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WHCA Announces 2022 Journalism Awards Recipients 

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The White House Correspondents’ Association announced the winners of its 2022 journalism awards yesterday, Jonathan Swan, Zeke Miller and Mike Balsamo, Jonathan Karl, and Brendan Sialowksi.

The winners for presidential news coverage include journalists from ABC News, AFP, the Associated Press and Axios. The winning work covered the efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, The U.S. Capitol Insurrection, COVID-19, and a meeting between President Joe Biden and Vladmir Putin.

In addition, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post and an international consortium of other media partners was honored for work exposing financial secrets of more than 330 current and former heads of state as well as the U.S. role in offshore financial systems.

“Our panel of independent judges had a formidable task, reviewing dozens of worthy entries,” said White House Correspondents Association president Steven Portnoy. “We are grateful for the panel’s efforts in identifying these winners, and we are excited to honor the recipients at our annual dinner.” The awards will be presented at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday, April 30.

These are the following winners from the White House Correspondent Association’s press release:

JONATHAN SWAN, AXIOS, THE ALDO BECKMAN AWARD FOR OVERALL EXCELLENCE IN WHITE HOUSE COVERAGE

See the coverage here 

From the Judges:

The judges select Jonathan Swan for the Aldo Beckman award from a competitive list of entries that demonstrated the impact of White House policies and decisions on people’s lives. Swan’s riveting “Off The Rails” series describing the post-election turmoil in the White House illuminated, with speed and detail, the last-ditch efforts to overturn the election. The series also revealed President Trump’s ongoing attempts to put a loyalty stamp on the government’s national security apparatus. The stories, and their accompanying podcast, have been source material for the Jan. 6 investigating committee and have remained relevant amid continued revelations about the events surrounding the assault on the Capitol. 

ZEKE MILLER AND MIKE BALSAMO, ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESIDENTIAL NEWS COVERAGE UNDER DEADLINE PRESSURE – PRINT

See the story here. 

From the Judges:

It started with a tip that led Mike Balsamo and Zeke Miller to the news most of America had been waiting for: The CDC was finally ready to relax the COVID-19 mask requirements. Balsamo and Miller drew on their sources to get the scoop, then they kept reporting through the day to deliver a tight, informative news stories on deadline that spelled out details of the new policy while capturing the mood of the moment, with voices from Capitol Hill to Sioux Falls. They also managed to look ahead to the challenges that lay ahead for enforcement of the new policy. 

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS, AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESIDENTIAL COVERAGE UNDER DEADLINE PRESSURE – BROADCAST

See the story here.

From the Judges:

While the insurrection was still unfolding, Jonathan Karl was delivering a comprehensive, even-keeled and thorough piece of television that was visually powerful and compelling. Karl’s richly sourced reporting provided his viewers with a sense of what he so accurately described as the “chaos and lawlessness striking at the heart of American democracy.” Karl was ahead of the curve, delivering in real time a detailed narrative that doesn’t hit one false note, even with a year’s perspective. His work on Jan. 6 defines “reporting under deadline pressure.” 

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESIDENTIAL NEWS COVERAGE BY VISUAL JOURNALISTS

The winning photo.

From the Judges: 

A quick glance at this photo might give the impression of a dull overall shot of men in dark suits. However, the Biden-Putin meeting in Geneva was a major story, and this image captured the underlying drama. Look closely. The body language and each game face tell the story. These summit photo ops are fast. In seconds, the handlers would be yelling “lights” and pushing the photographers out the door. Brendan Smialowski of Agence France-Presse had to read the room quickly and go for the one picture that told the story.  Smialowski did just that and captured a prize-winning photograph below. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President Joe Biden, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wait for a meeting at Villa La Grange June 16, 2021, in Geneva, Geneva.

THE KATHARINE GRAHAM AWARD FOR COURAGE AND ACCOUNTABILITY

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post and media partners around the world

From the Judges:

The committee found the breadth and depth of the reporting and production of the Pandora Papers undertaken by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post and media partners around the world to be a major feat by itself, managing 600 journalists from 151 countries, working in a dozen languages with interpreters to analyze, verify and report on information from 11.9 million documents and produce a series of stories across a wide variety of media platforms.

And then there is the impact of the reporting, which exposed financial secrets of more than 330 current and former heads of state, and the U.S. role in the offshore system, led to electoral and legislative change around the globe, but also physical threats against and jailing of some journalists. The project underscored the strength of collaborative reporting and overcoming technological obstacles to produce powerful journalism.

Read the winning stories here:

  1. Offshore havens and hidden riches of world leaders and billionaires exposed in unprecedented leak
  2. Foreign money secretly floods U.S. tax havens. Some of it is tainted.
  3. Global hunt for looted treasures leads to offshore trusts
  4. When Latin America’s elite wanted to hide their wealth, they turned to this Panama firm
  5. As a poisoned town sought justice, top chemical giant executive moved millions to tax havens
  6. While his Country Struggles, Jordan’s King Abdullah Secretly Splurges
  7. How America’s biggest law firm drives global wealth into tax havens – ICIJ
  8.  Czech Prime Minister secretly bought lavish French Riviera estate using offshore companies
  9. As Catholic order fought sex abuse claims, secret trusts devoted to it poured millions into American rental properties
  10. How U.S. sanctions take a hidden toll on Russian oligarchs
  11. Secret money, swanky real estate and a a Monte Carlo mystery 

And some reaction stories:

“Pandora Papers investigation prompts new scrutiny of law firms’ role in offshore abuses”

“Lawmakers and regulators around the world take action in the wake of Pandora Papers”

Leading politicians, governments, and elites from all over the world have been roiled by the largest-ever ICIJ investigation, which changed the global conversation on tax havens and financial crime.”

See the complete list of judges for each award here. 

AP Can Haz FAIL

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Even AP's homepage fails at the "lol"

The Associated Press will not haz a cheeseburger after all.

It comes as a surprise to everyone that the wire service was in actual contractual talks for months–yes, “actual months” Fishbowl NY breathlessly assures us–with Pet Holdings Inc. (aka the owners of I Can Haz Cheeseburger.) The reason, according to an interview with Pet Holdings CEO Ben Huh in the Los Angeles Times,

“They felt that allowing the unwashed masses to [alter image captions] would be against their journalistic integrity.”

The main question (“How does an old media monolith like the AP remain hip and relevant in the age of cats with white text?”) is a frivolous statement. The AP has one of the better mobile apps through iTunes, but still suffered earlier this year when Google News revealed it would not host any new content from AP after contract negotiations failed.

Of course, you could always just use Skitch.

AP's Ben Feller Moves Up Front

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Mid-week announcements are the best when it concerns White House Press Pools.

So without further ado, as Fishbowl DC informs us, Ben Feller is the AP’s new White House Correspondent. Feller covered education for the news organization from 2003 to 2006, switching to the White House since then.

This comes after the AP was awarded Helen Thomas’ seat last week. The official memo is below:

The Memo from Fishbowl after the jump

White House Reporters Take Their (new) Seats

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White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs wasted no time in pointing out that the press corps was decked out in their “Sunday best” for the debut of the new seating arrangements in the James S. Brady Briefing Room. With the President traveling in Atlanta, GA on Monday there was no daily briefing back in Washington, DC. But on Tuesday it was back to business.

“Church is full today,” joked Gibbs. “That’s good to see.” Here’s the briefing from C-SPAN.

Most eyes were on the Associated Press who now occupy the front row, center seat once warmed by Helen Thomas – but there were several changes made by the White House Correspondents Association and a whole new seating chart – one that may require a booster seat as Gibbs pointed out to America Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan who could barely see the podium from her spot behind NPR reporter Ari Shaprio.

“Ms. Ryan, you’re going to have to ask that gentleman in front of you to sit down a little,” joked Gibbs. “He’s a little on the tall side.”

Ryan moved up from the fourth row to the middle of the third row next to Politico, which also moved up from fourth to third row. That put Ryan directly behind NPR, one of the contenders for the Thomas perch. NPR was given Fox’s old seat in the second row, directly behind the newly ensconced AP. Fox moved up to the first row in the old AP seat. Got it?

AP Takes Thomas' Seat

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Ending weeks of speculation, the White House Correspondents Association announced the Associated Press will take the front row, center seat in the James S. Brady Briefing Room at the White House once occupied by Helen Thomas.

The association stated the change will take effect Monday and that it was a “very difficult decision.” Bloomberg, Fox News, and NPR all made public plays for the coveted chair, which did not go unnoticed by the WHCA board. The first few minutes of Monday’s briefing might look like a game of musical chairs since the AP won’t be the only ones with a new vantage point.

The board “was persuaded by Fox’s length of service and commitment to the White House television pool” and moved them to the front row seat previously occupied by AP; NPR will shuffle into the second row seat previously held by Fox, next to Bloomberg News.

Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images