# White House Correspondents' Association

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.
The WHCA operates independently of the White House. Application for membership is made online and granted by the association on the basis of criteria. Historically, notable issues handled by the WHCA were the credentialing process, access to the president and physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms. 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.
In February 2025, the White House announced that the WHCA would no longer determine which outlets are allowed access to the president.

## Association leadership

The leadership of the White House Correspondents' Association for 2024–25 includes:
* Officers
** President: Eugene Daniels, Politico
** Vice President: Weijia Jiang, CBS News
** Treasurer: Sara Cook, CBS News
** Secretary: Justin Sink, Bloomberg News
* Board members
** Andrew Harnik, Getty Images
** Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News
** Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters
** Courtney Subramanian, BBC
** Karen Travers, ABC News
* Executive Director
** Steven Thomma

## Association presidents

| Year | Name | Employer |
| 1914–20 | William Wallace Price | The Washington Star |
| 1921–22 | Frank R. Lamb | The Washington Star |
| 1922–23 | J. Russell Young | The Washington Star |
| 1923–24 | E. Ross Bartley | Associated Press |
| 1924–25 | Isaac Gregg | The Sun |
| 1925–26 | George E. Durno | International News Service |
| 1926–27 | John Edwin Nevin | The Washington Post |
| 1927–28 | John T. Lambert | Universal Service |
| 1928–29 | J. Russell Young | The Washington Star |
| 1929–30 | Wilbur Forrest | New York Herald Tribune |
| 1930–31 | Lewis Wood | The New York Times |
| 1931–33 | Paul R. Mallon | syndicated columnist |
| 1933–34 | George E. Durno | International News Service |
| 1934–35 | Francis M. Stephenson | Associated Press |
| 1935–36 | Albert J. Warner | New York Herald Tribune |
| 1936–37 | Frederick J. Storm | United Press Associations |
| 1937–38 | Walter J. Trohan | Chicago Tribune |
| 1938–40 | Earl Godwin | The Washington Times |
| 1940 | Felix Belair Jr. | The New York Times |
| 1940–41 | Thomas F. Reynolds | United Press Associations |
| 1941–42 | John C. O'Brien | The Philadelphia Inquirer |
| 1942 | John C. Henry | The Washington Star |
| 1942–43 | Douglas B. Cornell | Associated Press |
| 1943–44 | Paul Wooten | The Times-Picayune |
| 1944–45 | Merriman Smith | United Press Associations |
| 1946–47 | Edward T. Folliard | The Washington Post |
| 1947–48 | Felix Belair Jr. | The New York Times |
| 1948–49 | Ernest B. ("Tony") Vaccaro | Associated Press |
| 1949–50 | Robert G. Nixon | International News Service |
| 1950–53 | Carlton Kent | Chicago Sun-Times |
| 1953–54 | Robert J. Donovan | New York Herald Tribune |
| 1954–55 | Anthony H. Leviero | The New York Times |
| 1955–56 | Laurence H. Burd | Chicago Tribune |
| 1956–58 | Francis M. Stephenson | Daily News |
| 1958–59 | Marvin Arrowsmith | Associated Press |
| 1959–61 | Garnett D. Horner | The Washington Star |
| 1961–62 | William H.Y. Knighton Jr. | The Baltimore Sun |
| 1962–63 | Robert Roth | Philadelphia Bulletin |
| 1963–64 | Merriman Smith | United Press International |
| 1964–66 | Alan L. Otten | The Wall Street Journal |
| 1966–67 | Robert E. Thompson | Hearst Newspapers |
| 1967–68 | Frank Cormier | Associated Press |
| 1968–69 | Carroll Kilpatrick | The Washington Post |
| 1969–70 | Charles W. Bailey II | Minneapolis Tribune |
| 1970–71 | Peter Lisagor | Chicago Daily News |
| 1971–72 | John P. Sutherland | U.S. News & World Report |
| 1972–73 | Edgar A. Poe | The Times-Picayune (New Orleans) |
| 1973–74 | Ted Knap | Scripps Howard Newspapers |
| 1974–75 | James Deakin | St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
| 1975–76 | Helen Thomas | United Press International |
| 1976–77 | Lawrence M. O'Rourke | Philadelphia Bulletin |
| Year | Name | Employer |
| 1977–78 | Paul F. Healy | Daily News |
| 1978–79 | Aldo Beckman | Chicago Tribune |
| 1979–80 | Ralph Harris | Reuters |
| 1980–81 | Robert C. Pierpoint | CBS News |
| 1981–82 | Clifford Evans | RKO General Broadcasting |
| 1982–83 | Thomas M. DeFrank | Newsweek |
| 1983–84 | James R. Gerstenzang | Associated Press |
| 1984–85 | Sara Fritz | Los Angeles Times |
| 1985–86 | Gary F. Schuster | CBS News |
| 1986–87 | Bill Plante | CBS News |
| 1987–88 | Norman D. Sandler | United Press International |
| 1988–89 | Jeremiah O'Leary | The Washington Times |
| 1989–90 | Johanna Neuman | USA Today |
| 1990–91 | Robert M. Ellison | Sheridan Broadcasting |
| 1991–92 | Charles Bierbauer | CNN |
| 1992–93 | Karen Hosler | The Baltimore Sun |
| 1993–94 | George E. Condon Jr. | Copley News Service |
| 1994–95 | Kenneth T. Walsh | U.S. News & World Report |
| 1995–96 | Carl P. Leubsdorf | The Dallas Morning News |
| 1996–97 | Terence Hunt | Associated Press |
| 1997–98 | Laurence McQuillan | Reuters |
| 1998–99 | Stewart Powell | Hearst Newspapers |
| 1999–2000 | Susan Page | USA Today |
| 2000–01 | Arlene Dillon | CBS News |
| 2001–02 | Steve Holland | Reuters |
| 2002–03 | Bob Deans | Cox Newspapers |
| 2003–04 | Carl M. Cannon | National Journal |
| 2004–05 | Ron Hutcheson | Knight Ridder |
| 2005–06 | Mark Smith | Associated Press TV and Radio |
| 2006–07 | Steve Scully | C-SPAN |
| 2007–08 | Ann Compton | ABC News |
| 2008–09 | Jennifer Loven | Associated Press |
| 2009–10 | Edwin Chen | Bloomberg |
| 2010–11 | David Jackson | USA Today |
| 2011–12 | Caren Bohan | Reuters |
| 2012–13 | Ed Henry | Fox News |
| 2013–14 | Steven Thomma | McClatchy |
| 2014–15 | Christi Parsons | Tribune Media |
| 2015–16 | Carol Lee | Wall Street Journal |
| 2016–17 | Jeff Mason | Reuters |
| 2017–18 | Margaret Talev | Bloomberg |
| 2018–19 | Olivier Knox | Sirius XM |
| 2019–20 | Jonathan Karl | ABC News |
| 2020–21 | Zeke Miller | Associated Press |
| 2021–22 | Steven Portnoy | CBS News Radio |
| 2022–23 | Tamara Keith | NPR |
| 2023–24 | Kelly O'Donnell | NBC News |
| 2024–25 | Eugene Daniels | Politico |
| 2025–26 | Weijia Jiang (elect) | CBS News |
| 2026–27 | Justin Sink (elect) | Bloomberg News |

## White House press room

The WHCA is responsible for assigned seating in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House.

## White House Correspondents' dinner

The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1921, has become a Washington, D.C. tradition, and is traditionally attended by the president and vice president. Except for Donald Trump, every president has attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The dinner is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton.
Until 1962, the dinner was open only to men, even though WHCA's membership included women. At the urging of Helen Thomas, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the dinner unless the ban on women was dropped.
Prior to World War II, the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie, and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers. Since 1983, the featured speaker has usually been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a comedy roast of the president and his administration.
The dinner also funds scholarships for gifted students in college journalism programs.
Many annual dinners have been cancelled or downsized due to deaths or political crises. The dinner was cancelled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft; in 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II; and in 1951, over what President Harry S. Truman called the "uncertainty of the world situation." In 1981, Ronald Reagan did not attend because he was recuperating after the attempted assassination the previous month, but he did phone in and told a joke about the shooting.
During his presidency, Donald Trump did not attend the dinners in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Trump indicated that he might attend in 2019 since this dinner did not feature a comedian as the featured speaker. However, on April 5, 2019, he announced that he again would not attend, calling the dinner "so boring, and so negative," instead hosting a political rally that evening in Wisconsin. On April 22, Trump ordered a boycott of the dinner, with White House Cabinet Secretary Bill McGinley assembling the agencies' chiefs of staff to issue a directive that members of the administration not attend. However, some members of the administration attended pre- and post-dinner parties.

### Dinner criticisms

The WHCD has been increasingly criticized as an example of the coziness between the White House press corps and the administration. The dinner has typically included a skit, either live or videotaped, by the sitting U.S. president in which he mocks himself, for the amusement of the press corps. The press corps, in turn, hobnobs with administration officials, even those who are unpopular and are not regularly cooperative with the press. Increasing scrutiny by bloggers has contributed to added public focus on this friendliness.
After the 2007 dinner, New York Times columnist Frank Rich implied that the Times would no longer participate in the dinners. Rich wrote that the dinner had become "a crystallization of the press's failures in the post-9/11 era" because it "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can enlist the Washington news media in its shows".
Other criticism has focused on the amount of money actually raised for scholarships, which has decreased over the past few years.
The dinners have drawn increasing public attention, and the guest list grows "more Hollywood". The attention given to the guest list and entertainers often overshadows the intended purpose of the dinner, which is to "acknowledge award-winners, present scholarships, and give the press and the president an evening of friendly appreciation". This has led to an atmosphere of coming to the event only to "see and be seen". This usually takes place at pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties hosted by various media organizations, which are often a bigger draw and can be more exclusive than the dinners themselves.
The public airings of the controversies around the dinner from the mid-2000s onward gradually focused concern about the nature of the event. While interest in the event from entertainers, journalists, and political figures was high during the Obama administration, by the period of the Trump administration, interest gradually slowed in attending, especially after President Trump announced he would not attend, nor his staff. Business related to the weekend event slowed considerably, including at hotels, high-end restaurants, salons, caterers, and limo companies. During the Trump administration, some media companies stopped hosting parties, while other of the roughly 25 events held during the three-day period gained more prominence as signs of social status. By 2019, the dinner and associated parties had returned somewhat to their previous nature as networking and media functions, with packed houses of media industry employees and Washington political figures.
After the April 30, 2022, dinner, several attendees, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for COVID-19. However, no cases of serious illness were reported as a result of the dinner.

### List of dinners

| Date | Performer(s) | Notes |
| May 7, 1921 | | |
| May 3, 1924 | | President Coolidge becomes the first President to attend the dinner |
| 1930 | — | Dinner canceled due to the death of former president William Howard Taft on March 8 |
| March 15, 1941 | | |
| 1942 | — | Dinner canceled following the United States' entry into World War II |
| February 12, 1943 | | |
| March 4, 1944 | Bob Hope, Fritz Kreisler, Gracie Fields, Pedro Vargas, Fred Waring, Elsie Janis, Ed Gardner, Nan Merriman, Robert Merrill, and Frank Black | |
| March 1945 | Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Fanny Brice, Danny Kaye, and Garry Moore | |
| March 23, 1946 | Ed Sullivan (host); featured performers included Herb Shriner, Señor Wences, Paul Draper, Larry Adler, and Sugar Chile Robinson. | |
| March 6, 1948 | Spike Jones | |
| March 14, 1949 | | |
| 1951 | — | Dinner canceled due to what President Truman referred to as the "uncertainty of the world situation." |
| May 1953 | Bob Hope | |
| c. Feb. 27, 1954 | Milton Berle, The Four Step Brothers, Jaye P. Morgan, The McGuire Sisters, and Irving Berlin performed. | Held at the Statler Hotel. Berlin performed an original song, "I Still Like Ike," to honor President Eisenhower. |
| March 1955 | Duke Ellington, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Channing Pollock | |
| May 1956 | James Cagney emceed; Nat King Cole, Patti Page, and Dizzy Gillespie performed. | |
| October 12, 1959 | | |
| February 25, 1961 | The Peiro Brothers (jugglers), Julie London, Dorothy Provine, Mischa Elman, and Jerome Hines | |
| April 27, 1962 | Peter Sellers, Gwen Verdon, Richard Goodman, and Benny Goodman shared hosting duties. | Event opened to female correspondents for the first time. |
| May 24, 1963 | Merv Griffin emceed; Barbra Streisand performed. | |
| May 21, 1964 | Duke Ellington, the Smothers Brothers | |
| May 11, 1968 | Richard Pryor | |
| May 3, 1969 | The Disneyland Golden Horseshoe Revue | |
| May 2, 1970 | George Carlin | |
| May 8, 1971 | | President Nixon was in attendance; he later described the dinner as "probably the worst of this type that I have attended," and called the attendees "a drunken group; crude, and terribly cruel." |
| 1972 | | President Nixon declined to attend and sent his wife, Pat Nixon, in his place. |
| April 14, 1973 | | Held in the International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel |
| May 4, 1974 | | Nixon again declined to attend; Vice President Ford came in his place. |
| May 3, 1975 | Danny Thomas and Marlo Thomas | |
| May 1, 1976 | Bob Hope emceed and Chevy Chase performed. | When President Ford rose to speak, he pretended to fumble, and began his speech with "Good evening. I'm Gerald Ford and you're not"—a reference to Chase's catchphrase from Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update. |
| April 30, 1977 | | |
| April 29, 1978 | | President Carter declined to attend, sending press secretary Jody Powell in his place. |
| April 28, 1979 | | |
| May 3, 1980 | Preservation Hall Jazz Band | |
| April 25, 1981 | | President Reagan did not attend because he was recuperating after the attempted assassination the previous month. |
| April 24, 1982 | | |
| April 23, 1983 | Mark Russell | Russell's stand-up bits replaces the traditional cabaret |
| April 13, 1984 | Rich Little | |
| April 27, 1985 | Mort Sahl | |
| April 17, 1986 | Dick Cavett | |
| April 22, 1987 | Jay Leno | |
| April 21, 1988 | Yakov Smirnoff | |
| April 29, 1989 | Jim Morris (Bush impersonator) | Garry Shandling made a surprise appearance. |
| April 28, 1990 | Jim Morris | |
| April 27, 1991 | Sinbad | |
| May 8, 1992 | Paula Poundstone | Poundstone was the first solo female host. |
| May 1, 1993 | Elayne Boosler | This was the first year that the dinner was televised on C-SPAN. |
| April 23, 1994 | Al Franken | |
| April 29, 1995 | Conan O'Brien | |
| May 4, 1996 | Al Franken | |
| April 26, 1997 | Jon Stewart | Norm Macdonald delivered a Weekend Update parody. |
| April 25, 1998 | Ray Romano | |
| May 1, 1999 | Aretha Franklin | A non-comedian was chosen to host because of the recent impeachment of President Clinton. NBC's Brian Williams performed a skit. |
| April 29, 2000 | Jay Leno | President Bill Clinton also mocked himself in the short film President Clinton: The Final Days, which depicted him as a lonely man closing down a nearly deserted White House, riding a bicycle, and learning about the Internet with the help of actor Mike Maronna. |
| April 28, 2001 | Darrell Hammond | |
| May 4, 2002 | Drew Carey | |
| April 26, 2003 | Ray Charles | President George W. Bush decided to eschew a comedian that year, given the recent invasion of Iraq. |
| May 1, 2004 | Jay Leno | |
| April 30, 2005 | Cedric the Entertainer | First Lady Laura Bush also performed some jokes. |
| April 29, 2006 | Stephen Colbert | Wikinews has related news: Comedians lampoon Bush at White House Correspondents' Dinner See also: Stephen Colbert at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner Colbert performed while being in character of his television satire of a right-wing cable television pundit. Colbert also screened a video featuring Helen Thomas. Several of President Bush's aides and supporters walked out during Colbert's speech, and one former aide said that the President had "that look that he's ready to blow". Steve Bridges also performed a Bush impersonation. |
| April 21, 2007 | Rich Little | David Letterman appeared by video with a Top 10 list of "favorite George W. Bush moments". |
| April 26, 2008 | Craig Ferguson | Like his Late Late Show monologues, Ferguson appeared to go off script and started improvising new jokes. It was noted that President Bush had difficulty understanding Ferguson's Scottish accent. |
| May 9, 2009 | Wanda Sykes | |
| May 1, 2010 | Jay Leno | Leno hosted for the fourth time, more than any other individual in the dinner's history. Leno had been chosen several weeks before his controversial Tonight Show conflict, and his use of recycled jokes was noted by critics. |
| April 30, 2011 | Seth Meyers | Both President Barack Obama and then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates were seen laughing at Meyers' jokes about the government's apparent inability to track down Osama bin Laden, even though they were a day away from the operation to assassinate him.President Obama and Meyers also mocked then-Celebrity Apprentice host Donald Trump's role as the face of the birther movement. Trump (who was present at the dinner) would go on to be elected President of the United States five years later in the 2016 United States presidential election. Journalists that were present at the dinner say that being mocked by President Obama and Meyers led him to decide to run for President of the United States, but Trump would later deny this, saying that he had been considering a run for the Presidency for many years prior to the dinner. |
| April 28, 2012 | Jimmy Kimmel | |
| April 27, 2013 | Conan O'Brien | |
| May 3, 2014 | Joel McHale | Prior to President Obama's remarks, a video with Vice President Biden and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who plays Vice President Selina Meyer on the HBO show Veep, is shown. |
| April 25, 2015 | Cecily Strong | Keegan-Michael Key made a guest appearance as President Obama's "anger translator", Luther, a recurring character from the Comedy Central show Key & Peele. |
| April 30, 2016 | Larry Wilmore | Wilmore delivered a controversial, searing routine targeting the president, elite media, lobbyists, politicians, and celebrities. At the end of the speech, Wilmore ended his set by thanking President Obama for having been the country's first black President and finished his speech by calling him "my nigga" on live television. This remark sparked controversy among the media, with some calling it disrespectful. |
| April 29, 2017 | Hasan Minhaj | President Donald Trump did not attend the dinner. The last time a sitting president did not attend in person was Ronald Reagan in 1981, who was recovering from an assassination attempt.The Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein presented awards and spoke about the importance of the First Amendment. |
| April 28, 2018 | Michelle Wolf | President Trump did not attend the dinner for the second consecutive year. Instead, he sent his press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.Wolf received both praise and criticism for her monologue. The association released a rare statement regarding the monologue. Several attendees walked out in reaction to Wolf's "brutal" comments. After the dinner, newspaper The Hill informed the WHCA that it would no longer participate in the event, saying, "In short, there's simply no reason for us to participate in something that casts our profession in a poor light. Major changes are needed to the annual event." |
| April 27, 2019 | Ron Chernow | President Trump did not attend the dinner for the third consecutive year. Additionally, Trump ordered some of his staff and administration members to boycott the dinner. The WHCA chose historian Ron Chernow as the featured speaker instead of a comedian after Wolf's controversial set. |
| 2020 | — | The dinner was originally scheduled for April 25, 2020, with comedian Kenan Thompson hosting and political entertainer and former WHCD host Hasan Minhaj as the featured entertainment. On March 22 the dinner was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, without naming a substitute date. On April 13 a new date of August 29 was announced.On June 23 WHCA President Jonathan Karl announced that the dinner itself would be canceled, but that the WHCA was working on a virtual presentation format to honor award winners and scholarship recipients. On August 14 Hasan Minhaj spoke privately via Zoom with the WHCA 2020 scholarship recipients, who also attended a private online panel discussion by three veteran Washington political reporters that day. |
| 2021 | — | On April 14, 2021, WHCA executive director Steven Thomma announced that improvements in the pandemic situation had not been sufficient to allow the association to proceed with a large indoor event, and that no dinner would be held in 2021. However, the association still intended to select recipients for its annual journalism awards and student scholarships, and announced that it planned to go ahead with the dinner the following year, on April 30, 2022. |
| April 30, 2022 | Trevor Noah | The dinner was held in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden attended the dinner, making him the first president to attend the dinner since Trump boycotted the event throughout his presidency. |
| April 29, 2023 | Roy Wood Jr. | |
| April 27, 2024 | Colin Jost | |

### Gallery

* President Gerald Ford (left) with White House Correspondent Helen Thomas at the 1975 Dinner.
* President Bill Clinton (right) with television actor Mike Maronna (left) celebrating a successful online purchase in a comedic short film recorded for the 2000 Dinner.
* President George W. Bush (left) with Bush impersonator Steve Bridges in character (right) at the 2006 Dinner.
* President Barack Obama ending his final Correspondents' Dinner speech with a mic drop at the 2016 Dinner.

## Awards

    Note: Award years represent the date the work was published/broadcast, which is always one year before the prize was awarded.

### The Aldo Beckman Memorial Award

Established in 1981 in memory of Aldo Beckman (1934–1980), the "late Chicago Tribune Washington bureau chief, a past president of the association.... Given annually to a Washington reporter 'who personifies the journalistic excellence as well as the personal qualities exemplified by Mr. Beckman, an award-winning White House correspondent.'" Awarded for overall excellence in White House coverage.
| Year | Recipient | Employer |
| 1981 | Helen Thomas | UPI |
| 1982 | Rich Jaroslovsky | The Wall Street Journal |
| 1983 | Lou Cannon | The Washington Post |
| 1984 | David Hoffman | The Washington Post |
| 1985 | Robert Timberg | The Baltimore Sun |
| 1986 | W. Dale Nelson | Associated Press |
| 1987 | Gerald F. Seib | The Wall Street Journal |
| 1988 | | |
| 1989 | Ann Devroy | The Washington Post |
| 1990 | Kenneth T. Walsh | U.S. News & World Report |
| 1991 | Timothy J. McNulty | Chicago Tribune |
| 1992 | Thomas DeFrank | Newsweek |
| 1993 | Jeffrey Birnbaum | The Wall Street Journal |
| 1994 | Kathy Lewis | The Dallas Morning News |
| 1995 | John A. Farrell | The Boston Globe |
| 1996 | Todd Purdum | The New York Times |
| 1997 | Michael K. Frisby | The Wall Street Journal |
| 1998 | John Harris | The Washington Post |
| 1999 | Jeanne Cummings | The Wall Street Journal |
| 2000 | Steve Thomma | Knight Ridder |
| 2001 | Anne E. Kornblut | The Boston Globe |
| 2002 | Dana Milbank | The Washington Post |
| 2003 | David Sanger | The New York Times |
| 2004 | Susan Page | USA Today |
| 2005 | Carl Cannon | National Journal |
| 2006 | Kenneth T. Walsh | U.S. News & World Report |
| 2007 | Alexis Simendinger | National Journal |
| 2008 | Michael Abramowitz | The Washington Post |
| 2009 | Mark Knoller | CBS News |
| 2010 | Peter Baker | The New York Times |
| 2011 | Scott Wilson | The Washington Post |
| 2012 | Ryan Lizza | The New Yorker |
| 2013 | Glenn Thrush | Politico |
| 2013 | Brianna Keilar | CNN |
| 2014 | Peter Baker | The New York Times |
| 2015 | Carol Lee | The Wall Street Journal |
| 2016 | Greg Jaffe | The Washington Post |
| 2017 | Maggie Haberman | The New York Times |
| 2018 | McKay Coppins | The Atlantic |
| 2019 | Yamiche Alcindor | PBS NewsHour |
| 2020 | Philip Rucker | The Washington Post |
| 2021 | Jonathan Swan | Axios |
| 2022 | Matt Viser | The Washington Post |
| 2023 | Barak Ravid | Axios |

### Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure

The award was established in 1970 as the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for outstanding examples of deadline reporting. (Smith died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1970.) The award was renamed in 2022 after the WHCA determined that Smith had supported excluding Black and female journalists from membership in the National Press Club and from attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
| Year | Recipient | Category | Employer | Article / Show | Notes & Ref |
| 1970 | | | | | |
| 1971 | | | | | |
| 1972 | | | | | |
| 1973 | | | | | |
| 1974 | Douglas C. Wilson | Print | The Providence Journal | Resignation of President Nixon | |
| 1975 | Aldo Beckman | Print | Chicago Tribune | "Sarah Jane Moore's assassination attempt on President Ford" | |
| 1976 | | | | | |
| 1977 | Michael J. Sniffen and Richard E. Meyer | Print | AP | Bert Lance used the same stock as collateral for two different loans. | |
| 1978 | Edward Walsh | Print | | The Camp David Summit Conference | |
| 1979 | | | | | |
| 1980 | John Palmer | Broadcast | NBC News | "...the failed attempt by President Jimmy Carter’s administration to rescue the American hostages in Iran." | |
| 1980 | Lars-Erik Nelson and Frank Van Riper | Print | New York Daily News | "deadline coverage of the negotiations to free American hostages held in Iran during the Carter administration." | |
| 1981 | | | | | |
| 1982 | | | | | |
| 1983 | Staff | Print | Newsweek | "Coverage of the bombing of Marine headquarters in Lebanon" | |
| 1984 | David Hoffman | Print | The Washington Post | "President Reagan's blaming a terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut on the 'near destruction' of U.S. intelligence during the Carter administration." | |
| 1985 | | | | | |
| 1986 | Owen Ullmann | Print | Knight Ridder | "The Reykjavík Summit" | |
| 1987 | Gerald F. Seib | Print | The Wall Street Journal | | |
| 1988 | | | | | |
| 1989 | Norman D. Sandler | Print | UPI | | |
| 1990 | Steve Taylor | Broadcast | Unistar Radio Networks | "President Bush's trip to Saudi Arabia." | |
| 1990 | Norman D. Sandler | Print | UPI | "1990 Helsinki summit" | |
| 1991 | Susan Page | Print | Newsday | Gulf War | |
| 1992 | Peter Maer | Broadcast | Mutual-NBC Radio | Live coverage of President George Bush's collapse at an official dinner in Tokyo | |
| 1992 | David Espo | Print | AP | Deadline reporting on Election Day 1992 | |
| 1993 | Mara Liasson | Broadcast | National Public Radio | | |
| 1993 | Terrence Hunt | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 1994 | Mara Liasson | Broadcast | NPR | | |
| 1994 | William Neikirk | Print | Chicago Tribune | | |
| 1995 | Mark Knoller | Broadcast | CBS News | "Writing and broadcasting multiple breaking stories ... about a White House intruder." | |
| 1995 | Peter Maer | Broadcast | Mutual/NBC Radio | "Outstanding broadcast of President Clinton's attendance at the funeral of the Israeli Prime Minister." | |
| 1995 | Susan Cornwell | Print | Reuters America | President Clinton and taxes: "For getting a scoop from an on-the-record presidential speech.... Cornwell's entry was the only one that caused second-day stories (and more) to be written. It not only covered news; it created news." | |
| 1996 | Mara Liasson | Broadcast | National Public Radio | "Spot news coverage of the 1996 election campaign"; "she found time to ... deliver an insightful audio portrait of a small California town that President Clinton visited last October." | |
| 1996 | Ron Fournier | Print | Associated Press | "An exclusive on President Clinton's new cabinet choices for the second term." | |
| 1997 | Peter Maer | Broadcast | NBC Radio/Mutual News | "Evocative radio account of President Clinton's visit to Little Rock Central High School, 40 years after the school was integrated." | |
| 1997 | Ron Fournier | Print | Associated Press | "President Clinton's knee injury that sent him to the hospital in the middle of the night." | |
| 1998 | Jodi Enda | Print | Knight Ridder | "President Clinton's meeting with survivors of genocide in Rwanda...." | |
| 1999 | Gary Nurenberg | Broadcast | KTLA-TV, Tribune Broadcasting | "Monica Lewinsky Deposed" | |
| 1999 | Jodi Enda | Print | Knight Ridder Newspapers | "A poignant story about an emotional day in Kosovo." | |
| 2000 | Jim Angle | Broadcast | Fox News Channel | | |
| 2000 | Sandra Sobieraj | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 2001 | Peter Maer | Broadcast | CBS News | | |
| 2001 | Ron Fournier | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 2002 | Jim Angle | Broadcast | Fox News Channel | | |
| 2002 | David Sanger | Print | The New York Times | | |
| 2003 | Mike Allen | Print | The Washington Post | | |
| 2004 | Ron Fournier | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 2004 | Jackie Calmes | Print | The Wall Street Journal | | Honorable Mention |
| 2005 | Terry Moran | Broadcast | ABC News | | |
| 2005 | Deb Riechmann | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 2006 | Martha Raddatz | Broadcast | ABC News | | |
| 2006 | David Sanger | Print | The New York Times | | |
| 2007 | Ed Henry | Broadcast | CNN | | |
| 2007 | Deb Riechmann | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 2008 | David Greene | Broadcast | NPR | | |
| 2008 | Sandra Sobieraj Westfall | Print | People magazine | | |
| 2009 | Jake Tapper | Broadcast | ABC News | | |
| 2009 | Ben Feller | Print | Associated Press | | |
| 2010 | Jake Tapper | Broadcast | ABC News | | |
| 2010 | Dan Balz | Print | The Washington Post | | |
| 2011 | Jake Tapper | Broadcast | ABC News | Reporting that "Standard & Poor was on the verge of downgrading America's triple-A credit rating because of concerns over political gridlock in Washington" | |
| 2011 | Glenn Thrush, Carrie Budoff Brown, Manu Raju and John Bresnahan | Print | Politico | "The deal between Barack Obama and congressional Republicans to raise the U.S. debt ceiling." | |
| 2012 | Terry Moran | Broadcast | ABC News | On-air interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling of Obama's Health Care Reform Law | |
| 2012 | Julie Pace | Print | Associated Press | 2012 Obama campaign's get-out-the-vote strategy | |
| 2013 | Peter Maer | Broadcast | CBS News | "Sequestration" | |
| 2013 | Peter Baker | Print | The New York Times | "Obama Seeks Approval by Congress for Strike in Syria" | |
| 2014 | Jim Avila | Broadcast | ABC News | Cuba/Alan Gross | |
| 2014 | Josh Lederman | Print | Associated Press | Fence Jumper | |
| 2015 | Norah O'Donnell | Broadcast | CBS News | "60 Minutes interview with Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden on his decision not to run for president" in 2016. | |
| 2015 | Matt Viser | Print | The Boston Globe | "An Inside Look at How the Iran Talks Unfolded" | |
| 2016 | Edward-Isaac Dovere | Print | Politico | "How Obama set a trap for Raul Castro" | |
| 2017 | Evan Perez, Jim Sciutto, Jake Tapper and Carl Bernstein | Broadcast | CNN | Intelligence community's briefing of Obama and Trump "that Russia had compromising information about Trump." | |
| 2017 | Josh Dawsey | Print | Politico | "Resignation of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer" | |
| 2018 | Ed Henry | Broadcast | Fox News | Interview with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt | |
| 2018 | Josh Dawsey | Print | Washington Post | | |
| 2019 | Alan Cullison, Rebecca Ballhaus, and Dustin Volz | Print | The Wall Street Journal | "Trump Repeatedly Pressed Ukraine to Investigate Biden's Son" | |
| 2019 | | Broadcast | CNN | "FBI. Open the door." | |
| 2020 | Michael Balsamo | Print | Associated Press | "Disputing Trump, Barr says no widespread election fraud" | |
| 2020 | Jonathan Karl | Broadcast | ABC News | Trump getting COVID and being rushed to the hospital | |
| 2021 | Zeke Miller and Mike Balsamo | Print | Associated Press | CDC mask order | |
| 2021 | Jonathan Karl | Broadcast | ABC News | January 6 United States Capitol attack coverage | |
| 2022 | Jeff Mason | Print | Reuters | "Exclusive: Biden to waive tariffs for 24 months on solar panels hit by probe" | |
| 2022 | Phil Mattingly | Broadcast | CNN | Zelensky's White House visit | |
| 2023 | Peter Baker | Print | The New York Times | Coverage of President Biden's visit to Israel just days after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel | |
| 2023 | Tamara Keith | Broadcast | NPR | Audio report of President Biden’s trip to Israel | |

### Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability

A $10,000 prize to "recognize an individual or newsgathering team for coverage of subjects and events of significant national or regional importance in line with the human and professional qualities exemplified by the late Katharine Graham, the distinguished former publisher of The Washington Post. Debuted in 2020.
| Year | Recipient | Employer | Article / Show |
| 2019 | | ProPublica | "Death in the Pacific" |
| 2020 | | The Marshall Project, AL.com, the IndyStar, and Invisible Institute | "Mauled: When Police Dogs are Weapons" |
| 2021 | | International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, The Washington Post, "and media partners around the world" | Pandora Papers |
| 2022 | Josh Gerstein and Alex Ward | Politico | Decision "to report, verify and publish the draft Supreme Court opinion reversing abortion rights – and the organization’s follow-up work exploring the consequences of the decision...." |
| 2023 | | The Washington Post | "The Washington Post shows courage, sensitivity and originality in breaking with journalism industry norms to inform and show readers how the AR-15 weapon inflicts horrific damage to the human body." |

### Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists

$1,000 "award recognizes a video or photojournalist for uniquely covering the presidency from a journalistic standpoint, either at the White House or in the field. This could be breaking news, a scheduled event or feature coverage." Debuted in 2020.
| Year | Recipient | Employer | Work |
| 2019 | Doug Mills | The New York Times | "The Pelosi Clap" |
| 2020 | Win McNamee | Getty Images | Trump and Fauci |
| 2021 | Brendan Smialowski | Agence France-Presse | "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." |
| 2022 | Doug Mills | The New York Times | "President Joe Biden walks between the Marine Honor Guard as he enters an event to celebrate the passage of H.R. 5376, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022." |
| 2023 | Doug Mills | The New York Times | President Biden boarding Air Force One as he leaves Warsaw, Poland |

### Discontinued awards
#### The Edgar A. Poe Memorial Award

Named in honor of the distinguished correspondent Edgar Allen Poe (1906–1998), a former WHCA president unrelated to the American fiction writer of the nearly identical name. Funded by the New Orleans Times-Picayune and Newhouse Newspapers, the award honored excellence in news coverage of subjects and events of significant national or regional importance to the American people. The Edgar A. Poe Memorial Award was presented from 1990 to 2019, when it was replaced by the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability and the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists.
Notable past winners of the award include Rochelle Sharpe, Marjie Lundstrom, Michael Tackett, Russell Carollo, Cheryl Reed, Michael Isikoff, Sam Roe, Sean Naylor, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada, Marcus Stern, Megan Twohey, David Fahrenthold, and Norah O'Donnell.

#### Raymond Clapper Memorial Award

Named in honor of Raymond Clapper (1892-1944) and given "to a journalist or team for distinguished Washington reporting." The award was presented from 1944 to 2003, usually at the WHCA dinner (although in the period 1951–1965 it was presented at the American Society of News Editors annual dinner).
In 2004, the award passed to the Scripps Howard National Journalism Awards. Under Scripps Howard, the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award was presented until 2011, at which point it was discontinued.
Notable past winners of the Raymond Clapper Award included Ernie Pyle, Nicholas Lemann, Clark R. Mollenhoff, James Reston, Joseph Albright, Morton Mintz, Adam Liptak, Helene Cooper, Jean Heller, Newbold Noyes Jr., Thomas Lunsford Stokes, Tom Squitieri, Marcus Stern, Susan Feeney, Doris Fleeson, James Polk, James V. Risser, and William Neikirk.