White House Correspondents Insider

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

Washington Post Names Steven Ginsberg as New National Editor

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Steven Ginsberg has been named the new national editor at The Washington Post.

The Post welcomed Ginsberg into his new role by announcing that:

“For the past six years, Steven has brought a combination of zeal and Zen to the leadership of our national political report, inspiring reporters and editors to deliver fast-paced, creative and revelatory work.  A master of recruiting, retention and the morale-boosting chat, he has built the politics team into the powerhouse it has become, delivering peerless coverage of the 2016 race and the early months of the Trump presidency.”

He steps into the national editor role after former editor Scott Wilson left the position earlier this month.  He left “after disputes with his superiors over newsroom resources for his coverage areas,” sources said.

Ginsberg has worked at The Washington Post since 1994, when he joined the paper as a nightside copy aide.  He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.

White House Lawyer Overheard Discussing Russia Probe at Restaurant in DC

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Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Ty Cobb, a top attorney on President Donald Trump’s legal defense team, was overheard by reporters at a prominent Washington, DC steakhouse discussing White House strategy dealing with special prosecutor Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russian influence.

Cobb was brought in to oversee the White House’s legal and media response into the Russia probe last July, and was talking openly at BLT Steak with Washington lawyer John Dowd, who has experience in high-profile political cases.  Cobb and Dowd were sitting next to New York Times reporter Ken Vogel, who could clearly hear the conversation.

“The friction escalated in recent days after Mr. Cobb was overheard by a reporter for The New York Times discussing the dispute during a lunchtime conversation at a popular Washington steakhouse. Mr. Cobb was heard talking about a White House lawyer he deemed ‘a McGahn spy’ and saying Mr. McGahn had ‘a couple documents locked in a safe’ that he seemed to suggest he wanted access to,” reported the New York Times.

White House chief of staff John F. Kelly “erupted” and reprimanded Cobb for his indiscretion of discussing sensitive matters loudly in public, according to several people contacted by the New York Times following the incident.

“If you’re sitting, talking with someone at dinner, you need to be careful,” said Rep. Chris Collins, when asked on CNN about public officials audibly discussing official business in a public venue.

Comedy Central Extends Trevor Noah’s Contract Through 2022

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Photo courtesy Comedy Central.

Earlier today, Comedy Central and Trevor Noah announced that they have agreed to a contract extension to keep the popular comedian and television host behind the late night desk on the Emmy-winning smash The Daily Show with Trevor Noah through 2022.

President of Comedy Central Kent Alterman celebrated the announcement stating, “Trevor makes us look smart on a daily basis, and for that we’re grateful.”

Similarly, Trevor Noah expressed his gratitude to the network and his fans for helping bring another five years of his late-night show to the airwaves.

“I’m thrilled to be continuing this amazing journey with both fans of The Daily Show and Comedy Central.  It’s really exciting to renew this contract for either five more years or until Kim Jong Un annihilates us all – whichever one comes first.”

Under the contract extension, Noah will remain as host at The Daily Show through 2022, in addition to his roles of writer and executive producer.  He will also host and produce year-end specials for the network beginning in December 2017.

Noah has found outstanding success since joining the network in 2015, especially among millennial and Generation X viewers.  In the third quarter of 2017, The Daily Show increased its viewer share among millenials an astounding 28% compared to last year, more than triple the growth of any other late night talk show.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah airs on Comedy Central Monday through Thursday at 11:00 PM EST and is available to stream the following day on thedailyshow.com and via the Comedy Central mobile app.

‘The Weather Channel’ Viewership Surges During Hurricanes

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Photo courtesy Pixabay

Cable television viewers flocked to The Weather Channel last week, driven primarily by concerns over recent hurricanes bombarding huge portions of the United States.

The channel had averaged approximately 150,000 viewers in prime time throughout July.  Last week, according to Nielsen ratings, roughly 1.3 million people tuned in during peak hours – nearly a ten-time spike in viewers.

The Weather Channel has featured 24-hour coverage of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma during the past few weeks.  Nearly 70 reporters and producers have deployed to Texas, Louisiana and Florida to cover both of the deadly and devastating storms blasting the region.

“People are tired,” said Nora Zimmett, senior vice president of programming for the Weather Channel.  “But there is an adrenaline that comes with an event like this.”

‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ Adds New Correspondent Dulce’ Sloan

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Photo courtesy Comedy Central.

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah just added new correspondent Dulce’ Sloan to the roster, with her scheduled to debut this week with an in-studio desk piece.

According to a release issued by Comedy Central,

“Sloan is truly a unique emerging voice in the world of comedy.  She offers a fresh and honest perspective, bringing her signature point-of-view and confidence to commentary on a wide range of topics.”

Sloan was recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the ten comedians you need to know, as well as “New Face” at Montreal’s 2015 comedy festival Just for Laughs, and also as a correspondent at E! News Daily.  She has appeared on Conan, Steve Harvey, @midnight, and truTV’s Comedy Knockout.  Most recently, Sloan was cast in the Fox comedy pilot Type-A alongside Eva Longoria, Andy Richter and Ken Marino.

‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’ airs on Comedy Central Monday through Thursday at 11:00 P.M. EST and is available to stream the following day at thedailyshow.com.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Most-Watched Show in Cable News in August

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Rachel Maddow speaking at SWSX. Photo courtesy Wikimedia.

Rachel Maddow had the most-watched show in cable news for the month, with 2.783 million total viewers in August, according to data released by Nielsen Media Research.  This marks the second consecutive month the MSNBC host landed at the top spot.

Closely behind was Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, with 2.679 million total viewers.  Rounding out the top five news shows were Fox News’ Tucker Carlson (2.483 million), MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell (2.352 million) and Fox News’ The Five (2.351 million).

Maddow also was first among adults 25-54, a critical demographic for advertisers.

Fox News Channel edged out competitors including MSNBC and CNN for top overall cable network for the month, averaging 2.2 million viewers in prime time.  Fox has been the top-rated cable network based on total day ratings for 14 consecutive months and most watched cable news channel in both total day and prime viewers.

Top UN Human Rights Official: Freedom of Press Under Attack by Trump

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Photo courtesy John Gillespie.

The top human rights official at the United Nations stated that freedom of the press is under attack by U.S. President Donald Trump.

”It’s really quite amazing when you think that freedom of the press, not only sort of a cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution but very much something that the United States defended over the years is now itself under attack from the President,” said Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He continued, “it’s sort of a stunning turnaround.  And ultimately the sequence is a dangerous one.”

President Trump has consistently attacked the mainstream media, even before his inauguration as a candidate.  His standard response to news stories that aren’t positive of him or the administration consists of him ripping the media as “fake news” and accusing journalists of being unpatriotic.

At a political rally in Phoenix last week, Trump claimed that journalists are “truly dishonest people” following criticisms of his response to a white supremacist rally in Virginia where he blamed “both sides” for the violence.  One woman was killed when a man attending the rally drove his car through a crowd of counter-protestors.

Fox News Host Receives Death Threats After Segment Criticizing Trump

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Fox News building on 6th Avenue in NYC. Photo courtesy Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons.

Fox News host Eboni K. Williams berated President Donald Trump in her Monday “Eboni’s Docket” segment, blasting him for failing to call out white supremacist groups when condemning violence over the weekend in Charlottesville.  In an interview with Variety, she said her email was flooded with “seething, scathing” take-downs in response.

Some of the comments she received included statements that she “should meet [her] maker soon,” and that she “shouldn’t be allowed to walk the streets of New York.”

“When you don’t speak out and condemn, that’s tacit compliance in my book,” Williams said. “So whether President Trump approves of it actually, or actually wants it, I think is irrelevant because what we know is that these people think they are acting on behalf of the President of the United States.”

Many have criticized Williams for not addressing counter-protests that occurred in Charlottesville during her segment.  “I don’t think they were at fault because they didn’t drive a car into a crowd of people and kill Heather Heyer,” she replied. “That was one individual that self-identified as a white nationalist and Nazi. To even have an analysis beyond that is irresponsible.”

Williams has received extra security from Fox News, and is currently escorted to and from the network building when she arrives and leaves work.

White House Correspondents Association Receives Press Freedom Award

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Photo courtesy AFS-USA Intercultural Programs.

The White House Correspondents Association will be honored by the National Press Club and its nonprofit Journalism Institute with its John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award.

Named after the late president of the National Press Club and a renown journalist dedicated to press freedom, this award is presented annually to two recipients — one domestic and one foreign — at the annual Fourth Estate Gala, to be held in October.  The recipients are recognized for “demonstrating through their work the principles of press freedom and open government.”

In announcing the decision, the National Press Club said that

“While there are a number of worthy potential recipients this year, the Club and Journalism Institute chose the White House Correspondents’ Association for its tireless — and often thankless — efforts to maintain lines of communication with the leaders of our government and stand up for public access, all while enduring insults, public ridicule and not-so-veiled threats.”

The Club also noted that “the toxic environment for reporters in Washington is making it more difficult for journalists at a state and local level to keep the public informed.”

The press corps of Mexico is this year’s foreign recipient of the Press Freedom Award.

Fox News Could Not Find Any Republican to Defend Trump On-Air Regarding Charlottesville Statement

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Fox News building on 6th Avenue in NYC. Photo courtesy Jim Henderson via Wikimedia Commons.

On Wednesday, Fox News host Shephard Smith announced on-air that his network failed to find a Republican willing to defend President Donald Trump and his comments on the violence in Charlottesville last weekend.

“Our booking team — and they’re good — reached out to Republicans of all stripes across the country today,” Smith said during his broadcast. “Let’s be honest, Republicans often don’t really mind coming on Fox News Channel. We couldn’t get anyone to come and defend him here. Because we thought, in balance, someone should do that. We worked very hard at it throughout the day, and we were unsuccessful,” he continued.

Following violence at a white supremacist rally on Saturday in Charlottesville that resulted in the death of 32-year old Heather Heyer and injured nearly 20 other counter-protesters, President Donald Trump said “both sides” were to blame, while also claiming there were some “very fine people” in attendance of the white nationalist rally.

“And,” Smith continued, “of those that are condemning the president’s condemnable actions, I’ve not heard any prominent leaders, former presidents, members of the House or the Senate use his name while speaking in generalities,” Smith said.

UPDATE:  Other networks have announced similar problems.

Chuck Todd, NBC:  “We invited every single Republican senator on this program tonight, all 52.”  Plus a dozen House Republicans.  “None of them agreed to discuss this issue with us today.”

Wolf Blitzer, CNN: “We did reach out to Republican leaders throughout the day.  They all, at least for now, refused to join us.”