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 December 2016

WHCInsider Mourns the Passing of Louis Harris

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Louis Harris, known to thousands of political insiders as the ground-breaking public opinion analyst throughout the 1950s through 1990s, passed away Saturday at his home in Key West, Florida at age 95.

Founding Louis Harris & Associates in 1956s, Harris built a reputation as a remarkably accurate forecaster, predicting the election of presidents, governors, members of Congress and scores of other public officials.

Rejecting the title “pollster,” Harris preferred to be called a public opinion analyst, believing the former title trivialized his efforts into gathering data. Instead, Harris was an innovator and entrepreneur who set the stage for generations of analysts and political consultants around the globe in polling methodology and analysis.

Harris was also very active in the media. Throughout the 1960s, he penned columns for The Washington Post and Newsweek, and from 1969 through 1988 he wrote for The Chicago Tribune-New York Daily Syndicate. His columns were printed in over 100 newspapers. Harris also appeared as a commentator on ABC News.

Mark Shriver Celebrates Pope Francis 80th Birthday With New Book

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Pope Francis ascended to the Bishopry of Rome on March 13, 2013, and has awed the world with his humility, humanity and love for all ever since.

In this new era of politics, it is important to remember the thoughts and beliefs of the Holy Father and Mark Shriver does it beautifully in his book, Pilgrimage: My Search for the Real Pope Francis,.

Over the last two and a half years, he researched the book and “learned a lot about what the “least among us” can achieve by working together. I have reflected quite a bit on that and on the Pope’s words since Election Day, and they have reenergized me and given me hope.”

He writes in the Boston Globe over the weekend,

Is his voice relevant as we embark on the era of President-elect Trump, when so many of his Cabinet appointees admire Ayn Rand and her theory of objectivism — that “man exists for his own sake,” that the pursuit of his own happiness is “his highest moral purpose,” that he “must not sacrifice himself to others, nor sacrifice others to himself”?

As Shriver concludes, “Get out of your comfort zone, he says. Get your shoes soiled by the mud of the street.”

We can think of no more appropriate way the Holy Father would want us to celebrate his 80th year on this planet. Thank you Mark Shriver.

First Lady’s Legacy Transcends Race

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First Lady Michelle Obama announces the Best Picture Oscar to Argo live from the Diplomatic Room of the White House, Feb. 24, 2013. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza.

As the Obama transition out of the White House, we can start to gauge the impact of Michelle Obama on the office of First Lady and her role in American history.

From the outset, her status in history books was already assumed to be set: she would be the first African-American first lady.

But it is clear that her impact on society transcends and expands beyond just that single fact.

Entering the White House in 2009, Michelle made clear her first focus was on the Obama girls, Malia and Sasha, who were 10 and 7 at the time. Michelle’s initial travel and event schedule was quieter than prior first ladies, in order to allow her to spend more time with her daughters.

However, on a trip to London that year, Obama realized the influence and empowerment she could bestow through her position, especially with children and especially disadvantaged youth.

“If you want to know the reason why I’m standing here, it’s because of education. I loved getting A’s. I liked being smart. I loved being on time. I loved getting my work done. I thought being smart was cooler than anything in the world,” she said on that trip. This message would be the backbone of her message as First Lady throughout her time in the White House.

Obama started to “turn the needle” to spend time and effort with projects such as childhood obesity, education, veterans and military families, healthy eating, the Let’s Move! Initiative, and even creating a White House garden.

At the dedication of the garden, Obama said:

“This garden has taught us that if we have the courage to plant a seed, just be brave enough to plant it, then take care of it, water it, tend to it, invite friends to help us take care of it, weather the storms that inevitably come, if we have the courage to do that, we never know what might grow. Now that’s what this garden has taught me, to be fearless in those efforts, to try some new things, to not be afraid to mess up. Things we tell our kids all the time.”

Even when she becomes former first lady, Michelle Obama has cemented that message in the lives of millions of Americans and people across the globe.

White House Turns Magical for Christmas Season

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White House Christmas 2011. CC photo courtesy of Tim Evanson on Flickr.

Visitors can tour the White House year-round, though during the Christmas season welcomes people from around the globe to see a holiday celebration like no other.

The theme for this year is “The Gift of the Holidays,” reflecting on gifts that matter, including “service, friends and family, education and good health,” per the White House press release.

The White House has been transformed into a winter wonderland for the Christmas season, complete with over 6,000 ornaments, 8,000 bows and ribbons, 25,000 yarn pom-poms, and over 50 Lego gingerbread houses. The White House invited 92 volunteers from around the country to assist with decorating this year. Rafanelli Events designed the décor.

Guests will find the White House Gingerbread House weighing in at 150 pounds of gingerbread and 20 pounds of icing. A long-standing tradition during the Christmas season, first ladies Martha Washington and Dolley Madison made a soft version of this cake to treat visitors.

This year, only 10% of the decorations are new, with most being recycled or re-purposed from previous Christmas seasons.

If you wish to tour the White House yourself, you can visit the White House Visitors Office website for more information.

WHC Flashback to Ellis Schafer reflecting on the final Easter Egg Roll of the Obama administration earlier this year.  Schafer is the Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and Director of the White House Visitors Office.

Record Breaking Number of Journalists Jailed in 2016

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Latest news from the Committee to Protect Journalists reveals that a record-breaking number of journalists were incarcerated worldwide in 2016.

Largely due to a media crackdown in Turkey following the failed coup earlier this Summer, 259 members of the media were in jails as of December 1. This is the highest number reported by CPJ since they began keeping records in 1990.

At least 81 reporters and journalists are currently imprisoned in Turkey for reasons related to their work, the highest number of arrests by any single country at any given point in time, according to CPJ. There are also dozens more imprisoned in Turkey, although a direct link to their work could not be established.

“Every day that Turkey’s journalists languish in jail in violation of that country’s own laws, Turkey’s standing in the world is diminished,” said CPJ executive director Joel Simon.

China, Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia round out the top five worst jailers of journalists around the globe. North American journalists are in prison in Panama and Cuba.

All Hail Joanna Coles and The Hearst 100 Power Women’s Lunch

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Tammy Haddad and Joanna Coles at Michael’s for the Hearst 100 Women’s Power Lunch. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Women leaders in media, fashion and entertainment converged on the tony Manhattan media destination, Michael’s, to ring in the Hearst 100 Luncheon.

Hearst’s first chief content officer Joanna Coles hosted the lunch, newly elevated to her new role in September, after a smashingly successful tenure as editor in chief at Cosmopolitan.

Coles welcomed the crowd saying “I’m told that Mike Pence begins every meeting with a prayer. I’ll begin our entrée with a prayer and it goes like this: ‘Dear God, protect us from Mike Pence.’”

Cecile Richards also provided remarks to the room of power women on the merits of activism during the incoming Trump administration.

“Many women woke up on the morning of the election in a dead panic… we at Planned Parenthood had a 900 percent increase in women calling to get IUDs [contraceptives] the day after the election,” Richards said. Some of them literally said, ‘I want to get an IUD that will last the full duration of the Trump administration.’”

Cementing the critical role of the media, Richards concluded “women’s magazines and the women’s media have done a heroic job and they did this election in putting women first and telling the stories that no one would tell.”

Guests included Diane Sawyer, Diane von Furstenburg, Arianna Huffington, Megan Murphy, Christine Quinn, Brooke Garber Neidich, Aarthi Ramamurthy, Patti Harris, Charlotte Jones Anderson, Tina Brown,  Gayle King, Norah O’Donnell, Peggy Siegal, and Ali Wentworth.

The Washington squad included Adrienne Arsht, Maria Trabocchi, Tammy Haddad, Stephanie Schriock, Maria Teresa Kumar, Kim Kingsley, Kimball Stroud, and Ilyse Hogue.

Other media stars included NBC’s Stephanie Ruhle, New York Times’ two reporters Vanessa Friedman and Laura Holson and media maven Holly Peterson.

Cecile Richards at the Hearst 100 Power Women’s Lunch. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Joanna Coles at the Hearst 100 Power Women’s Lunch. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Malin Akerman, Star of Billions, and Tammy Haddad. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Hillary Clinton Calls on Congress to Tackle Fake News “Epidemic”

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay / Geralt.

2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is calling on Congress to take action to fight the “epidemic” of fake news online.

Speaking on Capitol Hill, Clinton said that “The epidemic of malicious fake news and false propaganda that flooded social media over the past year — it’s now clear the so-called fake news can have real-world consequences.”

Individuals spreading fake news articles have continued to focus their ire toward Mrs. Clinton, including a high-profile “story” involving a pizzeria in Northwest Washington targeted as the center of a child-trafficking ring operated by Clinton and her top advisors.  A gunman from North Carolina recently was arrested for firing an assault rifle inside the pizzeria after driving six hours to see the situation for himself.

Speaking at a ceremony honoring retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, Clinton said “lives are at risk — lives of ordinary people just trying to go about their days, to do their jobs, contribute to their communities.”

“It’s a danger that must be addressed and addressed quickly,” she said.

Is Megyn Kelly Staying at Fox News?

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2016 Vanity Fair / Bloomberg White House Correspondents’ Dinner After Party. Photo courtesy of Haddad Media.

Rumors are swirling over Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and her future.

Kelly’s contract with Fox expires in the summer of 2017, although the network has already offered her an extension at $20 million per year.

Even so, per Sarah Ellison at Vanity Fair, “Within the last month, according to a person familiar with the discussions, ABC has renewed, and perhaps sweetened, its effort to woo Kelly.”

Kelly spokesperson Leslee Dart replied saying no solid offers have been made by ABC.

“When I asked about the possibility of an offer, a Disney-ABC Television spokesman told me, ‘As much as we appreciate and admire Megyn Kelly’s talents, this is simply not true. There has never been an offer of any job, and therefore there is nothing that could be sweetened. End of story.’”

CNN chief Jeff Zucker also is attempting to bring Kelly to his news network, according to a recent headline on the Drudge Report.  Kelly herself responded to this story on twitter that people shouldn’t believe rumors about her until they hear it from her directly.

FBI Investigating Huffington Post Editor for Tweet

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay / Edar.

Nick Baumann, a senior enterprise editor for the Huffington Post, has been contacted by the FBI for joking about destroying election ballots for Donald Trump.

On October 31, 2016, Baumann tweeted:

“I love my job working at a voting site in washington dc destroying trump ballots [sic]. ”

The following day, Baumann said the tweet was “a joking reference” to a fake news report circulated on right-wing blogs and social media, relying on a forged Wikileaks email stating that Democratic consultants and activsts were “pre-programming” voting machines in favor of Hillary Clinton.  The erroneous news item was picked up by Drudge and Limbaugh as well.

Baumann says an FBI agent contacted him regarding his tweet.  “We recently received some complaints regarding some online postings that were made. I don’t know if you know what that’s in reference to, but would you be willing to sit down with us for a couple minutes tomorrow morning, by chance?”

Although the meeting has yet to take place, Baumann writes that the “investigation is ongoing.”

All Hail Gayle King

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Gayle King, Evan Ryan and Tony Blinken. Photo courtesy of Haddad Media.

Congratulations to CBS for locking Gayle King and congrats to Gayle for scoring $5.50 million per year.

Signing this deal means King will earn $5.5 million each year to co-host the morning news program, alongside Norah O’Donnell and Charlie Rose.

A source from CBS told Page Six, “Gayle is a huge asset to the show, and her chemistry with Charlie is great.  She’s here for the long term.”

While ABC’s viewership declined and NBC remained stagnant, CBS This Morning is the only morning news show to grow in viewership over the past year.  It currently is seen by 3.77 million people, according to Nielsen.

O’Donnell is currently in contract negotiations with CBS, while Rose’s deal extends into 2017.