Ann Compton began her distinguished career in journalism as the first female reporter for the WDBJ TV, a CBS affiliate in Roanoke, before being hired by ABC news in 1973. By the next year, Mrs. Compton became the first woman assigned to cover the White House on a full-time basis by a network television news organization. During her time in the White House, she covered seven different administrations, served on the panel of two presidential debates and covered both Republican and Democratic National conventions in 1976. Compton was the chief Washington correspondent for ABCNEWS.com, in 2000, where she wrote and anchored a daily political column. On September 10, 2014, Compton retired from ABC News, 41 years to the day after she began at the network. Mrs. Compton has earned the respect of both viewers and peers alike, winning an Emmy, a Peabody, and the Silver Baton from the DuPont awards at Columbia University. Ann has been inducted into six Halls of Fame and has received five honorary university degrees.