Ann Devroy

Ann Mary Devroy ( ; October 9, 1948 – October 23, 1997) was an American political journalist. She was a White House correspondent for 15 years, for the Gannett Company, USA Today (1979–1985), and The Washington Post (1989–1997). She covered four presidents including Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and 10 White House chiefs of staff.

Life and career Ann Mary Devroy was born October 9, 1948, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. While she was a journalism student at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, she interned at the Milwaukee Journal and worked as a reporter for the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. After she received her bachelor's degree in 1970, Devroy began working for the Courier News, a New Jersey newspaper owned by the Gannett Company. In 1977, she moved to Gannett's Washington bureau. She covered Congress for two years before becoming White House correspondent for Gannett and its new national newspaper, USA Today.

In 1985, Devroy joined The Washington Post as political editor on the national news desk—a job that would allow her to spend more time with her young daughter. As deputy national editor, Devroy directed coverage of the 1988 Presidential campaign. In 1989, she returned to the White House beat. Andrew Rosenthal of The New York Times, who was Devroy's main competition, described her as "the scariest and most generous reporter I've ever known. She would kick your butt 24 hours a day."

Devroy was not part of the Washington TV punditocracy. She turned down frequent requests to appear on camera participating in press panels.

As a cost-saving measure, The Post once floated the idea of ending expensive press charter flights to out-of-town presidential events, proposing instead that its reporters fly commercial. Devroy fired off a response concluding that the short-sighted move to economize "diminishes our commitment to White House coverage ... and erodes a lesson I have spent a career beating into every White House I cover: Don't screw with The Post. When no one else pays attention, we do."

In May 1994, Devroy received a journalism award from the Gerald R. Ford Foundation, for distinguished reporting on the presidency. She received the foundation's seventh annual prize for her articles on President Clinton's foreign policy and his effort to sell his domestic program, Vice President Al Gore's record and an evaluation of former president George H. W. Bush.

Devroy died at her home in Washington October 23, 1997, age 49, of uterine cancer. President Bill Clinton issued a statement that day on learning of her death: "For more than a decade, no journalist dominated and defined the White House beat with the kind of skill, shrewd analysis and gruff grace that Ann brought to her reporting."

Legacy After Ann Devroy's death, The Washington Post created an annual journalism fellowship at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Featured speakers at the Ann Devroy Memorial Forum are listed below.

1998: David S. Broder 1999: David Maraniss 2000: Leonard Downie Jr. 2001: Gwen Ifill 2002: Karen DeYoung 2003: Lou Cannon 2004: Andrea Mitchell 2005: Mike McCurry 2006: Dana Milbank 2007: Robert G. Kaiser and Bob Woodward 2008: Dana Priest 2009: Dan Balz 2010: Helen Thomas 2011: E. J. Dionne 2012: Bob Edwards and Gene Weingarten 2013: Ruth Marcus 2014: Scott Wilson 2015: Al Kamen 2016: Terence Samuel 2017: Jenna Johnson 2018: Ashley Parker 2019: Tracy Grant 2021: Philip Rucker 2022: Sharif Durhams 2023: Phoebe Connelly 2024: Patrick Marley