Veteran White House reporter Helen Thomas dies aged 92

Trailblazing journalist known for combative style dies after long illness

Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas, a trailblazing journalist who reported on every US president from John Kennedy to Barack Obama, died on Saturday at the age of 92.

Thomas, who broke many barriers for female journalists during her 49 years on the White House beat for United Press International and Hearst newspapers, died after a long illness, Washington journalists’ organisation the Gridiron Club said in a statement.

Thomas was known for her straight-to-the-point questioning of presidents and press secretaries in a manner that some considered dogged. Others, including many fellow reporters, considered her style in her later years to be too combative and agenda-driven.

President Barack Obama in a statement praised “her fierce belief that our democracy works best when we ask tough questions and hold our leaders to account,” and noted that in her long tenure Thomas “never failed to keep presidents – myself included – on their toes.”

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– (Reuters)