White House Correspondents Insider

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

White House Communications Director Mike Dubke Resigns

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

After only three months on the job, White House communications director Mike Dubke has resigned. Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18, but the news has only become public, according to stories first published in Axios and the Washington Post.

According to reports, Dubke tendered his resignation on May 18, but offered to stay with the administration throughout President Trump’s first international trip.

As communications director, his primary focus was helping restructure the press operations of the White House, and is leaving on good terms, according to a senior administration official.

Dubke’s last day has yet to be set. It is assumed his job will remain open in the short term.

White House Deliberately Sending Fake News “Leaks” to Journalists

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The White House has been providing intentionally false information and “fake news” to The New York Times, according to White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.

On Twitter, conservative radio talk show host Bill Mitchell posted: “You know what we should do? Start flooding the NYTimes and WAPO tip lines with all kinds of crazy “leaks.”  Then laugh when they print them!”

However, New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman responded that this was already the case, replying “The Trump administration has tried this a few times, sir.  We actually vet these things.”

In a recent interview with the Washington Post, Kyle Pope, editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review discusses the greatest threats to a free press today.

“I think the bigger risk right now is of somebody getting duped — intentional misdirection or fabricated leaks. In this climate, that is more what I would be worried about.”

President Trump has frequently criticized the mainstream media, and particularly The New York Times, saying recently in an interview with a conservative blog that the Times’ “intent is so evil and so bad” that “they write lies.”

Comey Memo: Trump Asked FBI Director to “Lock Up” Reporters

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Photo courtesy Rich Girard via Flickr.

Late Tuesday, the New York Times reported a bombshell that former FBI Director James Comey had authored at least one memo documenting one-on-one discussions he had with President Donald Trump. Most devastating in the reported memo is that the president asked Comey to halt FBI investigations into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

However, other dark hints at the president’s war with the press were also reported in Comey’s memo, including Trump asking the head of the FBI to “consider putting reporters in prison.”

According to the memo, Comey met privately with President Trump following a meeting in the White House with other administration officials such as Vice President Mike Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The president began the discussion with Comey by condemning “leaks” to the media, and asked the head of the FBI to consider putting journalists in prison for publishing classified information.

No American journalist has been prosecuted for publishing government secrets. But President Trump notably said in April that “it’s OK with me” if the Justice Department brought charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

During a House Intelligence Committee hearing in March this year, Comey testified on the topic of jailing journalists.

“That’s a harder question, as to whether a reporter incurs criminal liability by disclosing classified information,” he replied to an inquiry whether there was a law protecting journalists from prosecution.

Comey authored the memo immediately after meeting with the president as a paper trail documenting his perceived improper efforts by the president to influence an ongoing investigation.

Courts routinely consider FBI agents’ notes as credible evidence regarding the contents of conversations.

The White House has so far been silent on the reports regarding the contents of former director Comey’s memo. White House press secretary Sean Spicer did not take questions from journalists travelling on Air Force One Wednesday morning. President Trump also did not speak with reporters aboard the aircraft. Trump’s twitter feed was also uncharacteristically silent Wednesday morning.

Trump Bans U.S. Media at White House Meeting with Russian Officials

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

President Trump met with Russian foreign officials in the Oval Office on Wednesday. The event was listed on the official schedule as “closed press,” meaning no journalists would be allowed in the room.

Soon after the meeting began, several photographs of the president, Russian foreign minister Sergey V. Lavrov and Russian ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak, emerged via TASS, Russia’s official news agency. The Russian foreign ministry also posted photos of the meeting on Twitter.

“We were not informed by the Russians that their official photographer was dual-hatted and would be releasing the photographs on the state news agency,” a White House official told the Washington Post.

U.S. media struggled with how to use the Russian-sponsored photographs and coverage of the event. Fox News chose not to air them, with anchor Jenna Lee stating on-air that “we are choosing not to show them because as part of the press here in the United States, we think it’s important that the press have access to official photos from the White House.”

The meeting itself was held at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “[Trump] chose to receive him because Putin asked him to,” an anonymous White House source told POLITICO. “Putin did specifically ask on the call when they last talked.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association criticized President Obama in 2013 for holding closed press meetings only covered by official government photographers, stating the practice amounted to creating “the White House’s own Soviet-style news service.”

White House Correspondent April Ryan Says First Amendment “Under Attack” at the White House Correspondents Garden Brunch

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One of the most experienced White House Correspondents attending this year’s White House Correspondents Garden Brunch, April Ryan of American Urban Radio Networks, discussed the importance of the First Amendment in a climate where leaders are deriding the press.

She wrote on the Microsoft Wall and tells us the importance of the First Amendment in a climate where leaders are deriding the press.

“When you attack the press you’re attacking information going to the people. It’s not about us, it’s about the people that get the information.”

Zignal Labs Survey: Most Don’t Fact-Check Social Media

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Zignal Labs CEO Josh Ginsburg. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Zignal Labs released the results of a study on media trends conducted in January by Harris Poll, showing how media stories spread throughout social media and news-consumption habits of different generations.

Whether legitimate or fake, news and posts spread primarily because of an individual’s trust in friends and associates on social media.  Nearly 90% of Americans reading news on social media don’t fact-check the information presented by connections online, and over 61% are likely to share or comment content posted by a friend.  Over a quarter of Americans who do not fact-check news articles they see online also admit they may readily share these items on social media.  16% of respondents said they trust most or all of content shared by friends online, with a substantial 63% saying they trust at least some of it.

“We heard a lot about fake news in the presidential election,” said Randy Brasche of Zignal Labs. “What we’ve noticed is this is really a new form of cyber warfare on brands. Fake news is affecting presidential elections and it’s impacting brands too.”

In addition, “traditional” print and broadcast media is losing ground quickly to “alternative news” sites and social media.

“Brands need to understand what’s happening in real-time across the social media spectrum,” Brasche said. “Data and analytics on social media need to be part of the day-to-day work for a communications pro.”

Zignal Labs is based in San Francisco, and strives to turn media intelligence into a strategic asset for corporate brands and enterprises.  They serve customers globally, including Airbnb, IBM, PepsiCo, House Speaker Paul Ryan and FleishmanHillard.

Wikipedia Founder Uses New Crowd-Funded Website WikiTribune to “Fix the News”

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Jimmy Wales of Wikimedia Foundation poses for a portrait on July 28, 2010 in San Francisco. (Lane Hartwell) Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

Jimmy Wales, founder of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, has announced he plans a new crowd-funded website aimed at countering the spread of fake news.  This platform will be named WikiTribune.

Working with volunteers and journalists alike, the new platform will also be free and advertisement-free, just like Wikipedia.  Supporters will be asked for assistance funding the site, and articles will be published alongside source material, leading to easy verification of presented facts.

“The news is broken, but we’ve figured out how to fix it,” Wales says in a video on the site’s home page.

While there are currently no news stories on WikiTribune, Wales intends to go live within the next month.  Plans include raising enough funding to hire up to ten professional reporters.  Articles would be authored, verified and fact-checked before publication, while site visitors could also flag issues and submit factual corrections.

“There’s nothing magical about being a citizen.  As a citizen you have your own bias and prejudice and experience,” Wales concluded.

Legendary Bob Schieffer Says To Undermine Media is to Undermine The Nation in Stunning Newseum Speech

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media

Former CBS News “Face the Nation” moderator Bob Schieffer, one of the most widely recognized reporters of our time, delivered the concluding address today at “The President and the Press: The First Amendment in the First 100 Days” at the Newseum.

Addressing the rise of “fake news” and distractions used as political tools by campaigns, Schieffer used the example of the presidential election.

“No matter what the conversation people are having at a dinner party, if you throw a dead cat in the middle of the table, the conversation immediately turns to the dead cat. Donald Trump threw cats dead and alive on the table… And suddenly the attention was back on what he was talking about and on him,” Schieffer said.

Turning to the animosity with some government officials and the low public approval rating of the media, Schieffer concluded that journalists cannot dwell on name-calling.

“This year they hung less clever but really nasty names on us. This is all part of the job. It is something that we all know about and expect. That part is not to be taken seriously.”

Schieffer concluded by challenging journalists and the media to remain dedicated to the purpose of the industry, saying they “must give people news to improve their lives.”

“I have been a reporter for sixty years. And I have never been prouder of my profession than I am today.”

Bob Schieffer has been active in journalism since 1963, starting at the Dallas Star-Telegram. He has worked at CBS News since 1969 and moderated the Sunday CBS news show Face the Nation from 1991 to 2015.

Newseum Hosts Trump Press Sec Sean Spicer and Kellyanne Conway for Press Summit, Discusses First Amendment, Democracy, and Media

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

On Tuesday, the Newseum was ground zero for a discussion on the the First Amendment, democracy, the Trump White House, and the press, from the people who are in the spotlight everyday. Panelists included current and former White House Press Secretaries led by Sean Spicer, Jen Palmieri, and Ari Fleischer, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist David Fahrenthold, and writers Glenn Thrush, Mike Allen, Michael Wolff, Charlie Spiering, David Kirkpatrick, and commentators like the legendary Bob Schieffer, Brian Stelter, Bret Baier, Greta Van Susteren, Kristen Welker, Julie Pace, Carrie Budoff Brown, and Cecilia Vega.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer made headlines by continuing his apology tour for comments he made in a press briefing Monday concerning the atrocities committed by Hitler and Assad saying, “I have let the president down,” and calling his comments “inexcusable.”

Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

Presidential Counselor Kellyanne Conway, in conversation with author Michael Wolff, graded the presidency so-far and gave it an “I” for incomplete, saying it was “Too early to tell,” what would happen.

Photo courtesy Haddad Media

The New York Times’ Glenn Thrush, in a panel moderated by FOX’s Bret Baier, said, “The presidency shapes the president, not the other way around.” Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering said of senior advisor to Present Trump Steve Bannon that “[He] probably talks more to the New York Times these days than Breitbart.”

Schedule of the day’s events:

WELCOME

Jeffrey Herbst, President and CEO of the Newseum

SESSION 1: THE PRESS AS A WATCHDOG

Guest: David Fahrenthold, The Washington Post

SESSION 2: COMMUNICATING FOR THE PRESIDENT

Moderator: Mike Allen, Co-Founder and Executive Editor, Axios

Guests:

Ari Fleischer, Former White House Press Secretary for President George W. Bush

Jennifer Palmieri, Former White House Communications Director for President Barack Obama

SESSION 3: CONVERSATION WITH WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY SEAN SPICER

Moderator: Greta Van Susteren, MSNBC Anchor

Guest: Sean Spicer, White House Press Secretary

SESSION 4: COVERING THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE

Moderator: Bret Baier, Fox News Anchor

Guests:

Jim Acosta, White House Correspondent, CNN

Julie Pace, White House Correspondent, Associated Press; board member, White House Correspondents Association

Charlie Spiering, White House Correspondent, Breitbart News

Glenn Thrush, White House Correspondent, The New York Times

Kristen Welker, White House Correspondent, NBC News

SESSION 5: CONVERSATION WITH KELLYANNE CONWAY, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT

Moderator: Michael Wolff, The Hollywood Reporter

Guest: Kellyanne Conway, Counselor to the President

SESSION 6: FUTURE OF NEWS IN A DIVIDED AND CONNECTED WORLD

Moderator: Brian Stelter, CNN

Guests:

Carrie Budoff Brown, Editor, Politico

David Kirkpatrick, journalist and author of “The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World”

Cecilia Vega, White House Correspondent, ABC News

SESSION 7: A LOOK TO THE FUTURE

Guest: Bob Schieffer, former CBS News Anchor

Greta Van Susteren One-on-One with WH Press Sec Sean Spicer at the Newseum

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Photo courtesy Haddad Media

The Newseum hosted a landmark event on Tuesday, The President and the Press: The First Amendment in the First 100 Days. As part of the series of talks, Greta Van Susteren interviewed White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who address his role in the Trump administration, the next policy pushes from the White House, and some of the recent comments he made that have made news.

Sean Spicer said of tax reform, “it’s going to take some months,” before we see a plan.

Spicer also offered an apology for his comments about World War II from the previous day saying, “I have let the president down,” and calling his comments “inexcusable.”

Van Susteren asked about the White House’s decision to skip the Correspondent’s Dinner this year. According to Spicer, “This is not the appropriate year to go…I don’t think we should fake it.”