ANN COMPTON

Ann Compton has devoted more than 30 years to covering state and national government. Her broadcasting career began in Virginia as a correspondent for WDBJ-TV/Roanoke, where she established a State Capitol Bureau in Richmond. In 1973, Compton moved to New York and joined the reporting staff of ABC News.

One year later, ABC made Compton the first woman to cover the White House on a full-time basis. Eventually, Compton became the National Correspondent for ABC News.  During her career, Compton has covered presidential campaigns and conventions and twice served as a panelist for presidential debates. In 2000, Compton's journalism career led her to the Internet, as she became Chief Washington Correspondent for abcnews.com. That same year, the Society of Professional Journalists inducted Compton into the Journalism Hall of Fame. More recently, Compton was elected President of the White House Correspondents Association for a term beginning in 2007.  

Perhaps Compton's most dramatic assignment occurred on September 11, 2001, as the only broadcast reporter allowed to remain onboard Air Force One when President Bush was unable to return to Washington. The network received an Emmy and the Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award for its coverage.  

Ann Compton was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2005.