White House Correspondents Insider

If you are watching President Trump’s coronavirus press briefings then you already know that the reporters are social distancing, but it may be too late for one reporter. The White House Correspondents Association’s President Jonathan Karl sent a letter to inform members that the reporter with the “suspected case of COVID-19” was at the White House on March 9, 11, 16 and 18. The White House Correspondents Association asked all journalists who attended press events at the White House during any of those four days “to review public health guidance, consult their medical professionals and take the appropriate next steps.” 

President Trump and Vice President Pence attended press briefings at the James S. Brady briefing room on three of the days that the reporter was present. White House officials say that the president and the vice president both already tested negative for the coronavirus.

The White House Correspondents Association also announced that they would be revising the temporary room seating chart that they put in place March 15th for the James S. Brady briefing room. The first version of the temporary seating chart reduced the capacity from 49 reporters to 25. This newest change will further reduce that capacity down to just 14 reporters. 

The White House Correspondents Association contacted the unnamed reporter’s news organization and the Office of the President’s Physician to ask that “all members who can stay home or work remotely please do so.” The White House Correspondents Association went on to ask reporters to practice caution. “Please do not come to the White House if you do not have a workspace or an assigned seat on that day. And please DO NOT come into the White House if you are feeling at all ill.”

President Trump has expressed concern about the number of reporters in the press room, even after the number of reporters had been reduced to 25. Just last Thursday, Trump said to the members of the press that, “Really, we should probably get rid of about 75, 80 percent of you. I’ll have just two or three of you that I like in this room. I think that’s a great way of doing it.” 

The White House Correspondents Association reminds us in their letter that, “As we have said since this crisis began, our priority is to ensure that we can maintain a healthy pool to provide coverage of the president.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) announced Saturday that the 2020 White House Correspondents’ Dinner will be postponed to a later date. The annual dinner, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 25th, is among the latest major DC events to reschedule amid the coronavirus pandemic.

WHCA President and ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl said he had been monitoring the situation since early March. He told reporters last Thursday that the WHCA was “exploring alternative dates” for the high-profile annual dinner. The WHCA tweeted on Sunday that they are “unable to go ahead with its 2020 dinner on April 25.” The WHCA has yet to announce on a new date for the dinner.

The WHC Dinner joins a number of other noteworthy cancellations in the DC area. All Smithsonian Museums and the National Zoo have been closed since March 14th, and the National Cherry Blossom Festival has cancelled or postponed all of its major events this year. 

In early March, the Gridiron Club announced the cancellation of their annual dinner for only the third time in its 135-year history and the first-ever cancellation for public health reasons. The Gridiron Club was also considering the optics of hosting a light-hearted gathering of media elites during a global pandemic when making their decision. “We’ve always taken the view that it’s appropriate to have political humor even when times are dark,” said Gridiron President Craig Gilbert. “The difference with coronavirus is the health issue.”

The WHC Dinner announced comedian headliners Kenan Thompson from SNL and Hasan Minhaj from the hit Netflix show, “Patriot Act,” signaling a return to the comedic tradition of past dinners. We hope that the WHCA will be able to uphold that tradition at a later date this summer. Even with the rescheduled date, it is unlikely President Trump will attend, having missed the last three dinners during his presidency.

It was a great gathering of Democrats, Republicans, media and diplomats to celebrate the publication of Bret Baier’s new history book, “Three Days at The Brink” at Cafe Milano. Co- hosts included Amy Baier, Tripp & Amy Donnelly, Ambassador and Mrs. Yousef Al Otaiba, Franco Nuschese, Raul & Jean Marie Fernandez, David & Carrie Marriott, Ande & Mae Grennan, David Tafuri & Anastasia Vakula, Evan & Cindy Jones and Tammy Haddad.

The packed crowd of well-wishers heard co-host Tripp Donnelly share the high level praise for Bret’s work on this book and his previous books elevating important historical times. Mr. Baier shared the news making moments his research revealed on the planning of the future of the world at the Tehran conference with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin.

Guests included Wilbur and Hillary Ross, Sen. Roy and Abby Blunt , Norah O’Donnell and Geoff Tracy, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Jonathan Karl, Mike Allen, Norah O’Donnell and Geoff Tracey, Phil Rucker, Brian Stelter, Chris Isham and Jennifer Maguire, Ruth Marcus, Rick Klein, Brian Stelter, Shannon Bream, Carol Melton, Barbie, Robert and Elena Albritton, Capricia Marshall, Dan Meyers, Kevin Latek, Juleanna and Becca Glover,Donald Graham and Amanda Bennett, Ryan Williams, John McCarthy, Anita McBride, Ambassador Elin and Lala Suleymanov, Ambassador and Mrs. Stuart Bernstein.

Guests enjoyed Cafe Milano’s special cocktails and yummy hors d’oeuvres with a packed crowd enjoying a starry sky. To see if Bret Baier is coming to your town and see his other titles click here.

 

Presidential candidates make their way to the famed Soap Box at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines because Iowans host the first in the nation caucus for the 2020 election. Spanning 445 acres,11 days with a million attendees, the fairgrounds are home to all sorts of rides, games, animals, and this year even a wind turbine blade.

The first Iowa State Fair was held in Fairfield. Moving around the state beautiful the fair finally settled into a permanent home in 1878. The candidates appear on the Soap Box 50 square feet stage, hosted by the Des Moines Register newspaper. Each candidate gets an allotted amount of time to speak and answer questions to convince the fairgoers to vote for them. We arrived very early to set up our camera to capture the candidates and try to get interviews. I learned there is much waiting time when working on a news show. We shot video of Montana Governor Bullock, Marianne WVice President Joe Biden, and former congressman John Delaney.

My job was to follow our host Greta Van Susteren, the Gray Television Political Analyst. As she approached Vice President Biden he surprised us by grabbing her hand and having her walk with him as she asked him questions. It was exactly what we wanted and more because it made her look more important walking with him through the crowd. It was great video. She is the host of a new political show on Gray TV called Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren.

Before we left, we walked down the main street to see a 150-foot wind turbine blade. Greta proceeded to interview the wind association representative and I continued to shoot video while the local TV station cameraman put a microphone on Greta and the guest.

Before we went to the fair we visited a farm. The Kimberleys, Grant and his father, Rick, grow soybeans and corn on their multi-generational family farm and they shared the problems they face. China President Xi visited their farm to see where the soybeans are grown. We began at Kimberley’s farm house and walked through the fields as Greta interviewed both of them. Grant explained how farmers grow and export soybeans. In addition, he informed us of the challenges of weather to crops. With the ongoing trade war with China, the American soybean business is in jeopardy. China does not need American soybeans as much since they are using technology to grow them in places they were not able to grow before. After we finished the interview, Rick showed us a picture of him and President Xi. President Trump visited him as well. Here is the story that was cut to run nationally on Full Court Press with Greta Van Susteren.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 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.

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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.