ABC News’ Jake Tapper Wins Merriman Smith Award for Excellence in Presidential Coverage Under Deadline Pressure for Second Year in a Row

For the second year in a row, the White House Correspondents’ Association has chosen to honor ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper with the Merriman Smith Award in the broadcast category for excellence in presidential coverage under deadline pressure. He is being recognized for the story he reported on May 20, 2010 that revealed that Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair was about to be asked by the President to resign.  Tapper first broke the news on his “Political Punch” blog on ABCNews.com and later reported the story on “World News with Diane Sawyer.”

“We are so proud of Jake, whose pace-setting and world-class reporting informs and illuminates our national dialogue – virtually every minute of every day,” said ABC News President Ben Sherwood.  “Just trying to keep up with the torrent of scoops, tweets, blog posts, radio debriefs and live broadcast coverage Jake generates around the clock from the White House could be a full-time job for even the most dedicated news junkie.  We are thrilled, but hardly surprised, that Jake has earned the Merriman prize for the second year in a row.”

According to a press release issued by the White House Correspondents’ Association, the judges are recognizing Tapper’s reporting “because he knew the news when the rest of the media sphere was just learning it, Tapper was able to provide details that few others could match" in a richly detailed piece on the Web followed by a full report on television. "Tapper was clearly ahead of the pack and ABC's audience benefited from his reporting," said the judges.

In 2010, Tapper received the Merriman Smith Award for his reporting in 2009 that broke the story of former Senator Tom Daschle’s tax problems, which ultimately derailed his nomination to be President Obama’s Secretary of Health and Human Services.