The Washington Free Beacon regrets to inform you that the journalists are at it again. The White House Correspondents' Association, a pro-journalism activist group responsible for hosting the appropriately dubbed "nerd prom" dinner party, announced Friday the creation of a new journalism award for "courage and accountability."
ABC News chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl captured the sentiment of the pro-journalism community by describing the announcement as a "big deal."
This is a big deal -- a major new journalism prize to be awarded at the 2020 White House Correspondents' Dinner -- and every WHCD after that. https://t.co/6mU5T1o9eI
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) January 17, 2020
The award is named after the late heiress Katharine Graham, daughter of former Washington Post owner Eugene Meyer, a financier who by the age of 40 had amassed a fortune worth nearly $800 million in today's dollars. Graham served as publisher of the Post for a decade beginning in 1969.
Current Washington Post owner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos reportedly endowed the "courage" award for journalists with a "generous donation." The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability will be presented for the first time this April at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, the annual black-tie gala in Washington, D.C., at which journalists congratulate themselves for their courage by attending exclusive parties with actual celebrities.
WaPo owner Jeff Bezos has endowed a new @WHCA award: The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability. It'll be presented for the first time this April. The association says Bezos made a "generous donation."
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 17, 2020