92". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  89. ^ "Helen Thomas, pioneering White House journalist, dies at 92". NBC News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  90. ^ a b "White House journalist Helen Thomas remembered as a trailblazer". NBC News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  91. ^ Reuters 10:55 a.m. CDT, July 20, 2013 (July 20, 2013). "Helen Thomas: Veteran White House journalist dies at 92". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 20, 2013. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  92. ^ David Jackson (July 21, 2012). "Obama: Helen Thomas broke barriers for women". USA Today. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
  93. ^ 25 Most Influential Women [1976]. World Almanac.
  94. ^ "Wayne State to keep award named for Helen Thomas". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. June 9, 2010. Retrieved June 9, 2010.[dead link‍]
  95. ^ Lori Higgins (December 3, 2010). "Wayne State pulls diversity award named after Helen Thomas". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
  96. ^ "Defining Our Faith, Defending Our Rights". Council on American-Islamic Relations. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  97. ^ Bridget Johnson (18 September 2010). "Helen Thomas receiving lifetime achievement award from CAIR". The Hill. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  98. ^ Ravid, Barak (April 2, 2012). "Former White House reporter Helen Thomas honored by Abbas". Haaretz. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helen_Thomas&oldid=707328544"