By The Opinion
The White House Correspondents Association announced that the Photojournalists Susan Walsh and Melissa Younger will be awarded the Dunnigan-Payne Award.
To receive this recognition, the association reported that it will hold a presentation ceremony for both journalists to receive during the 2026 White House Correspondents Association meeting.
“The WHCA Lifetime Achievement Awards are named after Alice Dunnigan and Ethel Payne, who showed the world what happens when you refuse to be relegated to the background to continue being a witness on behalf of the American people. This year’s winners, Melissa Younger and Susan Walsh, dedicated their careers to just that. His work has established a benchmark of excellence, dedication and integrity in the documentation of the presidency,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the association.
Susan Walsh has a 37-year career in photojournalismalmost 34 of them in the Associated Press, while Melissa Younger is a television news photographer who spanned more than four decades, including 44 years at ABC Data.
Both photojournalists are pioneers in the industry and helped forge a more inclusive and dynamic press corps, earning the deep respect of generations of journalists.
The Dunnigan-Payne Award was created in 2022 to honor the contributions of the first African-American women of the White House press corps, Alice Dunnigan and Ethel Payne, who demonstrated perseverance, resilience and rigorous journalism.
