The Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, later called the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award, was an American journalism award presented from 1944 to 2011. Named in honor of

Raymond Clapper Raymond Clapper (1892–1944) was a commentator and news analyst for both radio and newspapersDeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 55 ...

(1892–1944), the award was given "to a journalist or team for distinguished

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

reporting." The award was presented most often at the annual

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 t ...

(WHCA) dinner, but for a period in the years 1951 to 1965 it was given at the annual

American Society of Newspaper Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...

(ASNE) dinner. In the early days of the Award, it was often presented to the winner by the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, who was usually a guest at the press dinner. Starting in 2004 the award was presented as part of

Scripps Howard The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

's National Journalism Awards (later known as the Scripps Howard Awards). The Raymond Clapper Award was discontinued after 2011.

History

Reporter and

columnist

died in 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

while covering the U.S. invasion of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

. Following his death, the Raymond Clapper Memorial Association was incorporated in Washington, D.C. "to perpetuate the memory of Clapper" through the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award. "The organizing committee of the association was composed of the heads of various newspaper organizations in Washington," including

Scripps-Howard Newspapers The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

, the

Chicago Sun The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

, the

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wit ...

, Overseas Writers Association, and the

Gridiron Club The Gridiron Club is the oldest and among the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C. History Frank A. De Puy (1854–1927) was one of several who met January 24, 1885, at the Welcker's Hotel in Washington, D.C. – 7 ...

. Under the terms of the incorporation of the Clapper Memorial Association, "the Standing Committee of Correspondents, the governing body of the Washington press corps ... will be in complete control of the award, ... so that it will always be under the direction of the working, newspapermen of the national capital." The founding trustees of the Clapper Association were George B. Parker, editor-in-chief of

;

Byron Price Byron Price (March 25, 1891August 6, 1981) was director of the U.S. Office of Censorship during World War II. Life Price was born near Topeka, Indiana on 25 March 1891. He was a magazine editor at Topeka High School, and worked as a journalist an ...

of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

; and Eugene Meyer of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

''. Under Scripps Howard, the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award was presented from 2004 to 2011, at which point it was discontinued.

Overview

In 1993, the criteria for the Award was described as "...any Washington-based daily newspaper reporter whose work most closely approximated the ideals of fair and painstaking reporting, and the good craftsmanship of Raymond Clapper." The winner of the Award was selected by a panel of five editors/writers from a list of finalists. Most years, Honorable Mention and Second Place prizes were awarded as well.

List of awardees

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* {{cite web, title=Raymond Clapper Memorial Award winners (1944 to 2011), url=https://www.pressclubinstitute.org/raymond-clapper-memorial-award-winners-from-1944-to-2011/, author=Journalism Institute, publisher=

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

, access-date=Nov 15, 2023 1944 establishments in the United States 2012 disestablishments in the United States American journalism awards Awards established in 1944 Awards disestablished in 2012