White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

MEET THE PRESS DEBATE VICTORY

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The only people benefiting as much from the debates as the candidates are the shows and networks who are hosting them.  Meet The Press, leaped ahead of the traditional New Hampshire ABC News Saturday night debate by cutting a deal with Facebook and locking in the candidates early. Mediabistro’s Chris Ariens gets an early look at the questions sent into Facebook.

“Now that Iowa is behind us, it’s on to New Hampshire. ABC airs a GOP debate Saturday night and NBC has one Sunday morning — both with one less candidate — as a special “Meet the Press” and inconjunction with Facebook.

MTP goes live at 9amET each Sunday, but airs at various times on NBC affiliates across the country. But this Sunday, the debate will also air live on MSNBC at 9am. At the same time, this page will be up and running for Facebook users to ask questions and share thoughts about the candidates.

For the past few months NBC News and Facebook have been asking voting-age users what they think is the most pressing issue facing them. Here’s the break down:

In New Hampshire:
Economy: 58%
Federal Budget Deficit: 19%
Health Care: 11%
Illegal Immigration: 6%
Foreign Policy: 5%

Nationally:
Economy: 56%
Health Care: 12%
Illegal Immigration: 9%
Foreign Policy: 5%
Federal Budget Deficit: 5%.

The NBC News Facebook Debate on “Meet the Press” will also:
• air live and re-air on MSNBC
• air live on New England Cable News (NECN) throughout New Hampshire and New England
• stream live and be available on demand on msnbc.com and on facebook.com/Uspolitics”

TV Newser: With Iowa Caucus Early Media Numbers

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TV Newser’s Chrie Ariens has the fast nationals for Tuesday’s Iowa Caucus coverage.

“During the long night that was the 2012 Iowa Caucus, Fox News came out on top in the ratings. For the first contest of the 2012 GOP presidential nomination process, FNC averaged 2.6 million Total Viewers in primetime. That’s about what the network does on an average night, but it doubled CNN’s take of 1.3 million (which is about double what CNN does on an average night). FNC also lead in A25-54 viewers averaging 683,988. Among the three cable news channels, Fox News was also the only one to see Total Viewer and A25-54 increases from the 2008 Iowa Caucus, when Democrats and Republicans both had candidates vying for their party’s nomination.”

  • Primetime (8-11pmET)

FNC: 2,630,909 / 683,988 A25-54
CNN: 1,310,366 / 486,184 A25-54
MSNBC: 1,195,230 / 302,631 A25-54

  • Full night (7pmET to-3amET)

FNC: 2,144,817 / 636,868
CNN: 999,518 / 390,118
MSNBC: 932,412 / 258,602

  • Ratings Peaks

FNC: 10:00-10:15pm with 3.1M / 880,000 A25-54
CNN: 10:15-10:30pm with 1.5M / 664,0000 A25-54
MSNBC: 10:00-10:15pm with 1.3M; 12:00-12:15a with 385,000 A25-54

  • Comparisons to Iowa 2008 (7pm-3amET):

FNC: +30% in Total Viewers / +7% A25-54
CNN: -36% in Total Viewers / -38% A25-54
MSNBC: +1% in Total Viewers / -36% A25-54

(Source: Nielsen Fast Nationals)

CLICK on http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/fox-news-leads-in-coverage-from-iowa-peaks-with-3-1-million-at-10pm_b105138

CABLERS CaucusTeams: Maddow + Burnett Get Promotion

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Two women get rare promotions in the cable news world. Rachel Maddow is MSNBC’s sole anchor of their coverage and new CNN anchor Erin Burnett has earned a slot on the CNN’s election desk.  Keith Olbermann anchors CURRENT TV’s coverage.  Here is the New York Times’ Brian Stetler’s preview of your favorite channel’s coverage.

“America’s trifecta of cable news channels, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN, are just about ready to show off their election year staffs.

Each channel plans to cover the one-night Iowa caucus for a stretch of several days, maximizing both their investments in the state and the ratings potential of a Republican presidential campaign.

On caucus night, Jan. 3, each channel will replace its usual prime time schedule with special reports. The extensive coverage plans highlight the importance of politics to the bottom lines of the cable news channels.

Past ratings indicate that the more seriously the channels treat events like the Iowa caucus, the more viewers tune in. So the networks are starting early.

Candy Crowley, the chief political correspondent for CNN, will report from Iowa starting Wednesday. Chris Matthews will anchor his MSNBC show, “Hardball,” from there starting Thursday, and the MSNBC anchors Chuck Todd and Andrea Mitchell will be there starting Friday.

But the coverage will be most visible starting Sunday, when the weekly public affairs programs like “Fox News Sunday,” anchored by Chris Wallace, and “State of the Union,” anchored by Ms. Crowley, will emanate from the state. On Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern, both Fox and CNN will have caucus previews.

On Monday, the day before the caucus, more cable anchors will plant themselves in Iowa, including the Fox News anchor Shepard Smith and the cast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” Sean Hannity also will have his radio show and prime time Fox show there.

A new generation of anchors have stepped up since the last presidential election, so the coverage this year will look quite different than it did on Iowa caucus night in 2008. Back then, Brit Hume and Mr. Wallace led Fox’s coverage; this time, the co-anchors will be Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly.

They will both be in Iowa beginning Sunday. On Tuesday, they will be on from 8 to 11 p.m.; Mr. Hannity will then be on until midnight.

Similarly, in 2008, Keith Olbermann and Mr. Matthews led MSNBC’s coverage; this time, Rachel Maddow will be the main anchor, joined by Mr. Matthews and the channel’s other three prime time hosts, Ed Schultz, Lawrence O’Donnell and the Rev. Al Sharpton.

They will be on from 6 p.m. until midnight; then Chris Hayes, a weekend host, will be on until 1 a.m.

Current TV, the upstart competitor to MSNBC, has scheduled four hours of special caucus coverage on Tuesday starting at 7 p.m.

CNN’s top two anchors back in 2008, Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper, will be on again this year, but joined this time by Erin Burnett, who joined the network earlier this year from CNBC. They will also be joined by Ms. Crowley and John King, who will be stationed at his “Magic Wall.”

They will be on from 7 p.m. to midnight, when Piers Morgan will take over for an hour.

CNN, which generally is lower rated than Fox or MSNBC, but benefits from big periods of breaking news, seems to be positioning itself as a nonpartisan option for viewers who perceive Fox to favor Republicans and MSNBC to favor Democrats.

In a news release on Wednesday, CNN’s Washington bureau chief, Sam Feist, said, “As the only cable news channel that has not chosen a side in this election, CNN will tap into the expertise of our anchors, reporters and analysts to equip viewers with information to decide for themselves about the candidates.”

The main anchors for the network news divisions also will be in Iowa for the caucus. Additionally, CBS says that Bob Schieffer, the Sunday morning “Face the Nation” host, will be an anchor on “The Early Show” on the morning of the caucus. “The Early Show” is being replaced a few days later by a new morning program called “CBS This Morning.”

CNN, meanwhile, is using the caucus to introduce its new morning team. On Tuesday, Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin will start their new 5 to 7 a.m. shift, and Soledad O’Brien will start her new 7 to 9 a.m. shift.”

Hitchens: The TV Gladiator

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Christopher Hitchens and Graham Moore

Every pundit that has tried to make a point, throw a punch, or declare victory should pause today to salute Christopher Hitchens.

He burst on the U.S. media scene first on William F. Buckley Jr.’s television series Firing Line, then on CNN’s Larry King Live and Crossfire in the early Reagan Presidency. He (along with now presidential candidate Newt Gingrich) knew immediately that cable television was the new media play for serious public policy combat. The “disruptors,” as our web friends say now. Hitchens didn’t talk to the empty chairs each night on C-SPAN as Gingrich did to make his points and show the American people that he was still at work, he just swung for the rafters with every comment on the only two cable shows.

Pat Buchanan, a great verbal brawler in his own right, is the only person I ever saw who could anticipate the blows. Hitch had a big fight with Bob Novak once on Crossfire and Bob banned him from the show for a while. It was like losing a world champion. I think Bob finally let us bring him back because he knew Hitch had real fight in him, and we kept bringing up his name.

Hitch was even more dangerous in person. The twinkle, the total confidence — he never missed anything. To be invited to Hitch’s home was Washington’s equivalent of the Vanity Fair Oscar party. There was no doubt that anyone who mattered would be there. With his incredible wife and partner, the writer Carol Blue, you knew you were at ground zero for intellectual conversation.

When longtime friend Christopher Buckley’s book, Thank You for Smoking, hit the movie screens, I attended a small dinner celebration at the Metropolitan Club. Being with these magical word masters and best of friends on such an important occasion was a total treat. These gladiators of language would throw something in the air and it would burst into fireworks dazzling those lucky enough to watch it rain down. It was then I decided the greatest TV show of all time would be The Dueling Christophers. (Yes, I did later pitch the idea to PBS.)

Carol, Hitch and I went to the Naval Academy to attend the memorial service for the father of our friend, Elizabeth Edwards. Hitch wanted to be there for his friend. After selling millions of books condemning religion, to my surprise, he gently sung all the hymns. I asked when the last time he was in a church and he said six months earlier at Bill Buckley’s funeral.

One of my favorite TV stories was when a young ABC News producer booked him to give funeral commentary for one his favorite targets, Mother Teresa. It was another brief but great Hitchens TV moment. You didn’t have to share his beliefs to share his passion for debate. He was voted one of the top five public intellectuals on a website for a publication only the very elite read; we used to joke he moved down the list when he quit smoking. In the last few years, when I was lucky enough to get to know him well, he was telling me about his summer plans. I interrupted him to tell him I already knew his exact schedule and told him every TV producer in town knew about his annual trips and his phone numbers at the various locations. He was a ringer, a sure thing, and we tracked him like a criminal to bring into an important show.

Last year I asked him if he would talk to a young writer, Graham Moore, who had just signed with Jonathan Karp at Hitch’s publisher, TWELVE. Hitch guided Moore through the publication of the best selling novel, The Sherlockian. During a book party for The Sherlockian at Vice President Biden’s home, Moore got to meet and thank Hitch for his mentoring. Despite serious health challenges, Hitch was determined to go and finally meet his protégé in person; and in the company of all who glitter in Washington no one twinkled more than Hitch, with Carol and his kids at his side. For a town and an industry still mourning the loss of Tim Russert, this is a painful day. So let’s drop our iPhones and iPads, and raise a glass to remember a great gladiator.

Grove Attacks WH Press Corps: The View from Michael’s

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Former Washingtonian and Washington Post reporter Lloyd Grove has picked up the attack against White House correspondents launched by Ana Marie Cox last year.  Ana Marie, did you spend anytime with Lloyd at Michael’s when you visited your new GQ editors in NYC? Grove’s Daily Beast blog recently harrumphed against the hardworking, hard tweeting members of the most exclusive club in Washington journalism – the ones who report to work at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

While I enjoy Michael’s like the next media maven, what’s so wrong with covering the leader of the free world 30 feet from his office and home? Grove’s complaint about Robert Gibbs tweeting reminds of when we began putting Ross Perot and President Bush and a former governor by the name of Bill Clinton on Larry King Live in 1992.  Our newsroom colleagues lamented the end of journalism, but social media didn’t just start on the Internet; interactivity has always been an important part of journalism.

Ask Dan Pfeiffer, the president’s communications director, how much his press shop likes responding to the five reporters who call with follows on each White House reporters’ tweet.  Take a quick look at the stories and interviews done by NBC’s Chuck Todd and Savannah Guthrie as well as ABC’s Jake Tapper; you want them to pull back and tweet from Café Milano?

Tell WHC Insider what you think after reading Lloyd Grove’s column.

Obama Originals and Regulars Reunite at HBO Party

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“By the People,” the HBO documentary by Amy Rice and Alicia Sims, brought together top Obama campaign veterans and the press corps that followed them through the historic 2008 election for a backslapping, bear-hugging reunion at the newly renovated Motion Picture Association of America. HBO President Richard Plepler greeted top White House advisers Anita Dunn, Austan Goolsbee, Dan Pfeiffer, Sarah Feinberg, Bill Burton, Mike Blake, Dag Vega, and Washington’s newest Chicago import Susan Sher, the First Lady’s longtime friend and chief of staff.

The filmmakers’ Obama bus mates were well represented in the 80-plus crowd beginning with bestselling author Richard Wolffe, Obama “original” Juliana Goldman, Lynne Sweet, plus several campaign heavy hitters: Mike Allen, Mark Leibovitch, Jeff Zeleny, and David Jackson.

Representing the 2008 TV and pundit corps: Hilary Rosen, Jonathan Capehart, Betsy Fischer, and David Chalian.

The party went into overdrive when Reggie Love huddled with Richard Plepler; one line formed to take photos with Love and another to shake hands and schmooze with Plepler.

Washington’s elite came out to watch the HBO screening: Ben Bradlee, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, George and Liz Stevens, and Bob Barnett. And all eyes were on Barnett and the HBO chief, as they huddled over their upcoming projects.

Obama media man Jim Margolis and White House Communications Director Anita Dunn spoke after the screening, reminding the crowd that Rice and Sims joined the campaign in 2006.  And after an inspiring speech about the campaign, Margolis told how he meticulously prepared for commercial shoots at the critical campaign moment Rice and Sims were always present, whether it was around the campaign office or stepping in a the right moment to get the shot of the candidate who made history. Dunn said the film captured the special feeling of what it was like to work on the campaign and that “there will not be another campaign that was like the Obama 2008 campaign…people felt that they were a part of something much bigger than one individual.”

Reggie Love, who was always one step in front of or behind Obama in the film, attended the screening with two BlackBerry’s in hand, greeting many of those who spent hours covering the candidate or working on the campaign.  MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe, who made several appearances in the film, cheered and laughed along with his colleagues as the audience could see through the camera lens the sometimes quiet and sometimes frantic moments of the campaign.

For many it was a chance to relive the excitement of the campaign, for others it was to catch up with Obama people who are now running the country.

“By The People” premieres November 3rd at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO.

Important Women Queen Rania, Indra Nooyi, Sarah Brown Focus on Maternal Health at NYC Dinner

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The Important Dinner for Women isn’t important because of the women who are there (though there were lots of important women there: Queen Rania, Indra Nooyi, Sarah Brown, Ann Curry, Susan Axelrod, Naomi Campbell, Wendi Murdoch, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts, Tyra Banks … the list goes on), but because of the important cause that brings them together.

Cindy Adams quotes Sarah Brown in her NY Post article:

“Women are more likely to die giving birth than to go to school. Women are considered zero. A woman’s only asset is her body. And each year half a million die in childbirth.”

Read the rest of Cindy’s article here: “Lovely ladies spotlight female mortality rate”

And check out some of the photos from the event:

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Team Obama Rocks the Stage

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Relase Party for the Beatles Rock Band

Release Party for the Beatles Rock Band

The Obama campaign team famously hung together in Chicago and reportedly spent what little “down time” there was available playing Rock Band.

Tuesday night looked like a campaign reunion with Katie McCormick Lelyveld on drums, Jon Favreau on bass, Jenny Cizner and Adam Frankel on vocals, and Katie Johnson on guitar at the Entertainment Software Association’s release party for the Beatles Rock Band video game.

At Gibson Guitar’s showroom in downtown D.C., politicos joined media mavens living the dream on the video game stage. The floor rocked when Viacom’s DeDe Lea (who revealed she was born 9 months after the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan show) and Senator Jim Webb’s Kim Hunter were joined by White House Visitors Office Director Ellie Schafer, Craig Hagen, Director of Governmentt Affairs, Electronic Arts and Rich Taylor from ESA. (And yes, he really did reenact Kanye West’s MTV awards show contretemps to the roar of the crowd.)

ROCKBAND The Beatles - Invite

Also stepping up to the microphone: Representatives Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Joe Crowley, who won rave reviews for their performance of Beatles favorites.

Rock Lighter ruled and there was no mention of health care.

Check out the rest of the photos here!

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Obama Protocol Chief Capricia Marshall Makes a State Splash

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Valerie Jarrett, Desiree Rogers Offer Support

Capricia Marshall and Family

Capricia Marshall and family with Sec. Hillary Clinton

The Ben Franklin Room of the State Department was filled with stars and stargazers, as well as family and friends, as Secretary Hillary Clinton presided over the swearing-in ceremony for her longest-serving aide, Capricia Penivac Marshall, as chief of protocol.

Marshall, the former Clinton White House social secretary and campaign veteran, came to Washington with the Clintons in 1992. Secretary Clinton shared a hilarious Inauguration story about Marshall being stuck outside the White House gate.

It wasn’t just Clinton friends. Top Obama pals Valerie Jarrett, Desiree Rogers, and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Chief of Staff Susan Sher, were there to pay tribute to the newest executive in charge of diplomatic activities for President Obama. Roger’s deputies Ebs Burnough and Joe Reinstein had a crowd of admirers lined up to say hello.

CLICK here to see Marshall’s official list of duties.

Marshall’s protocol team includes some Washington’s savviest veterans, including deputies Lee Satterfield and Dennis Cheng. Her team debuts on the world stage this month with one of the biggest diplomatic gatherings of the year: the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh.

Obama State Department Ambassadors Elizabeth Bagley (Global Partnerships) and Melanne Verveer (Global Women’s Issues) added their shine to the large crowd. Clinton family members, from mom Dorothy to daughter Chelsea, cheered for their close friend. Marshall’s 9-year old son Cole mugged and husband Rob Marshall looked shocked by Clinton’s shout out to him as “the best cardiologist in the world.”

Parents Frank and Mary Penavic beamed and assorted cousins from her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, watched the ceremony.

Former protocol ambassadors Lucky Roosevelt, Lloyd Hand, Lea Berman, Evan and Kit Dobelle joined former White House Social Secretary Ann Stock and veterans of other administrations in their own mini-reunion

Celebrity guests included: Greta Van Susteren and her husband John Coale, Mandy Grunwald, Janet Howard, Ann Orr, Claire Shipman, Michael Feldman, Melissa Moss and her husband Jonathan Silver.

Pam Stevens, once Condoleezza Rice’s press secretary and now press adviser to Ambassador Nancy Brinker and Race for the Cure, caught up with old friends as Betsy Fischer and other media types worked the room. New York’s fabulous event planner, and Marshall pal, Bronson Van Wyck drew his own crowd.

Terry McAuliffe had a double-barreled receiving line around him; no surprise there. He also hosted a Friday night gathering at his McLean home.

Check out the photo gallery:

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Obama Star Alan Krueger is Celebrity Tennis MVP at Kastles Charity Tournament

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Krueger_ServesIMG_6470

Alan Krueger

With Redskins superstar Darrell Green and tennis great Ilana Kloss, it was hard to imagine that a former Princeton economics professor would be the breakout star of the first annual celebrity tennis match to benefit the American Red Cross on the final night of the Washington Kastles season.

Alan Krueger, Assistant Treasury Secretary for Economic Policy, impressed his team and his media/political opponents — including Senator Evan Bayh, Fox’s Brett Baier, CNN’s Ed Henry and ABC’s Jonathan Karl. Coaching on the sidelines: Billie Jean King and the GEICO Caveman.

Caveman Green

GEICO Caveman with Darrell Green

Bloomberg’s Al Hunt and Margaret Carlson called the game in a Washington version of the Wimbledon voice over. Celebrity ball kids included Patrick Henry (8), David (8) and Rachel (10) Greenberg, Betsy Fischer’s daughter Ella (8), and Jonathan Karl’s girls Anna (9) and Emily (12).

Insiders were disappointed that Washington fav Gene Sperling had to cancel his appearance due to meetings, but Kreuger was the tournament’s MVP. Kastles owner Mark Ein has expanded the reach of the franchise, only in their second year, and with this first-ever charity celeb match has created a new Washington tradition.

Check out all the photos …

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and check back later for video highlights.