Here's the AP story on Helen Thomas' resignation on May 16, 2000, from UPI:
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Veteran journalist Helen Thomas resigns as UPI changes hands
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Helen Thomas, United Press International's White House correspondent for nearly 40 years, resigned today as the news agency's ownership turned over to the parent company of The Washington Times.
"I do not intend to stay," Thomas said in a statement. "United Press International is a great news agency. It has made a remarkable mark in the annals of American journalism and has left a superb legacy for future journalists. I wish the new owners all the best, great stories, and happy landings."
UPI Chief Executive Officer Arnaud de Borchgrave initially said Thomas, 79, would remain with the company. "She told me 48 hours ago that if I stayed, she was staying," he said Monday.
De Borchgrave could not be immediately reached for comment today. UPI reported on its wire that Thomas resigned after 57 years of service -- more than half of UPI's 93 years.
Thomas has been a fixture at the White House since the Kennedy administration. Considered the dean of the White House press corps, she is known for her terse, tough questioning of presidents and press secretaries alike.
Thomas portrayed herself in the film "The American President," and a few weeks ago, made a cameo appearance President Clinton's video spoof of his lame duck days in the White House. In that video, Thomas was the lone reporter in the abandoned White House briefing room, snoozing on the front row as Clinton made a statement.
When Clinton called for questions, Thomas snapped awake and quipped: "Are you still here?"
UPI's sale was the latest in a series of changes of ownership of the wire service.
The company was sold to News World Communications Inc. by Worldwide News Inc., a consortium of Saudi Arabian investors that had bought it in 1992 for about $4 million.
Under the deal, News World Communications gets all the major assets of UPI including its name and trademark, de Borchgrave said. He not disclose the terms.
News World Communications owns news outlets around the world and was founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the Unification Church.
The company said it would develop UPI's new focus on providing news to Internet sites and such services as video streaming. It also plans to boost UPI's operation with new technologies and distribution practices.
"UPI will maintain its editorial independence and build on its reputation for honest, fair-minded reporting that has made it an essential and respected news agency for generations," said Larry Moffitt, special assistant to the president of News World Communications.
The company also will explore opportunities for customized news, covering topics such as national security, science and technology, economics and business.
UPI was sold in 1982 by the Scripps family. Before Monday's sale, it went through two bankruptcy reorganizations and four owners, the latest Worldwide News Inc.
De Borchgrave served as editor in chief of The Washington Times from 1985 to 1991. Before that, he was a senior editor at Newsweek for 25 years.
When he took over as head of UPI in late 1998, de Borchgrave pledged to bring more of the company's business onto the Internet.
"I've wanted to take UPI out of the traditional, conventional news agency arena and create our own arena specializing in high-tech, over-the-horizon development, with links to all the key research centers in America," de Borchgrave said.
UPI got out of the broadcast news business last August, selling its contracts to provide news to more than 400 radio and television stations to The Associated Press.