Hugh S. Sidey Portrait

The year 2020 has embodied a timeline of uncertainty and tension across not only the United States, but the world as a whole; with a global pandemic, an uprising social movement and a divided country. This has turned the people to the media more than ever. The theme throughout this year, despite the uncertainty, has been hope. Hope that the country

When I came to Iowa State, I had no idea what it meant to be a journalist. My idea of a reporter was a man in a trench coat and fedora writing down notes on a pad of paper, something out of a noir film. Even though I couldn’t see myself as a journalist, what attracted me to the fi

Strange looks and scoffs were not what I expected from the national press during my political event coverage this past summer. They remarked when I took notes on a notepad and glared as I put down my pen, picked up my camera and entered the crowd. Just weeks after their first major public feud, my camera was the only thing

As part of the White House Historical Association’s 60th anniversary celebration in 2021, the Next-Gen Leaders (NGL) initiative was announced. The NGL cohort is a group of influential young professionals representing a wide variety of fields, bound together by a passion for history, civics, and education. NGL members serve as ambassadors for the Association's nonpartisan, nonprofit, and historic mission and to

Curled up on the living room floor, eyes full of anticipation, I awaited the results of the 2012 presidential election. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were familiar, as I had met both as a little girl attending the Iowa caucuses. While waiting to see if they would serve another four years, I was also waiting patiently to see

The Hugh S. Sidey Scholarship in Journalism at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication was established in 2006 at Mr. Sidey's alma mater, Iowa State University, by the White House Historical Association and Mr. David M. Rubenstein. To keep alive Hugh Sidey's legacy of reporting on the presidency, the scholarship will support aspiring journalists at the Greenlee School. Undergraduate students

Few symbols of American democracy inspire a greater sense of awe than the White House. For more than two hundred years, the residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has provided a stage for some of the most momentous decisions in American and world history. Since the completion of the White House in 1800, every president of the United States, beginning with John Adams,

Journalists carry the weight of many. All lives, as parts of society, connect directly with those who discover, interpret and bring news to the masses. The very nature of journalism is fraught with the concurrent potentials to strengthen and weaken democracy. As the United States' federal governmental structure shifts to emphasize presidential importance, pressure upon journalists to deliver news—truthful, in

Presidents have a tendency to be idolized for their perceived successes—Ronald Reagan for his role in felling Communism and realization of the GOP economic model—and demonized for their perceived failures—Carter for his handling of the Iranian hostage crisis and skyrocketing inflation rates—or simply forgotten in mediocrity. Before these impressions are etched in stone, their every move is follo

Today, the face of news seems to change more rapidly than headlines floating across a cable news program's ticker. Reporters young and experienced alike face an unstable job market and an uncertain future as the journalism industry struggles to find a viable business model. However, some things still hold true. The presidency remains, as Hugh Sidey said in his 2004 book "

When Hugh Sidey said, "The cauldron of the presidency reveals unknown strengths in a person, just as it exposes hidden weaknesses," he was describing the nature of the President of the United States, an office of which he developed an intimate relationship over nearly half a decade of reporting. Hugh Sidey was a forerunner of modern American journalism who helped

Today information is more accessible to more people than ever before. This increase of information has brought about higher expectations of journalism and new job descriptions for reporters. More is expected of the press. Media consumers want the traditional news stories and analyses, but exponential growth in social media use has contributed to the 24-hour news cycle initially created by