Legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas resigns [News Commentary]

I couldn’t even claim to be much of a pseudo-journalist if I didn’t mark a milestone with the retirement of one of the industry’s juggernauts.

On June 7, Helen Thomas, who has been asking tough questions of U.S. Presidents since the Kennedy administration, announced her immediate retirement, amid the controversy surrounding her expressed opinion on the Israel-Palestine conflict. She turns 90 on August 4.

Thomas made some pretty insensitive and, one could argue, ignorant remarks about the Palestine controversy at a White House event which was caught on video and became viral. Most sensible people would attribute this as a tactless case of word vomit due to age. She quickly made a statement apologizing for the tone of her gaffe. This apparently wasn’t enough and she made an official announcement through her employer, Hearst Newspapers that she was stepping down, ending over 50 years of pointed remarks and unconventional decorum in the White House Press Corps.