White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Archives for June 2010

Larry King: "Hanging Up the Nightly Suspenders"

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Larry King announced on Tuesday that he will step away from his CNN chair in the fall after a remarkable 25 years on the air, earning the Guinness Book of World Records title for the longest running show with the same host in the same time slot on the same network.

“It’s time to hang up the nightly suspenders,” he told viewers, confirming what his Twitter followers learned just before showtime. As the host of the first-ever worldwide phone-in TV talk show, the breaking news reached the realm of new media as “Larry King” quickly became a trend in the social web.

While King, 76, will no longer be hosting his nightly program Larry King Live, he has signed a contract with CNN to do specials for the cable network. King hopes the new schedule will allow “more time for my wife and I to get to the kids’ Little League games.”

There will be plenty of time to head down memory lane; it’s estimated King has done about 50,000 interviews. Tammy Haddad, Larry King Live Executive Producer from 1985-1993, told NBC’s Today Show that King’s secret to success was that “people would get so comforable with him they would say things they didn’t plan on saying…he engaged them at such a level.”

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The months ahead are also sure to be full of speculation over who will fill King’s seat. Rumors hint at British talk show host Piers Morgan, but King disclosed on Tuesday’s broadcast that American Idol host Ryan Seacrest would be his choice.

MSNBC Beats CNN in Primetime

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CNN may be celebrating its 30th anniversary, but that’s about all they have to be happy about these days.

According to the latest Nielsen Media Research, MSNBC beat CNN in primetime in the first half of 2010 among both total viewers and in the key adult demographic. MSNBC also beat CNN in primetime for second quarter of 2010. Year to date, MSNBC is on track to beat CNN for the second year in a row among Adults 25-54 and for the first time ever among total viewers.

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” is pacing to beat CNN for the year for the first time since 2000 in its time period. Meanwhile, CNN’s “Larry King Live” and “Campbell Brown” had their worst quarters ever among both Adults 25-54 and total viewers. This was CNN’s worst performance in primetime in nine years, since 2Q 2001.

CNN isn’t the only one losing viewers these days. Turns out all three major broadcast network evening news programs were down in 2Q 2010 compared to the same period last year.

Robert Byrd, 1917-2010

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Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), the longest-serving member of Congress in US history, died earlier this morning at a Virginia hospital. He was 92.

Politico leads off with Byrd’s rise through West Virginia and his time in the Ku Klux Klan before endorsing President Obama. They follow up with a collection of remembrances from the Senate, including Mitch McConnell:

“Sen. Byrd combined a devotion to the U.S. Constitution with a deep learning of history to defend the interests of his state and the traditions of the Senate. We will remember him for his fighter’s spirit, his abiding faith, and for the many times he recalled the Senate to its purposes.”

There are currently no plans for Byrd’s funeral, but a successor will be chosen shortly.

The New York Times leads off with the health care debate and Senator Byrd’s condition:

Mr. Byrd’s death comes as Senate Democrats are working to pass the final version of the financial overhaul bill and win other procedural battles in the week before the Independence Day recess. In the polarized atmosphere of Washington, President Obama’s agenda seemed to hinge on Mr. Byrd’s health. Earlier this year, in the final days of the health care debate, the ailing senator was pushed onto the Senate floor in his plaid wheelchair so he could cast his votes.

The Charleston Gazette brings up Senator Byrd’s infamous bid to move the CIA offices and reaction to being named Porker Of The Year in 2002 by Citizens Against Government Waste (“Such criticism rolled off me like water from a duck’s back,” Byrd wrote in his autobiography.)

At The Takeaway, Senator Byrd’s defiant and poetic attitude is clearly summed up in an exchange outside the Senate:

Once during the height of the Iraq War, Byrd slowly passed through a group of reporters on his way to the Senate floor. I remember him stopping, turning toward us and wagging his finger. “The Fourth Estate. The Fourth Estate! Defenders of liberty!” he shouted as he shot his index finger into the air. “Defend it,” he said, as he looked at each of us. “Defend it.”

C-SPAN Checks In with D.C. History

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C-SPAN taking its digital roots further into the District with Foursquare may not sound important, but it’s fantastic news for trivia nerds.

The cable channel’s reason for joining the geo-tagging service is simple enough: be ‘friends’ with C-SPAN. Check in at a certain D.C. venue and get a bit of history. If you check into the Washington Hilton, you’ll get a prompt to watch the 2010 White House Correspondents Dinner speech from President Obama. The plan, according to Fishbowl DC, is to further expand  C-SPAN’s Digital Bus to tag political locations across its U.S. Tour.

Of course, it’d be just as nifty to learn some history depending on where you’re near–such as getting a nudge to go past the old Yenching Palace address in Cleveland Park that closed three years ago and helped end the Cuban Missile Crisis. Or if you happen to be at Good Guys, find out about the Russian spy who escaped through a bathroom window and ran up Wisconsin toward the Russian Embassy.

So friend C-Span and hope they start adding more of the fun side from the Beltway gang.

Fake AP(ps) and Reports are The New Attack Ad

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So long Daisy and Demon Sheep; hello mobile phones and faux-reports!

The Washington Post reports on Robert Ehrlich Jr.’s recent advertising campaign to take back the governor’s seat this year. Instead of a generic spot airing on the cable networks, the former Maryland governor provides on-location briefings via YouTube “covered” by Andy Barth, a former TV reporter and now acting as his press secretary.

[Read more…]

Tale of the Tweets: Obama v. Obama

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Obama’s premiere Oval Office speech last week was the worst of social media and the best of social media.

Mashable ran “Obama Speech on BP Oil Not A Hit with Facebook and Twitter Users” after taking data provided by Crimson Hexagon from “83,000 Tweets and public Facebook comments” over a nine hour shift. But taking such things into account can provide little feedback, especially when 15 percent of the poll were annoyed they missed So You Think You Can Dance and the other five questioned why so many people would anonymously make fun of the president.

[Read more…]

Will The iPad be the 2010 Crackberry?

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The Official iPad of WHC Insider

Who knew the iPad would become the unsung hero of Capitol Hill?

Politico reports that the gigantic iPhone–which is also making a steady increase around the Beltway–is becoming the go-to device for congressmen. Representitive Jason Chaffetz (R) neatly sums up the why: “It’s light; it’s portable. It’s accessible information. I love it.”

The iPad love is being supported among both parties, including Darrell Issa and Cliff Stearns, especially if it means an end to the backbreaking binders and committees swarmed by paper. Even better? It may kill the Blackberry addiction that has held D.C. in a vice grip for years.

DCist provides a round up of links to state the case that Apple is slowly encroaching on the nation’s capital. One day, it may even take the spot that Blackberries hold in the Beltway’s heart–presumably after the fears of leaked customer information that Valleywag reported earlier this month are taken care of. But like that matters if you’ve already sold 3 million of them, according to Mashable.

The iPad remains the ultimate staffer dream: a lighter, somewhat more portable crackberry that means an end to endless binders, show bibles and 50-lb drafts of legislation. Not to mention more people to play Words With Friends!