Ann Compton
Encyclopedia
Ann Compton is an American
news reporter and White House correspondent for ABC News Radio
.
) led to a full-time job as the first woman reporting for WDBJ
TV, a CBS
affiliate in Roanoke
. She established a State Capitol Bureau in Richmond
for the station. In 1973, ABC News hired her and she reported from New York
until December 1974, when she was assigned to the White House
.
Reporting for ABC News, Compton has traveled around the globe and through all 50 states with Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies through seven presidential campaigns. She is now the White House correspondent for ABC News Radio
, covering her seventh president as an ABC White House correspondent, beginning with Gerald Ford
. Weeks after the Watergate scandal came to an end, Compton became the first woman assigned to cover the White House on a full-time basis by a network television news organization, and she was one of the youngest to receive the assignment.
Twice during campaigns she was invited to serve as a panelist for presidential debates (1988 and 1992) and she was assigned as a floor reporter at the 1976 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. In 2000 Compton was the chief Washington correspondent for ABCNEWS.com, where she wrote and anchored a daily political column, "On Background."
On September 11, 2001, Compton was the only broadcast reporter allowed to remain on-board Air Force One
during the hours when President Bush chose not to return to Washington.
In June 2000, she was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame by the Society of Professional Journalists. On November 5, 2005, she was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Compton was part of the team awarded the prestigious Silver Baton Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award for the network's coverage of September 11, 2001. Her coverage of September 11 was also recognized in ABC News' Emmy and Peabody awards.
She has served as chair of the governing board of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association and has served on the advisory board of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center.
Currently, Compton is president-elect of the White House Correspondents' Association
.
Despite her many achievements and commitments, Compton said that her most valued award is a golden statuette from the National Mothers' Day Committee naming her a Mother of the Year in 1988.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
news reporter and White House correspondent for ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio is the radio service of ABC News, a division of the ABC Television Network. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Cumulus Media Networks, newscasts on the hour to its more than 2,000 affiliates...
.
Career highlights
Compton began her broadcasting career in Virginia, where an internship during her junior year at Hollins College (now Hollins UniversityHollins University
Hollins University is a four-year institution of higher education, a private university located on a campus on the border of Roanoke County, Virginia and Botetourt County, Virginia...
) led to a full-time job as the first woman reporting for WDBJ
WDBJ
WDBJ is the CBS television network affiliate station serving the Roanoke/Lynchburg television market. It transmits its digital signal on UHF channel 18. It is owned by Schurz Communications of South Bend, Indiana...
TV, a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliate in Roanoke
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
. She established a State Capitol Bureau in Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
for the station. In 1973, ABC News hired her and she reported from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
until December 1974, when she was assigned to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
Reporting for ABC News, Compton has traveled around the globe and through all 50 states with Presidents, Vice Presidents, and First Ladies through seven presidential campaigns. She is now the White House correspondent for ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio
ABC News Radio is the radio service of ABC News, a division of the ABC Television Network. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Cumulus Media Networks, newscasts on the hour to its more than 2,000 affiliates...
, covering her seventh president as an ABC White House correspondent, beginning with Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. Weeks after the Watergate scandal came to an end, Compton became the first woman assigned to cover the White House on a full-time basis by a network television news organization, and she was one of the youngest to receive the assignment.
Twice during campaigns she was invited to serve as a panelist for presidential debates (1988 and 1992) and she was assigned as a floor reporter at the 1976 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. In 2000 Compton was the chief Washington correspondent for ABCNEWS.com, where she wrote and anchored a daily political column, "On Background."
On September 11, 2001, Compton was the only broadcast reporter allowed to remain on-board Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
during the hours when President Bush chose not to return to Washington.
Awards and associations
Compton was the chairman of the governing board of the Radio Television Correspondents Association in 1987-88 and served on the advisory board of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center in New York.In June 2000, she was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame by the Society of Professional Journalists. On November 5, 2005, she was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.
Compton was part of the team awarded the prestigious Silver Baton Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award for the network's coverage of September 11, 2001. Her coverage of September 11 was also recognized in ABC News' Emmy and Peabody awards.
She has served as chair of the governing board of the Radio and Television Correspondents Association and has served on the advisory board of the Freedom Forum Media Studies Center.
Currently, Compton is president-elect of the White House Correspondents' Association
White House Correspondents' Association
The White House Correspondents' Association is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend...
.
Despite her many achievements and commitments, Compton said that her most valued award is a golden statuette from the National Mothers' Day Committee naming her a Mother of the Year in 1988.