White House Correspondents Insider

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

Tammy Haddad Launches New Podcast, Cone of Silence, Featuring First Guest David Mandel

By

Tammy Haddad, the CEO of Haddad Media and co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of WHCInsider.com, is launching a new podcast called Cone of Silence. The podcast will serve as an extension of the White House Correspondents Insider channel on Apple Podcasts and AudioBoom.

Cone of Silence was inspired in part by Amanda Katz, one of the top editors at CNN.com, with the idea of sharing how things really work behind the scenes — from presidential campaigns or television comedies, to any of the out-of-sight things going on today in politics, business, entertainment, and technology.  

Haddad’s first guest — who she interviewed this week in LA leading up to the Emmys — is David Mandel, the award-winning executive producer and showrunner of HBO’s Veep. Mandel’s comedy career began at Comedy Central and Saturday Night Live. Mandel went on to produce some of the greatest comedy hits of our time, including Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Veep (since taking over in Season 5).

In the first episode of Cone of Silence, Haddad gets the inside scoop on how the Veep team put together the last season and created the incredibly fitting finale (be warned: spoilers!). 

Haddad and Mandel also discuss what it’s like to work (twice) with the amazing Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and what it takes to stay on top of the comedy game. Plus, they share how Veep always seems to be ahead of the news cycle (we’re talking Washington insiders!).

Don’t miss the first episode of Cone of Silence. Available on Apple Podcasts and AudioBoom.

“Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” Premiere Brings Politics Home, Democratic Presidential Candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Reacts to Congressional Efforts to Impeach President Trump, DNC Debate Exclusion

By

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gray Television’s Show Debut also Includes Exclusive Interview with former NFL Head Coach Tony Dungy

 

Washington, D.C. – Gray Television’s “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” premiere today welcomed Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard and former NFL head coach Tony Dungy. Joining Ms. Van Susteren with reports from the field were Teri Russell from KOLO in Reno, Nevada, and Nick Ochsner from WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

 

Gray’s Chief National Political Analyst, Greta Van Susteren, interviewed Tulsi Gabbard on a number of topics including the current effort by the House Judiciary Committee to vote to define the impeachment investigation of President Trump, the Democratic National Committee (DNC)’s decision to exclude her from the upcoming debate and a variety of other topics. This is the first time Gabbard has commented on the House Judiciary Committee’s effort on impeachment.

 

Watch Greta’s full-length interview with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Full Court Press Overtime.

 

Van Susteren: Congress is coming back this week, and the House Judiciary Committee is planning on voting on an expanded impeachment inquiry. Do you support this?

 

Gabbard: I don’t. I think it’s important for us to think about what’s in the best interest of the country and the American people. Continuing to pursue impeachment is something that I think will only further tear our country apart… We need to defeat Donald Trump, and I think it’s important for our country’s sake and our future that the voters in this country are the ones who do that, and I believe that we will.

 

“Full Court Press” is a Sunday political show broadcast on all of Gray’s 93 markets and syndicated in leading cities including New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles covering 76% of the country. Greta Van Susteren joined Gray Television as an anchor and political analyst in April 2019. 

 

For further information on channel listings and upcoming showtimes, please visit FullCourtGreta.com. Be sure to check out “Full Court Press-Overtime” on Gray’s digital platforms for extended interviews and additional related news content. 

Greta Van Susteren Begins New Sunday Show “Full Court Press” for Gray Television

By

“Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” show premiere brings politics home with two exclusive guest appearances. First, Democratic Presidential Candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former NFL Head Coach Tony Dungy.

 

“Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” and Coach Tony Dungy September 8, 2019

“Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” is taking on politics from the local community point of view. Joining Ms. Van Susteren with reports from the field were Teri Russell from KOLO Reno, Nevada, and Nick Ochsner  WBTV Charlotte, North Carolina. Watch  HERE.

Gray’s Chief National Political Analyst, Greta Van Susteren, questioned Tulsi Gabbard on her reaction to new Congressional efforts to Impeach President Trump, President Trump’s diversion of Defense Department finds to build a wall at the border, DNC Debate Exclusion and her suit against Google. on a number of topics including the current effort by the House Judiciary Committee to vote to define the impeachment investigation of President Trump, the Democratic National Committee (DNC)’s decision to exclude her from the upcoming debate and a variety of other topics. This is the first time Gabbard has commented on the House Judiciary Committee’s effort on impeachment.

Watch Greta’s full-length interview with Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on “Full Court Press Overtime”. Here are highlights of the show:

Van Susteren: Congress is coming back this week, and the House Judiciary Committee is planning on voting on an expanded impeachment inquiry. Do you support this?

Gabbard: I don’t. I think it’s important for us to think about what’s in the best interest of the country and the American people. Continuing to pursue impeachment is something that I think will only further tear our country apart… We need to defeat Donald Trump, and I think it’s important for our country’s sake and our future that the voters in this country are the ones who do that, and I believe that we will.

Mr. Dungy, who has met with five U.S. presidents including President Trump, called for voters to take a stand if they are unhappy with the current state of politics in America during his interview with Van Susteren.

Coach Dungy: I think we need to make a difference, as an electorate, and say, ‘If this is not working, if this is not what I want in my country, I need to not elect those types of leaders. But somehow we’ve got to attract the right people back into politics. It’s tough for people who want to bring that type of mindset to go into the political arena now, because that’s not what wins, that’s not what we elect. And I think we need to make a difference, as an electorate, and say, “If this is not working, if this is not what I want in my country, I need to not elect those type of leaders.” But somehow we’ve got to track the right people back into politics.”

“Full Court Press” is a Sunday political show broadcast on all of Gray’s 93 markets and syndicated in leading cities including New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles covering 76% of the country. Greta Van Susteren joined Gray Television as an anchor and political analyst in April 2019.

For further information on channel listings and upcoming showtimes, please visit FullCourtGreta.com. Be sure to check out “Full Court Press-Overtime” on Gray’s digital platforms for extended interviews and additional related news content.

Lisa Allen is the Executive Producer of “Full Court Press,” and Sandy Breland, Senior Vice President of Gray, is the Executive in Charge. WVUE New Orleans anchor Lee Zurik, Director of Investigations, and the award-winning team of Investigate TV will also contribute to the show. Cary Glotzer, CEO of Tupelo-Raycom, is the Executive in Charge of Production.

Greta Van Susteren Joins The Sunday Political Show Sweepstakes

By

Greta Van Susteren is back and bringing local news to Washington opinionmakers. Gray Television announced today that “Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren,” it’s new weekly syndicated Sunday political show, is set to air on Sunday, September 8th. Gray’s Chief National Political Analyst, Greta Van Susteren, will host and moderate the show from Washington, D.C.

“Full Court Press” will premiere in more than 76% of the country including all of Gray’s 93 markets as well as New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

The first episode will feature Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard as Greta’s first guest.

“Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren” is bringing politics home to highlight how Americans are affected by Washington policy decisions through headliner interviews as well as on-the-ground reports. The show will tap a broad bench of Gray Television journalists, creating the Full Court Press correspondents team to report from the communities where they live.

Gray will also launch a new OTT and social media show, “Full Court Press-Overtime” to provide viewers and users more critical content to explore all sides of a complex issue.

“It’s a perfect time to highlight politics through the local lens as viewers rank local news as their most trusted source. We look forward to Greta bringing her firm but tough approach to broadcast television,” Sandy Breland, Gray Television’s Senior Vice President for Local Media.

Click here for channel listings and showtimes, please visit FullCourtGreta.com.

Touring the Shinola Watch Factory in Detroit

By

Painting the watch bands at the Shinola Watch Factory in Detroit

Shinola was originally a brand of shoe polish made by the American Chemistry Corporation in the 1930s and now it is a leading global watch manufacturer. The defunct name was part of an informal lexicon carried through the generations with the oft quoted phrase, “you don’t know shit from Shinola.” The utterance of which inspired the founder, Tom Kartsois, to purchase the name and make it their own brand. But the purpose of founding Shinola was to create 100 jobs in Detroit. They first took 4 months to be trained by Rhoda AG, an independent Swiss watchmaker. Now Shinola employs 300 people. They also hire students from the CCS school. Tom Forrest, Shinola’s Brand Ambassador says he can feel the creative energy and it’s part of what makes the culture of Shinola unique.

Shinola headquarters is located in the Argonaut building in Detroit. The building has a history of its own; the GE commissioned Albert Khan office building was a research laboratory, the birthplace of the Model A. GE gave the building to the College of Creative Sciences. On the 5th floor of that design school there is a watch factory called Shinola. Before touring the factory, we sat down with the founder, Tom Kartsotis. He told us the story of Shinola, and their development: the first product was a watch. The second product was a bicycle. The second product was really important to them because they needed to keep the momentum going. Shinola partnered with the last remaining Schwinn workshop in Wisconsin to produce the “Runwell” bike. The bikes were not made a headquarters, but the watches were. Upstairs in a glass wall climate controlled lab, our tour guide pointed to each person, their name, and explained to us what part of the watchmaking process that person was handling. Technicians wore white coats and paper hair nets, it looked a bit like a chemistry setup. On the other side of the floor we toured the rest of the factory.

Downstairs, we visited a mock up store in the middle of the 5th floor, complete with orange Christmas trees seen in stores around the holidays because Shinola believes the store experience is key to their brand.

Shinola Watch factory

Bolts of leather for watch straps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As for the watches, Larry, our guide, explained that there are four components to a leather watch strap, brought together to be both flexible and durable. He showed us how the four leather parts are integrated at each stage of the process. Each part is administered by a different technician, by hand. On this side, the technicians wore long blue coats with white Shinola lettering. The employees were happy to let us watch them at work and show us what they were doing; it is clear that from the top down Shinola is committed to craftsmanship. The products also have a strong visual appeal and that is in part due to the creativity of these employees in Detroit. Shinola headquarters was less like a watch factory and more like a studio- the care and skill of these workers is an exciting part of this new era of American manufacturing.

Tammy Haddad, Megan Murphy, Shinola Brand Ambassador and Larry tour the Shinola Factory in Detroit

This is my first visit to a factory and this is a happy one with smiling employees, the smell of leather and the clang of machines punching holes in the leather straps to make Shinola’s global customers part of the re-emergence of Detroit.

NYU professor and author Scott Galloway shares the secret to lasting happiness and satisfaction

By

Marketing professor Scott Galloway’s new book, “The Algebra of Happiness,” was celebrated recently at a party in Washington, D.C. hosted by Hilary Rosen, Kara Swisher and Tammy Haddad. He participated in a conversation with Haddad during the event that was recorded for the Washington Insider podcast (listen here).

Galloway’s book gives advice on how you can have a happier life by looking at things in a completely different way. It’s based on a standing room-only lecture he gives during the final session of the course he teaches at NYU’s Stern School of Business.

This was Galloway’s sixth time visiting Washington, D.C. On previous trips, he has met with senators to educate them about technology and what is going on with companies in the tech industry. Galloway, who has owned several businesses, warns people about the dangers of technology companies and the problem with giving them access to all our data. He believes “we have become overrun because of our gross idolatry of innovators and billionaires…and we no longer worship at the alter of character and kindness in this country, but of tech billionaires.”

During the interview, Galloway also talks about who he thinks are the two most dangerous people in the world. Listen to the podcast to hear his answer and why he thinks those individuals are a threat to society and democracy.

Guests were encouraged to dress in “gangster chic” attire for the event. Galloway talks about gangster movies when describing people who are operating at the highest levels. Lynda Carter, the singer and original Wonder Woman, was the first guest to arrive in full gangster attire and won the prize for best dressed at the party! Galloway is relentless in his criticism of the unchecked power of technology companies.

Following is a list of who Politico Playbook spotted at the event:

SPOTTED at a party Wednesday night for Scott Galloway’s new book, “The Algebra of Happiness” ($13.61 on Amazon), hosted by Kara Swisher, Tammy Haddad and Hilary Rosen: Steve and Jean Case, Cameron Barr and Shar Taylor, Maureen Dowd, Sally Quinn, Jim Bankoff, Lis Smith, David Chavern, Danielle Burr…

…Eric Schultz, Megan Smith, Carol Melton, Jeremy Peters, Heather Podesta, Betsy Fischer Martin, Robyn Bash, David Sanger, Bob Costa, Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan, Steve Clemons, Juleanna Glover and Christopher Reiter, Lulu Meservey, Kaitlan Collins, Kelley McCormick, Yamiche Alcindor, Ruth Marcus, John McCarthy and Holly Page.

Galloway and Swisher are also co-hosts of the popular Vox podcast, Pivot, a weekly throw down about the biggest stories in tech, business, and politics. During the podcast interview that took place at the book party, interactions between Galloway, Swisher and other guests were as entertaining as the conversations that take place during their own podcast.

The event was hosted at CNN contributor Hilary Rosen’s home. Food was provided by refugee chefs through Foodhini. Dog Tag Bakery veterans honored Galloway with a special batch of Connie’s Brownies.

News Media Alliance CEO David Chavern Testifies Before U.S. House, Continues Fight for Business of News

By

On Tuesday, June 11th, David Chavern, President & CEO of the News Media Alliance, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law to advocate for The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (H.R. 2054).

The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act aims to provide a safe harbor from antitrust laws to allow news publishers to collectively negotiate with tech companies like Google and Facebook.

According to Chavern’s testimony, “ 93% of Americans get at least some of their news online.” However, he continued:

“The result of the tech platforms’ regulation of the news industry has been to siphon revenue away from news organizations. This trend is clear if you compare the growth in Google’s total advertising revenue to the decline in the newspaper industry’s ad revenue. In 2004, Google’s US revenue (which came overwhelmingly from digital advertising) was $2.1 billion, while the newspaper industry accounted for $48 billion of advertising revenue. In 2017, in contrast, Google’s US revenue had increased over twenty-five times to $52.4 billion, while the newspaper industry’s ad revenue had fallen 65% to $16.4 billion.”

Read David’s full testimony here.

The News Media Alliance’s ultimate goal is to “work with online platforms to give Americans the best news content and experience possible” while also “return[ing] value to the great and important journalists who create the news content on which we all depend.”

In addition to Chavern, other witnesses included: Mr. Gene Kimmelman, President, Public Knowledge; Ms. Sally Hubbard, Director of Enforcement Strategy, Open Markets Institute; Mr. Matthew Schruers, Vice President, Law and Policy, Computer and Communications Industry Association; Mr. David Pitofsky, General Counsel, News Corp; and Mr. Kevin Riley, Editor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Senate announced its version of the bill (S. 1700) on June 4 and is co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

Watch the full hearing here.

News Media Alliance Briefs Congress on The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act of 2019

By

The News Media Alliance and President & CEO David Chavern held a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill on Monday, June 3rd, alongside co-sponsors Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) to highlight the fight for the business of news against tech giants Google and Facebook. Axios’s Mike Allen and Jonathan Swann shared why they have moved from traditional media to web-based.

Here are the highlights:

Until now, the Google/Facebook Duopoly has dominated internet traffic and content prioritization using proprietary algorithms and leveraging news organizations without paying a fair price for quality content. According to the News Media Alliance, the Duopoly captures 90 percent of all digital ad revenue growth and approximately 60 percent of total U.S. digital advertising. The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act aims to provide a safe harbor from antitrust laws to allow news publishers to collectively negotiate with tech companies like Google and Facebook.

Rep. Doug Collins—who originally introduced the successful Music Modernization Act of 2018, which brought music licensing its first meaningful update in almost 20 years—said at Monday’s briefing:  “Twenty percent of the newspapers have closed in the last 15 years—1,800 papers since 2004. Rural communities have seen more than 500 local newspapers close or merge since then. Almost 200 counties in the country have no local newspaper, and half of the 3,143 counties have only one newspaper…If we’re going to solve [problems] and look to the future, this kind of legislation…has to say ‘how are we going to fix this in the next 5, 10, 15 years?’”

Rep. David Cicilline, Chairman of the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, said, “This is a really important issue for everyone in our country because we all recognize that our democracy is strongest when we have a free and diverse press.”  He continued, “Last year, Facebook and Google amassed more than $60 billion from online advertising…and despite record levels of online readership, news publishers have seen a steep decline in revenue during the rise of these technology giants. The bottleneck is bleeding news publishers dry.”

Chavern moderated a panel discussion with Toni Bush (News Corp), Nicole Carroll (USA TODAY), Jonathan Kanter (Paul Weiss), and Neil Patel (Daily Caller).

Today, the Senate announced its version of the same bill (S. 1700). U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) has teamed up with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), a presidential contender, in sponsoring the bill.

“We are thrilled that two bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have championed this legislation, which speaks to its widely understood importance,” said Chavern.

A hearing will be held next week on the House bill, H.R. 2054.

New Volta Insider Podcast: Rachel Greenberg interviews Jay Leno, Jean Case and Alice Tapper

By

Rachel Greenberg, the host of Volta Insider, interviewing Jay Leno on the red carpet of the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch

In the latest episodes of Volta Insider, Rachel Greenberg finds inspiration at the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch. The three new episodes each feature a different message that will inspire you to be more fearless, serve others, and help you to encourage the young women in your life to raise their hand and use their voice.

Greenberg spoke with Jean Case, author of “Be Fearless” about what steps we can each take in our lives to be more fearless both personally and professionally. Find out what being fearless means to MSNBC anchors Ali Velshi and Stephanie Ruhle, activist and makeup artist Bailey Bolden, actor Michael Kelly, and US Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham. LTG Bingham took home the “Be Fearless” award at this year’s Garden Brunch.

Lt. Gen. Gwen Bingham, Don Lemon and Alice Tapper at the 2019 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch. Alice Paul Tapper is the author of the book “Raise Your Hand”

The next podcast is with Alice Paul Tapper, Girl Scout and author of the book “Raise Your Hand.” When Alice noticed girls in her class – including herself – weren’t raising their hands as often as the boys, she talked to her mom about it who suggested Alice bring it up with her Girl Scout Troop. She did, and now there is a new patch which Girl Scouts earn for participating in events and activities.

The third podcast is with legendary comedian and TV host Jay Leno who was at this year’s Garden Brunch to help honor veterans. He shared how we can all do our part to support veterans and military families. 

In partnership with Wells Fargo and the Military Warriors Support Foundation, Leno surprised Purple Heart recipient, U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Angela Morales-Biggs of Manassas, Virginia, with the WHC Garden Brunch Champions of Freedom Award and the keys to a brand new, payment-free Nissan Pathfinder from Jones Junction Auto Group.

Subscribe to Volta Insider on iTunes here.

Follow Rachel Greenberg on Twitter @VoltaInsider 

In satisfying ‘Veep’ finale, Selina gets what she wanted — and the final indignity she deserved

By

The Washington Post
By Hank Stuever
TV critic
May 13 at 1:56 AM
Spoiler alert: This review discusses the series finale of “Veep.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer in the series finale of “Veep.” (Colleen Hayes/HBO) 

A fond and appropriately bitter farewell, then, to the beautifully shriveled heart of HBO’s pitch-perfect Washington satire “Veep,” which ended Sunday night with the fullest possible symphony of f-bombs, c-words and manic maneuverings, as its antihero, Selina Meyer (the incomparable Julia Louis-Dreyfus), finally got what she always wanted — the presidency of the United States — only to have live coverage of her state funeral (24 years later) interrupted by the breaking news that actor Tom Hanks had died.

Selina’s victory didn’t come easily, because nothing in Selina’s inglorious career as a public servant ever did. You’ll be thrilled to know that she never found happiness.

But viewers certainly did. In a satisfyingly conclusive, supersized episode (written and directed by “Veep” showrunner David Mandel, who took over from the show’s creator, Armando Iannucci, a few seasons back) “Veep” luxuriated one final time in history-making swerves of political fate, echoing the bizarre events that had previously landed Selina in the Oval Office for a term that was so short it’s why they invented asterisks.

This time, Selina’s party (the show was always coy about which party she belonged to) was split among feuding nominees, leading to the first deadlocked convention in almost 70 years. Selina had to scrape and connive her way to her party’s nomination at its 2020 convention in Charlotte. The harder she tried to win over more delegates, the more she lost — leading to the horrifying prospect that the imbecilic, upwards-failing Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) might secure the nomination.

Jonah’s improbable rise with voters this season was “Veep’s” lone, slight nod to real-life American politics and the Trump administration. The more reprehensible he became, the more he looked like a sure bet. Even poor Amy Brookheimer (Anna Chlumsky), who suffered years as Selina’s chief of staff and later campaign manager, found a new kind of political salvation on Jonah’s campaign. Instead of fighting stupidity, she teased her hair and went on TV to argue, in a Kellyanne Conway-ish way, that facts are just opinions.

For the past two seasons, some viewers (and certainly a lot of reporters and critics) have asked how “Veep” could possibly compete with the real headlines of the day. The show’s answer, usually, was to deliver story lines that were inventively absurd and even funnier than anything lampooned on “Saturday Night Live” or in late-night monologues. It was a tad disappointing to watch as “Veep” subtly acquiesced in these last few episodes to the idea that it must somehow weigh in on actual events, lining its subplots with foreign governments interfering in elections (China, in Selina’s case) and the rise of a candidate who subverts everything we once knew about traditional campaigning and leadership.

Happily, the finale leaned far more on “Veep’s” established strengths as a work of fiction. More than anything, viewers will miss the repulsive rat-a-tat dialogue of Selina in high dudgeon — it was the show’s core, the reason Louis-Dreyfus won an impressive six Emmys in a row for the role.

When her rival and former lover Tom James (Hugh Laurie) tried to step into the race as a last-minute savior/solution to the convention’s deadlocked votes, Selina delivered what may have been one of the most deliciously scorching diatribes to James’s aide, Michelle York (“Better Call Saul’s” Rhea Seehorn).

Can I repeat it here? Not much of it, except: “I just hate to see smart women throw their political careers away on men who only see them as the [slur for a body part] of least resistance.”

It worked. The next day, Michelle appeared on the news shows, accusing James of sexual harassment. And just like that, Selina’s final obstacles begin to fall away. Against everyone’s pleading, she makes Jonah her Veep, for no one knows better than Selina what an inescapable purgatory of insignificance that job can be. It’s a suitable punishment.

Selina made other decisions that were painful but necessary; one led to permanent estrangement from her emotionally fragile daughter, Catherine (Sarah Sutherland), and the other landed her loyal bagman, Gary Walsh (Tony Hale, who provided so many of the show’s funniest moments), in federal prison.

Gary, now old and paroled, came to Selina’s funeral anyhow. “You’d hate the flowers,” he whispered to her casket, leaving a tube of her favorite lipstick atop it.

Sentiment and genuine emotion was hardly ever “Veep’s” forte, but it was hard not to feel a little wistful at its passing. Mandel and his outstanding cast made sure everyone got more or less what they deserved. Thankfully, most of them left politics — except the enigmatically good-natured Richard Splett (Sam Richardson), who became a popular two-term president and Nobel Peace Prize winner. It was as if “Veep” was telling us that the nation’s future may yet wind up in better hands.