Helen Thomas is an institution of the White House press corps, and after covering each president given that John F. Kennedy, she has announced her resignation from Hearst and her subsequent retirement. It seemed as if she would be covering the White House until she died, but a recent and very serious slip of the tongue has forced her to resign. She is known as one of the toughest reporters to ever question any president or White House official, and she was known for often asking brutally direct questions.
Article Resource: Helen Thomas retiring after making error of epic proportions
Helen Thomas as a journalism giant
Helen Thomas began her career in journalism in 1942, after graduating from then Wayne University which is now known as Wayne State University, with a B.A. in Journalism. She worked briefly for the Washington Daily News (it doesn’t exist anymore) and started working for United Press International in 1943. She covered women’s issues and Washington D.C. news, interviewing celebrities and politicians and covering various government agencies. Later she was assigned to cover John F. Kennedy as a White House Press Correspondent for U.P.I., switching to Hearst Newspapers in 2000. She is the only person with her own seat within the White House Press Room.
Slip of the tongue kills a long career
Recently, Helen Thomas made a number of comments concerning the state of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. In a camcorder interview by rabbilive.com, she was asked if she had anything to say about Israel. She responded with “Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine.” CNN reports that she further went on to say that Israelis should return to their countries of origin. (Most Israeli Jews are Ashkenazi, which means they are of European descent, which is what she was referring to.)
The hard fallout
Once her comments hit the internet, especially on YouTube, there were urgent calls for her to be fired. The White House condemned her comments, and her constant collaborator in her books, Craig Crawford, said he wouldn’t work with her ever again. Helen Thomas later announced her resignation. It is a sad end to a great career.
Additional data at these websites
CNN
cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/06/07/pol.helen.thomas/
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