June 9, 2021
Senior White House Reporter Jennifer Jacobs won the 34th annual Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency in 2020.
Jacobs was recognized for her reporting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Trump administration. Jacobs reported on COVID-19 cases within the White House, including the president’s inner circle and Trump himself.
Regarding Jacobs’ reporting on the presidency, the judges said, “No challenge mattered more to the fate of Mr. Trump’s presidency, and few journalists on the story showed greater resourcefulness than Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg News. After being the first to report that one of the president’s closest advisors had tested positive for the coronavirus, Ms. Jacobs filed a series of exclusives on the spread of the virus among White House personnel. She followed up with accurate, well sourced reports.”
The Gerald R. Ford Foundation awarded Jacobs alongside TIME Magazine’s W.J. Hennigan, who received the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize for Distinguised Reporting on National Defense.
The announcement was made virtually during the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation’s annual meeting.
View the press release here.