Charles "Chip" Reid (born Charles Henry Reid, Jr.) was named CBS News National correspondent in June 2011.^[1] Prior to his current position, he was the Chief White House Correspondent for CBS News. He assumed that position on January 5, 2009. Previously, Reid was the network's congressional correspondent. Prior to his association with CBS, he was employed by NBC News, where he covered politics and Capitol Hill.^[2]

Chip Reid (far right, immediate right of blue-shirted correspondent) at White House press conference, November 3, 2010

Personal life[link]

Reid was born Charles Henry Reid, Jr. in Wilmington, Delaware, to Charles H Reid Sr. and Norma Reid. He and his wife Nina live in Washington, D.C..^[2]

Education[link]

Reid attended Vassar College, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in psychology in 1977. He then attended Princeton University in 1982, graduating with a Master's of Public Affairs degree. Reid also received a law degree from Columbia Law School.^[2]

Reid gave the commencement address to the Vassar College Class of 2011.^[3]

Career[link]

Legal[link]

Reid practiced law, as a Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 1982 through 1986. He then served as a specialist in litigation, and lobbying, for a major Washington, D.C. law firm from 1986 to 1988.^[2][who?]

Journalism[link]

ABC[link]

Reid began his network journalism career at ABC News as a field producer in Washington. He worked for ABC from 1988 to 1989.^[2]

TV Reporter[link]

Reid began his journalism career working for WTTG-TV in Washington from 1990 to 1993. He then moved to WJLA-TV for 3 years from 1994 to 1996.^[2]

NBC[link]

From 1996 through 2000 Reid was based in Washington, D.C. for NBC; covering among other beltway stories, Al Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign, voting irregularities of the 2000 Presidential election, and the impeachment process of then, President Clinton.

Starting in 2001, Reid began working for the Los Angeles base of NBC, spending 7 weeks with a U.S. Marines lead unit during the initial invasion of U.S troops from Kuwait to Baghdad. After Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Reid reported from Ground Zero and from the Pentagon, as well as covering stories on the war on terror from Afghanistan, Israel, Uzbekistan, Egypt, and around the world. He continued reporting in this capacity through 2003.^[2]

Reid began covering the Senate and the House of Representatives for NBC News in the fall of 2004; and, he served as a political coverage anchor for MSNBC, as well as a reporter for all the major NBC News broadcasts.^[2]

CBS[link]

Reid joined CBS News in 2007 as Capitol Hill Correspondent, extensively covering the 2008 presidential campaign. He also traveled with Sen. John McCain during much of the campaign.^[2]

References[link]

Robert Gibbs
Gibbs in June 2010
28th White House Press Secretary
In office January 20, 2009 – February 11, 2011
President	Barack Obama
Deputy	Jennifer Psaki
Preceded by	Dana Perino
Succeeded by	Jay Carney
Personal details
Born	Robert Lane Gibbs (1971-03-29) March 29, 1971 (age 41) Auburn, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic Party
Alma mater	North Carolina State University
Website	White House Briefing Room

Robert Lane Gibbs^[1] (born March 29, 1971) was the 28th White House Press Secretary. Gibbs was the communications director for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama and Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.^[2] Gibbs, who has worked with Obama since 2004, was press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign and has previously specialized in Senate campaigns, having served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and for four individual Senate campaigns, including those of Obama in 2004 and Fritz Hollings in 1998.^[3] Gibbs was also the press secretary of Representative Bob Etheridge.^[4] On November 22, 2008, Gibbs was announced as the press secretary of the Obama administration.^[5] He assumed the role of press secretary on January 20, 2009, and gave his first official briefing on January 22.

On January 5, 2011, Gibbs announced that he would leave the White House to become an outside advisor to the administration. He left on February 11, 2011.

Early life and education[link]

Gibbs was born in Auburn, Alabama.^[6] His parents, Nancy Jean (née Lane) and Robert Coleman Gibbs, worked in the Auburn University library system and involved their son in politics at an early age.^[1][7][8] Nancy Gibbs would take Robert, then known as "Bobby," to local League of Women Voters meetings rather than hire a babysitter, and involved him in "voter re-identification" work at the county courthouse.^[9] Gibbs attended Auburn City Schools and Auburn High School.^[6] At Auburn High, Gibbs played saxophone in the Auburn High School Band, was a goalkeeper on the Tigers' soccer team, and participated in the school's debate squad. Gibbs graduated from Auburn High in 1989,^[10] in the same class as novelist Ace Atkins, LEGO artist Eric Harshbarger, and the Chief Hospitalist at Valley Medical Center, Dr. Michael Mena.

Gibbs went on to attend the North Carolina State University, serving as goalkeeper for the North Carolina State Wolfpack soccer team from 1990 to 1992.^[11] Gibbs graduated from North Carolina State cum laude with a B.A. in political science in 1993.^[4]

Career[link]

While a student at North Carolina State in 1991, Gibbs became an intern for Alabama's 3rd congressional district Congressman Glen Browder. Gibbs quickly rose through the ranks of Browder's staff, rising to become the representative's executive assistant in Washington, D.C. Gibbs returned to Alabama in 1996 to work on Browder's unsuccessful Senate campaign that year.^[9] In 1997, Gibbs was press secretary for Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina and, in 1998, was spokesman for Senator Fritz Hollings' successful re-election campaign.^[4] Gibbs worked in the campaigns of two other senators and served as communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, before taking the position of press secretary of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.^[4]

U.S. presidential election, 2004[link]

Early in the 2004 presidential campaign, Gibbs was the press secretary of Democratic candidate Senator John Kerry. On November 11, 2003, Gibbs resigned "in reaction to the firing of Jim Jordan, abruptly let go by Kerry Sunday night."^[12] Gibbs was replaced by Stephanie Cutter, a former spokeswoman for Ted Kennedy. After leaving the Kerry campaign, Gibbs became spokesman for a 527 political group formed to stop the 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean which launched attack ads against Dean.^[13] Gibbs was criticized in February 2007, during the Obama Presidential campaign, by some left leaning bloggers.^[14]

Advisor to Barack Obama[link]

Gibbs joined Barack Obama's 2004 U.S. Senate campaign as communications director in mid-April 2004^[15] and remained with the senator through the first two years of Obama's term. Gibbs is credited with guiding Obama through those first years and molding his rise on the national scene. According to The New York Times, Gibbs advised Obama on politics, strategy and messaging, and spent more time with Obama than any other advisor.^[2]

U.S. presidential election, 2008[link]

Barack Obama at a rally in Hartford, CT on February 4, 2008

The appointment of Gibbs by Obama to the post of communications chief was met with mild controversy by some critics in the Democratic National Committee, who cited Gibbs' role in the aggressive campaign tactics used to block the nomination of Howard Dean in the 2004 race. Obama, however, referred to Gibbs as his "one-person Southern focus group" and welcomed him as part of his close-knit team that included strategist David Axelrod, campaign director David Plouffe, and research director Devorah Adler. In his communications role, Gibbs became known as "the enforcer" because of his aggressive rapid-response methods for countering disinformation tactics from opponents. Gibbs assumed responsibility for "shaping the campaign message, responding to the 24/7 news cycle, schmoozing with the press and fighting back when he disagree[d] with its reporting."^[16] As the chief intermediary between the Obama campaign and the press, Gibbs sought to counter the Republican National Committee's opposition research tactics against Obama in early 2007.^[17]

Gibbs adopted a policy of rapid response to claims by conservative news outlets that questioned Obama's religious upbringing. In response to the "Obama is a Muslim" meme suggested by these claims, Gibbs disseminated information to other news networks that Obama is not nor has ever been Muslim. At the time, Gibbs said, "These malicious, irresponsible charges are precisely the kind of politics the American people have grown tired of."^[18]

After comments by George W. Bush to the Israeli Knesset questioning Obama's foreign policy platform's focus on international diplomacy, Gibbs responded, calling Bush's comments "astonishing" and "an unprecedented attack on foreign soil." Gibbs argued that Bush's policy amounted to "cowboy diplomacy" that had been discounted by Bush's own Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and quoted with Gates' own words: "We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage ... and then sit down and talk...if there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. We can't go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them not feeling that they need anything from us."^[19]

He was widely blamed by news media executives for "holding hostage" reporters, while Obama and Hillary Clinton met for the first time after a heavily-contested Democratic primary season. He countered back, “It wasn't an attempt to deceive in any way ... It was just private meetings.”^[17]

White House Press Secretary[link]

Obama and Gibbs in the conference room of Air Force One in July 2009.

On November 22, 2008, it was announced by the Obama Transition Team that Gibbs would be the White House Press Secretary for the Obama administration.^[5] He assumed the role of press secretary on January 20, 2009, and gave his first official briefing on January 22.

In an interview with The Hill, Gibbs derided the “professional left” and "liberals," who “wouldn’t be satisfied if Dennis Kucinich was president.” He said that people who compare Obama's policies to George W. Bush's "ought to be drug tested.” ^[20]

Personal life[link]

Gibbs is married to Mary Catherine Gibbs, an attorney, and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with their son, Ethan.^[16] His parents live in Apex, North Carolina, where his mother Nancy is acquisitions director for the libraries at Duke University.^[9] Gibbs is a college football fan, particularly of the Auburn Tigers.^[2]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Leibovich, Mark (December 17, 2008). "Between Obama and the Press". The New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/magazine/21Gibbs-t.html. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robert Gibbs

• White House Briefing Room
• Official Twitter page
• Robert Gibbs at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• The Many Faces of Robert Gibbs - slideshow by Life magazine
• Robert Gibbs collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Robert Gibbs in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Profile at SourceWatch
• Monica Langley, "Meet Obama's Media 'Enforcer'", Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2008.
• Biography and News

v t e White House Press Secretaries Akerson Joslin Early Daniels Ross Early Short Tubby Hagerty Salinger Reedy Moyers Christian Ziegler terHorst Nessen Powell Brady Speakes Fitzwater Myers McCurry Lockhart Siewert Fleischer McClellan Snow Perino Gibbs Carney

Helen Thomas
Helen Thomas in February 2009
Born	(1920-08-04) August 4, 1920 (age 91) Winchester, Kentucky
Residence	Washington, D.C.
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	Wayne State University (formerly Wayne University) (B.A., 1942)
Occupation	Author, retired journalist and columnist
Years active	1943–2010
Religion	Greek Orthodox
Spouse	Douglas B. Cornell (m. 1971–1982)

Helen Thomas (born August 4, 1920) is an American author and former news service reporter, member of the White House Press Corps and opinion columnist of Lebanese Rûm/Melkite descent.^[1] 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 every President of the United States from the last years of the Eisenhower administration until the second year of the Obama administration. She 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 has written six books; her latest, with co-author Craig Crawford, is Listen Up, Mr. President: Everything You Always Wanted Your President to Know and Do (2009). Thomas retired on June 7, 2010, following comments she made about Israel, Jews and the Israel/Palestinian conflict.^[2]

Early life and education[link]

Thomas was born in Winchester, Kentucky, the seventh of the ten children of George and Mary (Rowady) Thomas, immigrants from Tripoli, Lebanon.^[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.^[5] 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][6] Of her experience growing up, Thomas has said,^[7]

"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."

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.'.^[6] She was raised as a Christian in the Greek Orthodox Church^[3]

She attended public schools, deciding to become a journalist while she was in high school.^[8] She enrolled at Wayne University (now Wayne State University), in Detroit, receiving a bachelor's degree in English in 1942.^[9]

Early career[link]

Her first job in journalism was as a copygirl for the now-defunct Washington Daily News, but shortly after she was promoted to cub reporter, she was laid off as part of massive cutbacks at the paper. Thomas joined United Press in 1943 and reported on women's topics for its radio wire service, earning $24 ($322 today) a week.^[10][11] 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.^[12] After 1955, she covered federal agencies such as the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

Thomas served as president of the Women's National Press Club from 1959–60. In 1959, Thomas 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.

Presidential correspondent[link]

Thomas with Gerald R. Ford and Dick Cheney in 1976

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.^[13] She became the White House UPI correspondent in January 1961. Thomas became known as the "Sitting Buddha," and the "First Lady of the Press."^[14] It was during Kennedy's administration that she began ending presidential press conferences with a signature "Thank you, Mr. President,"^[15] reviving a tradition started by UPI’s Merriman Smith during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.^[16]

In a 2008 article, the Christian Science Monitor described her thusly: "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."^[17] 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."^[18]

Thomas was the only female print journalist to travel to China with President Richard Nixon during his historic trip in 1972.^[19] She traveled around the world several times with all U.S. Presidents since Richard Nixon, and 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."^[20] The column provided an insider's view of various presidential administrations.

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.

Departure from UPI[link]

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.^[21] She later described the change in ownership as "a bridge too far."^[21][22] Less than two months later, she joined Hearst Newspapers as an opinion columnist, writing on national affairs and the White House.^[23]

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?’"^[24]

George W. Bush administration[link]

During President George W. Bush's first term, Thomas reacted to then-Press Secretary Ari Fleisher'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."^[vague][25]

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.^[26]

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.^[27] 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."^[28]

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^{[clarification needed]} and not to disclose required information.^[29] Thomas was criticized by some commentators for her exchange with Bush.^{[citation needed]}

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."^[30]

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."^[31] 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."^[32] However, Greg Mitchell of Editor & Publisher described Shales' attack as "disturbing."^[33]

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.^[34]

Obama administration[link]

President Barack Obama presenting Thomas cupcakes on her 89th birthday^[35]

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,"^[36] seemingly a reference to her long-term presence in the White House Press Corps.^[37] Thomas asked if any Middle Eastern country possessed nuclear weapons. Obama replied that he didn't 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...".^[38][39][40] She also said that not even Richard Nixon tried to control the press as much as President Obama.^[41]

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.^[42]

Resignation following comments on Israel and Jews[link]

Thomas retired in June 2010, following negative reaction to comments she had made about Israel, Jews, and Palestine during a brief interview with Rabbi David Nesenoff of RabbiLive.com.^{[1][43][44][45][46][47]} Nesenoff was on the White House grounds for an American Jewish Heritage Celebration Day, and he questioned Thomas as she was leaving the White House via the North Lawn driveway:^{[46][48][49][50]}

Nesenoff: Any comments on Israel? We're asking everybody today, any comments on Israel?

Thomas: Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.

Nesenoff: Ooh. Any better comments on Israel?

Thomas: Hahaha. Remember, these people are occupied and it's their land. It's not German, it's not Poland...

Nesenoff: So where should they go, what should they do?

Thomas: They can go home.

Nesenoff: Where's the home?

Thomas: Poland, Germany...

Nesenoff: So you're saying the Jews go back to Poland and Germany?

Thomas: And America and everywhere else. Why push people out of there who have lived there for centuries? See?

Nesenoff: Are you familiar with the history of that region?

Thomas: Very much. I'm of Arab background.

Nesenoff: I see. Do you speak Arabic?

Thomas: Very little. We were too busy Americanizing our parents... All the best to you.^[51]

—May 27, 2010, RabbiLive.com ^[46]

A one-minute excerpt of the May 27, 2010 interview was posted on Nesenoff's website on June 3. 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.^[52][53][54]

She resigned from her job three days later, on June 7, 2010.

Thomas's agency, Nine Speakers, Inc., dropped her as a client because of her remarks.^[55][56] Craig Crawford, who co-authored Listen up, Mr. President, said "I ... will no longer be working with Helen on our book projects.”^[57] Her scheduled delivery of a commencement speech at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Maryland, was canceled by the school.^[58] The White House Correspondents' Association, over which she once presided, issued a statement calling her remarks "indefensible."^[59] On June 7, Thomas abruptly tendered her resignation from Hearst Newspapers.^[60]

On June 8, 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."^[61] 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.^{[52][62][63][64]}

Helen Thomas' alma mater, Wayne State University strongly condemned what it called her "wholly inappropriate comments."^[43]

Thomas' defenders either supported her comments or put them into what they felt was a proper context. These arguments included the belief that she was completely correct and should not have felt any repercussions, that Thomas was only referring to the West Bank when she talked about Israelis getting the hell out of "Palestine," or that her comments could not be explained but should not erase what she had achieved in her memorable career. Hezbollah called Thomas' comments "courageous, bold, honest and free opinion," and Hamas said of her comments that she had "told the truth."^[65][66] Some, such as former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson did not agree with what Thomas said but praised Thomas' achievements as an early female journalist, and said her comments likely reflected the view of many people of Arab descent.^[67] Khalid Amayreh, a Palestinian journalist based in Dura, near Hebron praised Thomas, stating that her remarks were "factually true" and that the "descendants of converts to Judaism originating in the Khazar region, have no automatic right to claim Palestine as their patrimony especially if that dubious right is exercised at the Palestinian people’s expense."^[68]

After Thomas' resignation from UPI, her coveted front row center seat in the White House Briefing Room was awarded to the Associated Press (AP), while Fox News moved from the second row into the AP's former front row position.^[69]

In August 2010, a group of Holocaust survivors and relatives criticized the Arab American National Museum of Dearborn, Michigan for its plans to place a statue of Helen Thomas in its museum, saying that it would be immoral to honor her and that "American values are at stake."^[70][71]

In October 2010, Thomas said in a 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."^[72]

The president of the Society of Professional Journalists, Kevin Smith, said in June that Thomas's comments were "offensive" and "inexcusable."^[43] The society was later asked why it decided to continue the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement after Thomas's comments. Smith's successor as the society's president, Hagit Limor replied in December: "We discussed the issue at our exec board meeting in July 2010. The majority believed this to be a one-time slip that didn't change Ms. Thomas's lifetime of service, which is what we were honoring." ^[73][74] However, on January 14, 2011, the Society of Professional Journalists voted to retire the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement; stating that it staunchly defends the right to free speech, but that "the controversy surrounding this award has overshadowed the reason it exists." "...No individual worthy of such honor should have to face this controversy. No honoree should have to decide if the possible backlash is worth being recognized for his or her contribution to journalism."^[75] "SPJ will simply not give a lifetime achievement award (anymore)" said Scott Leadingham, spokesman for SPJ.^[76]

Later career[link]

2010 speech on Arab Americans[link]

On December 2, 2010, shortly before a speech for the eighth annual "Images and Perceptions of Arab Americans" conference at the Byblos Banquet Center on Chase, 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."^[77][78][79] During the speech, Thomas said: "Congress, the White House and Hollywood, Wall Street are owned by Zionists. No question, in my opinion."^[77] Thomas defended her comments on December 7, telling Scott Spears of Marion, Ohio AM radio station WMRN, "I just think that people should be enlightened as to who is in charge of the opinion in this country."^[80]

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.^[81] 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 antisemitic remarks. The school issued a statement saying: "As a public university, Wayne State encourages free speech and open dialogue, and respects diverse viewpoints. However, the university strongly condemns the anti-Semitic remarks made by Helen Thomas...". Speaking for the school, Matthew Seeger said: "The controversy has brought a negative light to the award, which was never the intent of the award."^[77] Thomas herself 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." She also stated that "the university also has betrayed academic freedom—a sad day for its students."^[82] The university's Arab American Student Union held a protest on campus December 10. In a news release the Palestine Cultural Office of Michigan made a call for concerned individuals to contact the university. Also, members of the Congress of Arab American Organizations held a meeting with university officials on December 7 in an attempt to make them repeal their decision, but a later response from the university said it would not reverse its position.^[83] Asked by the Detroit Free Press how she'd respond to people who say she's anti-Semitic, Thomas responded: 'I'd say I'm a Semite. What are you talking about?'".^[84]

[edit] 2011 Playboy interview

In March 2011, Thomas did an interview with David Hochman, a reporter for the men's magazine Playboy. Asked by Hochman to explain her controversial remarks about Israel and Jews in particular, made in May 2010, she said, "Well, there's no understanding [on the part of the Israelis] of the Palestinians at all. I mean, they're living there and [the Israelis] want to come and take their homes and land and water and kill their children and kill them." When asked what she had meant when she commented that "they" should go back to Germany, Poland and America, Thomas replied that the millions of German, Polish, American and Russian Jews who have come to Israel in recent years should have stayed where they were as they have not been persecuted since World War II. Upon being asked if she recognizes that Palestinian hijacking and suicide bombing is wrong, Thomas answered, "Of course I don't condone any violence against anyone. But who wouldn't fight for their country?...The suicide bombers act out of despair and desperation." Thomas insisted she does not feel antisemitism toward Jews at all: "I think they're wonderful people. They had to have the most depth. They were leaders in civil rights."

Later in the interview, when asked by Hochman if she stood by her December 2010 accusations that Zionists own the White House, Hollywood and Wall Street, Thomas answered that she did stand by those remarks. When confronted with the fact that Jews constitute a small percentage of the total population, Thomas told Hochman: "I know where you're leading with this. You know damn well the power [Jews] have...It's real power when you own the White House, when you own these other places in terms of your political persuasion. Of course they have power. You don't deny that. You're Jewish, aren't you?" Hochman said that he was Jewish.

Thomas accused Israel of treating the Palestinians as the Nazis had treated the Jews of Germany and Poland and Hungary: "They can't just come in and say, 'This is my home,' knock on the door at three in the morning and have the Israeli military take them out. That's what happens. And that's what happened to the Jews [during the Holocaust]. Why do [the Israelis] inflict that same pain on people who did nothing to them?"^[85]

Awards[link]

Thomas has 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.^[86]

In 1986 she received the William Allen White Foundation Award for Journalistic Merit from the University of Kansas.^[15] 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;^[87] but in December 2010, the award was discontinued by Wayne State citing her renewed remarks that she stands by what she had said earlier in May to Nesenoff. Speaking for Wayne State, Matthew Seeger, its interim dean said, that the award is given to promote the importance of diversity in the media; but this award “is no longer helping us achieve our goals.”^[88] 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.^[89][90]

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.”^[91]

Bibliography[link]

• 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[link]

• Rick Sanchez
• Octavia Nasr
• News conference

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Helen Thomas

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helen Thomas

• Helen Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
• Helen Thomas collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Works by or about Helen Thomas in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Magda Abu-Fadil (August 4, 2010). "Happy Birthday Helen!". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/magda-abufadil/happy-birthday-helen_b_669977.html. 
• Michael Sneed (August 3, 2010). "Where is Helen Thomas?". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/2559812,CST-NWS-SNEED03.article. ^{[dead link]}
• "RadioLIVE New Zealand interview with Helen Thomas" (Audio). RadioLIVE New Zealand. Posted June 15, 2010. http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Interview-with-veteran-White-House-correspondent-Helen-Thomas/tabid/506/articleID/14131/Default.aspx. 
• "Elders Part 4 - Helen Thomas" (Transcript of Andrew Denton interview with Helen Thomas). July 7, 2008. http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s2296751.htm. 
• David Chambers (March–April 2006). Calling Helen Thomas. 57. Saudi Aramco World. http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200602/calling.helen.thomas.htm.  discusses Thomas impact on younger Arab-American journalists.
• "Truth, Fear and War", speech by Thomas, September 13, 2003.
• Oral History Interview with Helen Thomas, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
• Oct. 2010 Interview of Helen Thomas by Scott Spears (WMRN)

Flo Rida
Flo Rida on the set of "Sugar" in 2009.
Background information
Birth name	Tramar Dillard
Born	(1979-12-16) December 16, 1979 (age 32) Carol City, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Rapper, songwriter, actor
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Atlantic, Poe Boy, International Music Group, Strong Arm
Associated acts	Akon, Brisco, Lady Gaga, Timbaland, David Guetta, Kesha, T-Pain, Nicki Minaj , Taio Cruz, Sia Furler, Ne-Yo, Avicii
Website	officialflo.com

Tramar Dillard (born December 16, 1979) better known by his stage name Flo Rida (pronounced  /floʊ ˈraɪdə/), is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Mail on Sunday, in March 2008. His debut single "Low", featuring T-Pain, was a No. 1 hit for ten weeks in United States in early 2008. Two other singles resulted from Mail on Sunday: "Elevator" and "In the Ayer". In 2009, his second album R.O.O.T.S. was released; its most successful single "Right Round" was at the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks. Since then, he has released his third studio album titled Only One Flo (Part 1), which will see a sequel titled Wild Ones.