Freelance reporter Elaine S. Povich is a veteran Washington Correspondent. Until embarking on her freelance career, she covered Congress and politics for Newsday for eight years. Prior to joining Newsday, she was a Freedom Forum fellow engaged in a study of the relationship between Congress and the media. She is the author of "Partners and Adversaries: The Contentious Connection Between Congress and the Media," written during her fellowship and published in 1996.

Before her fellowship, Povich was the Chicago Tribune’s chief congressional correspondent. In 1995, she was awarded the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting on Congress.

Povich also has specialized in covering economic and health issues. She started her career with United Press International, joining the news service in Jackson, Miss., and spent the bulk of her tenure with UPI in Washington. She held a number of editing and reporting positions at UPI, the last of which was congressional reporter.

Povich is also the recipient of the 1989 Women in Communications "Clarion" award for her story on the impact of the stock market crash on Chicago markets and federal regulation of those markets.

Povich is a member of the Gridiron Club, a selective organization of Washington print journalists. She is a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes journalistic history and issues. Born in Bath, Maine, she is a graduate of Cornell University. While at Cornell, Povich was awarded a Newspaper Fund scholarship and participated in the Fund’s internship programs.

Povich is married to Ronald Dziengiel, a manager with Northrop Grumman Corporation, and lives in Laurel, Maryland. They have two children, Mark and Kenneth