Helen thomas's retirement.

Helen thomas "I miss that era." The old man said. At that time, journalists can get close to the president and his family and have a real dialogue with the president and White House officials. President Johnson will invite reporters to have lunch in the family living area above the White House, or go riding with him on the ranch. Helen can watch President Carter and reporters play softball while being bitten by mosquitoes. Journalists can also meet Kennedy's 3-year-old daughter Caroline at the White House and ask her, "Where is your father?" Caroline replied, "He is barefoot upstairs in a daze." "In those days, we were so close to a living president and watched his every move." Helen wrote.

When she told the former White House reporter, everyone lamented that she would never go back to those old days: President Truman strolled in the morning light, surrounded by a group of reporters and photographers. The President and the First Lady "didn't willingly put up with" this group of reporters whom Kennedy called "the roaring sheep", but in the end they had to get used to their "close surveillance" and "tolerate them more". Unlike "the president is getting inaccessible", especially after "9 1 1", journalists are often stopped by ropes at a distance. "There is no longer the scene of chasing the president and throwing questions like before." Helen threw countless sharp questions at the presidents, "almost all of them were forgiven by the presidents."

1995, the 75th birthday of the "First Lady of the Press", the birthday gift given to her by the incumbent President Clinton was an exclusive interview lasting 15 minutes. Clinton personally picked up the birthday cake and let the female reporter who tortured him countless times blow out the birthday candles. Helen blew two breaths, and Clinton helped her blow the third breath and blew out the candles together. The president also held up Helen's tape recorder, pointed it at her, and jokingly conducted a counter-interview with her: "Miss Thomas, you have heard so many evasions and ambiguities from the president over the years ... how did you get through it?" Another cross-dressing reporter is First Lady Pat Nixon. When Helen of 5 1 finally got rid of the nickname of "married to a professional woman" and got engaged to Doug Cornell, a 65-year-old Associated Press reporter in the White House, Pat was the first to announce the news to the press group. The first lady smiled from ear to ear and said, "I finally got the exclusive before Helen." From 65438 to 0998, the helen thomas Lifetime Achievement Award was established by the White House press corps, and Helen became the first winner.

In May 2000, Helen resigned from united press international, ending her 40-year career as a White House reporter. Helen was suddenly disappointed: the days when she and other White House reporters "ganged up" on the people standing on the podium are gone forever. These reporters in the White House press room today are no longer their former reporters. 20 10 on June 7th, helen thomas, the most senior White House reporter, announced her retirement with immediate effect.

Helen thomas, 89, has been a White House correspondent for the Associated Press since 1960. He asked the presidents of the United States 10, and was famous for his sharp questions. Despite her advanced age, she has always insisted on attending the daily press conference of the White House.

Helen thomas once said that Jews should "get out of Palestine" on the situation in the Middle East, which caused controversy. In this context, helen thomas, who is nearly 90 years old, announced his retirement. As a female journalist, she has won respect and attracted slander with her extraordinary persistence, courage, integrity and passion.

On the morning of July, 2065438 19, helen thomas died at her home in Washington, only 16 days before her 93rd birthday. US President Barack Obama issued a statement on the same day, praising helen thomas for opening the door of opportunity for generations of female journalists, breaking the obstacles in front of them, and at the same time making many American presidents including him dare not slack off.

Helen's extraordinary life has become an unattainable peak. She is the first chief female reporter from a news organization in the White House and the first female official of the National Journalists Association, which once banned women from joining. As a female journalist, Helen explained her professional conscience with extraordinary persistence, courage, integrity and passion. She won respect and even admiration, but also caused anger and slander. The biggest highlight of her life is almost uncontroversial: during her career of more than half a century, she directly asked questions from all ten American presidents, from Kennedy to Obama. Helen 1920 was born in Winchester, Kentucky on August 4th, and grew up in Detroit, ranking seventh among nine children. Her father george thomas is illiterate, but he always encourages his children to go to school. After graduating from Wayne State University in Detroit, Helen went to Washington to look for a job. She once found a job as a waiter, but it didn't last long. "I didn't laugh much," she recalled years later.

Since then, Helen has been working as a clerk in the Washington Daily News. Her duty is only to get coffee and doughnuts for the editor. Soon after, 1943, she began to write news for united press international Radio Channel.

At that time, most female journalists wrote social news and family affairs, while those who reported "hard news" such as war, politics and crime were mostly men. Helen broke this stereotype, and in the mid-1950s, she began to give lectures in the federal government of the United States. She covered Kennedy's presidential campaign from beginning to end. After Kennedy was elected, she became united press international's permanent White House correspondent, and the first woman appeared in the White House briefing room. Previously, female journalists were not allowed to attend the White House press conference. Since then, Helen has created a number of "firsts" such as the first head of the White House press corps. 1972, Nixon made an "ice-breaking trip" to China, and she was the only female reporter accompanying him. 1998, the White House press corps established the helen thomas Lifetime Achievement Award in the name of Helen, and Helen became the first winner.

On May 6th, 2000, Helen resigned from united press international. Two weeks later, she was employed by Hearst Company and wrote a column twice a week. Not long ago, I came to the White House briefing room again. Under the seat in the middle of the first row, I saw a gray metal sign that said "helen thomas". Helen used to sit here and ask questions at every presidential briefing, and finally symbolically said a concluding sentence for the briefing: "Thank you, Mr. President."

It was here that she was short with black eyes and whispered to Nixon: What is the secret plan to end the Vietnam War? She asked Reagan: What right does the United States have in invasion of grenada? After the end of the cold war, when Bush announced that US military spending would remain unchanged, she asked, "So who is the enemy?" She strongly opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and once said that George W. Bush was the worst American president in American history, which made him very angry. Helen once wrote to apologize to him for this. Although George W. Bush accepted the apology, he didn't give her a chance to ask questions for three years. However, once George W. Bush gave her a chance to ask questions, Helen immediately asked: "Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq caused thousands of deaths of Americans and Iraqis, and brought lifelong pain to Americans and Iraqis. All the reasons for going to war have been proved to be untrue. Why on earth do you want war? From the moment you entered the White House, there were your government, government officials, intelligence personnel, etc. What's the real reason why you started the war? You once said that the reason is not for oil, not for Israel and other reasons, so what is the reason? "

Sharp questions, step by step. Former US President Carter was uncomfortable when he saw Helen asking questions, while Reagan lowered his head and was "as nervous as attending a thesis defense". However, it was here that Helen, known as the "presidential torturer", received special treatment from many presidents. 1On August 4th, 997, President Clinton brought Helen a birthday cake on her 77th birthday. On August 2, 2006, President Bush stepped down early to congratulate Helen on her happy birthday. On August 4, 2009, Obama also sent a cake to Helen here to congratulate her on her 89th birthday, which was also Obama's 48th birthday.

Helen once said, I respect the president's office, but I have never worshipped our public servants. They should tell us the truth. After the "911"incident, under the banner of "patriotism", the reporters stationed in the White House were obviously afraid to ask sharp questions. Helen once criticized the "decline" of the White House press corps with her monograph "Watchdog of Democracy". In May 2006, when she was interviewed by The New York Times, she still didn't flinch. She asked: How do you define doubt and recklessness? I don't think there is a so-called reckless problem. In the whole society, we are the only institution that can ask the president questions every day and hold him responsible for it. Otherwise, he will become king. On June 7th, 20 10, the hair dryer in the White House was crowded as usual, but the seats here were conspicuously empty. White House spokesman Gibbs' remarks that day were aimed at helen thomas, who had been absent. He strongly criticized Helen's remarks as "disgusting and should be severely reprimanded", and his views "certainly do not represent the majority of the American people" and "certainly do not represent the US government". Prior to this, on May 27th, when the White House held the Jewish Heritage Month, Helen, who was participating in this activity, was asked by a website reporter about Israel's arrest of Palestinians. Helen said, "Remember, these people are from the occupied territories. That's their land, "she suggested that Jews living in Israel return to their homes in Poland, Germany and the United States. On June 7, Helen, who was nearly 90 years old, officially announced her retirement. Helen thomas, who has been outspoken all his life, is "guilty" for his words in the end, which is really intriguing.

Helen, who has worked hard all her life, has no children 197 1 year, Helen married Douglas Cornell, a White House reporter for the Associated Press, who was 14 years older than her. 1982, Cornell passed away.

Helen has written more than a dozen monographs on the interview experience of the White House. 1999, she recalled, "I love my job, and it is a blessing in life to have a job that brings me joy every day."