Helen Thomas - pioneering reporter, has died at 92
3 replies, posted
[IMG]http://images.politico.com/global/2013/07/20/helen.jpg[/IMG]
[URL="http://news.yahoo.com/pioneering-journalist-helen-thomas-dies-92-141057422.html"]AP[/URL]
[quote]WASHINGTON (AP) — Helen Thomas, the irrepressible White House correspondent who used her seat in the front row of history to grill 10 presidents and was not shy about sharing her opinions, died Saturday. She was 92.
Thomas, who died at her apartment in Washington, had been ill for a long time, and in and out of the hospital before coming home Thursday, according to a friend, Muriel Dobbin.
Thomas made her name as a bulldog for United Press International in the great wire-service rivalries of old, and as a pioneer for women in journalism.
She was persistent to the point of badgering. One White House press secretary described her questioning as "torture" — and he was one of her fans.
Her refusal to conceal her strong opinions, even when posing questions to a president, and her public hostility toward Israel, caused discomfort among colleagues.
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Damn shame. Helen was the only reporter in the White House press pool that had balls to ask tough questions as well as having journalistic integrity. Such is a rarity, and I don't think she can be replaced.
(Umm... Is that the woman whose portrait has the "This makes me moist" caption?)
Rated winner not because she died, but because she was one hell of a reporter.
Shame that no one really dares to ask the tough questions like she did.