Philip Rucker, White House Bureau Chief and Ashley Parker, White House reporter for “The Washington Post.”, have won the 31stAnnual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency. The $5,000 award recognizes journalists whose high standards for accuracy and substance help foster a better public understanding of the Presidency.

Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2017 Recipient – Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker (The Washington Times)

This year, the award will be presented by Michael Ford, son of the late President Gerald R. Ford and Chairman of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, at the Foundation’s Annual Dinner on Monday, June 4, 2018, at The Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C.
When announcing their decision to award Philip Rucker and Ashley Parker, the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2017, the judges issued the following statement:

“After years of covering leak-resistant and measured Administrations, Washington journalism was turned upside down in 2017 with the arrival of President Donald Trump. As lead White House reporters for the Washington Post, Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker were among the first to realize that Trump’s tumultuous, news-dominating White House, including Presidential tweets, rapid staff turnover and shifting public statements, was not a temporary learning experience, but a permanent feature of his presidency. Parker and Rucker often led the way in documenting the uncertainty that Trump’s approach created, particularly inside the Administration, and especially as the President grew increasingly frustrated with the Mueller investigation. They produced thoughtful, well-sourced reports, often looking beyond the daily tumult, on how Trump’s instinctive decision-making and determination to set the daily agenda affected domestic policy, the President’s relationship with Congress, and his approach to international intelligence and foreign affairs. For their comprehensive reporting on a historic change in leadership style, Ashley Parker and Philip Rucker have earned the 2017 Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency.”

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation sponsors the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and Distinguished Reporting on National Defense to recognize and encourage thoughtful, insightful, and enterprising work by journalists covering the presidency and national defense. The Foundation is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation whose programs are supported entirely by contributions and bequests in an effort to honor President Ford’s sustained commitment to public service.

This year’s winners:
Philip Rucker is the White House Bureau Chief at The Washington Post, leading its team chronicling the Donald Trump presidency. He previously served as National Political Correspondent, traveling the country to anchor The Post’s coverage of the 2016 presidential campaign. Rucker also has served as White House Correspondent, chronicling President Obama’s second term, and as Congressional Correspondent, covering the Republican Party’s rise to power and the emergence of the tea party. He was the newspaper’s lead reporter covering Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

Rucker and a team of Post reporters were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the George Polk Award for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election and connections to the Trump campaign. Rucker has worked at The Post since 2005 and has covered an array of beats, including suburban news and Maryland state politics, as well as philanthropy and non-profits. Rucker and a team of Post reporters were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news for coverage of the 2009 massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.

Rucker is a Political Analyst for NBC News and MSNBC and appears regularly on PBS’s “Washington Week,” as well as an array of radio news programs. Rucker graduated from Yale University in 2006 with a degree in History and worked as a reporter and editor at the Yale Daily News.

Ashley Parker is a White House reporter at The Washington Post, chronicling the Donald Trump presidency and all of its characters. She joined The Post in 2017, after 11 years at The New York Times. There, she covered the 2016 presidential campaign (both Jeb Bush and Trump), Congress, and Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign. She also worked on the Metro Desk, and wrote for nearly every section of the paper, including Style and The New York Times Sunday Magazine. She started at The Times in 2005, as Maureen Dowd’s research assistant.

Parker and a team of Post reporters were awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for their coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election and connections to the Trump campaign. She and her colleague, Philip Rucker, also won the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for their 2017 reporting on the Trump presidency.

Parker is a political analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and regularly appears on PBS’s “Washington Week.” She has also written for Glamour Magazine, The Huffington Post, The New York Sun and The Washingtonian, among other publications. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005 with a double major in English (creative writing concentration) and communications and worked as a reporter and editor on The Daily Pennsylvanian. She lives in Washington, D.C.

For more information about the annual prize or previous winners contact:
Joe Calvaruso
Executive Director
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation
303 Pearl Street NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49504-5353
(616) 254-0397, jcalvaruso@38foundation.org
or visit our website at www.geraldrfordfoundation.org

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