The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a United States congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson. The WHCA operates independently of the White House. Among the more notable issues handled by the WHCA are the credentialing process, access to the president and physical conditions in the White House press briefing rooms. Its most high-profile activity is the annual White House Correspondents' dinner, which is traditionally attended by the president and covered by the news media. Association leadership, 2021-2022 The leadership of the White House Correspondents' Association includes: Officers President: Steven Portnoy, CBS News Radio Vice President: Tamara Keith, NPR Secretary: Fin Gomez, CBS News Treasurer: Francesca Chambers, McClatchy Newspapers Board members Doug Mills, New York Times Justin Sink, Bloomberg News Kelly O’Donnell, NBC News Karen Travers, ABC News Todd J. Gillman, Dallas Morning News Executive Director Steven Thomma Table of association presidents White House press room The WHCA is responsible for assigned seating in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House. White House Correspondents' dinner The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1921, has become a Washington, D.C. tradition, and is traditionally attended by the president and vice president. Sixteen presidents have attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The dinner is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton. Until 1962, the dinner was open only to men, even though WHCA's membership included women. At the urging of Helen Thomas, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the dinner unless the ban on women was dropped. Prior to World War II, the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie, and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers. Since 1983, the featured speaker has usually been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a comedy roast of the president and his administration. The dinner also funds scholarships for gifted students in college journalism programs. Many annual dinners have been cancelled or downsized due to deaths or political crises. The dinner was cancelled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft; in 1942, following the United