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 November 2011

Wendi Murdoch’s Lao Tong

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Wendi Deng Murdoch lifted the veil on her homeland, China, in her first feature film, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Today in the Huffington Post she teaches us more Chinese and the power of women with “lao tong” that translates “friends for life.” Read her full piece here.

Senator Chris Dodd hosted Ms. Murdoch at a special screening of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and celebrated 10 years of “how the practice of Chinese-American co-productions has led to a vibrant productive partnership between two countries’ film industries.” Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yesui, Senator and Mrs. Jim Sasser, Ambassador from Singapore, Chan Heng Chee, and Washington media mavens Ed Henry, Roxanne Roberts and Hilary Rosen.

Check out Ralph Alswang’s photos from the MPAA screening below:

Glamour DC Delegates Dunn, Rosen and Psaki!

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Washington was well represented at Monday’s Glamour Magazine Awards at Carnegie Hall. Leading Democratic women including Hilary Rosen and Anita Dunn congratulated Awardee Arianna Huffington as she told the crowd, “everything good that happened to me happened because a man wouldn’t marry me.”
Jen Psaki, new Washington Honcho for Global Strategy Group, attended with Katie Lillie and Mark Kornblut from Ambassador Susan Rice’s office.  The VP’s office was well represented by Courtney O’Donnell.  Kiki Ryan from Susan G. Komen for the CURE, CBS’s Christine Delargy and the Running Start team led by Suzannah Wellford Shakow were also in attendance.
Check out the photo gallery for a peek at the famous Trattoria Dell’arte’s nose overlooking a Washington style after party.

Matt Dornic Moves To CNN

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Washington favorite, Matt Dornic, will be heading to CNN as Director of Public Relations for CNN Worldwide. Dornic told WHC Insider, “the position at CNN blends perfectly my passion for news media and experience in public relations and emerging technologies. Working with some of the greatest minds in the business – Christa Robinson, KC Estenson and Susan Grant – will be both a challenge and an incredible privilege.”

He spent the last few years at Quinn Gillespie & Associates and as co-editor of MediaBistro’s FishbowlDC.  Politico’s Mike Allen broke the news this morning of the job change and talked to QGA’s Jack Quinn who said “I’ll miss him terribly.” I think the rest of DC would agree.

Matt Dornic with Christine Delargy at the Jefferson for a WHC Insider bash

White House Correspondent, Julie Mason to be host of SiriusXM's "The Press Pool"

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Julie Mason, veteran White House correspondent, will be hosting The Press Pool on SiriusXM P.O.T.U.S. beginning Friday, November 18.  “Julie combines wide-ranging experience with a passion for journalism and fairness. That matches the mission of P.O.T.U.S. perfectly. She’s intelligent, funny, engaging and connected—all of which will give listeners fresh insight into politics,” says Tim Farley, P.O.T.U.S. Program Director.

Jake Tapper and Julie Mason outside the White House gates

The three-hour program will will focus on “political coverage through the eyes of beat reporters, columnists, bloggers, and commentators and features live airings of the White House press briefings, as well as breaking news and unfiltered audio from Washington, D.C. and around the country” according to a press release.

“Mason is a 10-year veteran of the White House beat and longtime national political reporter. She has covered the White House for The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Examiner and most recently, Politico. She also co-hosted a daily political radio show, Mason & Jones, on KKTL-FM in Houston. She is a member of the White House Correspondents’ Association Board of Directors and a frequent contributor to MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel.”

Steve Clemons is ‘Ambidextrous'!

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While WHCI favorite Steve Clemons is gathering a reporting string in China, The Washington Diplomat give him aces in a profile. Writer Michael Coleman describes him as, “employing a mixture of non-ideological intellectual curiosity, a clear, easily digestible writing style and a tireless, roll-up-the-sleeves work ethic, Clemons has gradually emerged as one of Washington’s premier foreign policy opinion leaders.”

Read the full profile here.

Steve Clemons with writer Dustin Lance Black and Andrew Oros

David Chalian moves to Yahoo News as Washington Bureau Chief

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Hilary Rosen, Jo Dee Winterhoff, Campbell Spencer and David Chalian

PBS Newhour’s political editor, David Chalian, is moving to Yahoo News as their Washington bureau chief.  This is a big move for Yahoo heading into the 2012 election, having just announced a partnership with ABC News (which is where Chalian won an Emmy for producing President Obama’s inauguration).

Read the full story from Yahoo here.

Jimmy Kimmel to host 98th White House Correspondents' Dinner

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Host of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be the entertainment for 2012’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner as reported by People.

“Jimmy’s humor is sophisticated and edgy while appealing to a wide audience,” said Reuters journalist Caren Bohan, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. “We are thrilled that Jimmy has accepted our invitation to be the featured comedian at our annual dinner.”

Read the full story here.

Will Jimmy Kimmel Man Up for Moms too?