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Foundation Chairman Red Cavaney presents the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2015 to Greg Jaffe

Watch the award presentation and remarks by Greg Jaffe

Greg Jaffe, White House Reporter for The Washington Post, has won the 29th Annual 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.

The 29th Annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prizes for Distinguished Reporting in 2015 will be presented by Red Cavaney, Chairman of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, at the Foundation’s Annual Dinner on Monday, June 6, 2016, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

When announcing their decision to award Greg Jaffe the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2015, the judges issued the following statement:

“During a time of intense divisiveness in Washington, DC, journalists are increasingly challenged to transcend routine partisan back-and-forth in political coverage.  But Greg Jaffe of The Washington Post, in his first year as a White House correspondent, repeatedly overcame that divide in his even-handed, analytical coverage of President Obama during his final months in office.  Jaffe was able to muster a variety of sources inside and outside the White House, both critical and admiring, to explain the President’s evolving view of the proper role for American intervention in world conflicts.  Jaffe also reported and wrote — from a White House that values highly the potentially transformative power of public remarks — notable insider accounts of high-profile Obama speeches, on American exceptionalism and the influence of Christianity in American public affairs.  These well-sourced reports gave his readers remarkable insight into the President’s inspiration and unique approach that often disrupted conventional political thinking.  In his reporting, Greg Jaffe is comfortable with both policy and politics.  He manages to illuminate without burning and to include dissident voices without offense.  For this work, Greg Jaffe is the deserving recipient of the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency for 2015.”

This year’s winner:
Greg Jaffe has been a reporter for The Washington Post since 2009. He began covering the White House for the Post in 2014. From 2000-2013 Greg covered the Pentagon and the U.S. military for The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, travelling regularly to Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009, he and David Cloud of the Los Angeles Times co-authored “The Fourth Star” about the lives of four Army generals — John Abizaid, George Casey, Peter Chiarelli, and David Petraeus—and the roles they played in the Iraq War.

Jaffe shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for a series on defense spending and won the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense for coverage in 2002 and 2009. He’s a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, MA. His first job in journalism was with the Montgomery Advertiser in Montgomery, AL. There he co-authored a series on the questionable fundraising tactics of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the nation’s wealthiest civil rights charity and that was a finalist for the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism. Jaffe grew up in Northern Virginia and lives in Arlington, VA. with his wife and two children.

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.

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 P: (616) 254-0397,  E: jcalvaruso@38foundation.org or visit our website at www.geraldrfordfoundation.org.

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