Raymond Clapper Memorial Award

The Raymond Clapper Memorial Award, later called the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award, was an American journalism award presented from 1944 to 2011. Named in honor of Raymond Clapper (1892–1944), the award was given "to a journalist or team for distinguished Washington reporting."

The award was presented most often at the annual White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner, but for a period in the years 1951 to 1965 it was given at the annual American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) dinner. In the early days of the Award, it was often presented to the winner by the U.S. President, who was usually a guest at the press dinner.

Starting in 2004 the award was presented as part of Scripps Howard's National Journalism Awards (later known as the Scripps Howard Awards). The Raymond Clapper Award was discontinued after 2011.

History
Reporter and Scripps Howard columnist Raymond Clapper died in 1944 during World War II while covering the U.S. invasion of the Marshall Islands. Following his death, the Raymond Clapper Memorial Association was incorporated in Washington, D.C. "to perpetuate the memory of Clapper" through the Raymond Clapper Memorial Award.

"The organizing committee of the association was composed of the heads of various newspaper organizations in Washington," including Scripps-Howard Newspapers, the Chicago Sun, United Press, the White House Correspondents' Association, United Feature Syndicate, Overseas Writers Association, and the Gridiron Club.

Under the terms of the incorporation of the Clapper Memorial Association, "the Standing Committee of Correspondents, the governing body of the Washington press corps ... will be in complete control of the award, ... so that it will always be under the direction of the working, newspapermen of the national capital."

The founding trustees of the Clapper Association were George B. Parker, editor-in-chief of Scripps-Howard Newspapers; Byron Price of the Associated Press; and Eugene Meyer of The Washington Post.

Under Scripps Howard, the Washington Reporting Raymond Clapper Award was presented from 2004 to 2011, at which point it was discontinued.

Overview
In 1993, the criteria for the Award was described as "...any Washington-based daily newspaper reporter whose work most closely approximated the ideals of fair and painstaking reporting, and the good craftsmanship of Raymond Clapper."

The winner of the Award was selected by a panel of five editors/writers from a list of finalists. Most years, Honorable Mention and Second Place prizes were awarded as well.