White House Correspondents Insider

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

Woman to Lead TODAY Show for the First Time, Libby Leist Tapped to Become the Shows Executive Producer

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Don Nash and his wife at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

 

Libby Leist, the senior producer for NBC’s The TODAY Show, will be moving into her new role as executive producer for the show’s 7am and 8am hours according to a statement by NBC Chairman Andy Lack on Wednesday, January 17th. Libby will be replacing 23-year TODAY veteran Don Nash, a longtime producer for Matt Lauer, who has produced The TODAY Show since 2012. Nash will be retiring to spend more time with his family.

According to Lack, “Libby brings tremendous talent and experience to this role, having served as senior producer of the 7am hour for the last 5 years. She has led the show’s political coverage and special events, including candidate town halls and TODAY’s historic broadcast from inside the White House. Libby has spent her career at NBC News, starting as a desk assistant in DC in 2001, and later rising to become Andrea Mitchell’s State Department producer – a role for which she traveled the world – and then several senior producer roles in the bureau, including MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown and Capitol Hill producer.”

The move follows NBC’s decision to make Hoda Kotb a permanent anchor on the show alongside Savannah Guthrie this January, making this the first time The TODAY Show has an all-female duo.

Read Andy Lack’s full statement below:

The TODAY show couldn’t be in a stronger position. Savannah and Hoda have seamlessly taken their seats and we’re off to a fantastic start in 2018. This is a tribute to them and the whole team at TODAY.

With this change in anchors, and having rethought some of his priorities, Don Nash has decided to step away from his Executive Producer role at TODAY.

I cannot thank Don enough for everything he contributed in nearly 30 years at TODAY – almost half of the show’s 66-year history. He led the TODAY team through many transitions and got the show back to number one. He leaves with every aspect of the show on top and with a legacy he should be proud of.  As you all know so well, among many other skills Don is one of the best live control room producers in the business. We’ve offered him a number of roles within NBC News and NBCUniversal, and we hope he’ll stay in the family.

Don leaves a big hole at TODAY, but we are so fortunate to have extraordinary producers who can step up.

We are pleased to announce that Libby Leist is being promoted to EP of TODAY’s 7am and 8am hours. Libby brings tremendous talent and experience to this role, having served as senior producer of the 7am hour for the last 5 years. She has led the show’s political coverage and special events, including candidate town halls and TODAY’s historic broadcast from inside the White House. Libby has spent her career at NBC News, starting as a desk assistant in DC in 2001, and later rising to become Andrea Mitchell’s State Department producer – a role for which she traveled the world – and then several senior producer roles in the bureau, including MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown and Capitol Hill producer.

Libby will report to Noah, and will work closely with Tom Mazzarelli who will continue in his pivotal role for the show; as well as with Jackie Levin, EP of the 9am, Tammy Filler, EP of the 10am and Matt Carluccio, EP of weekends.

Please join me in wishing Don every success in his next endeavor and congratulating Libby on her promotion.

Andy

Dan Meyers Joins APCO Worldwide as Senior Director

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Former George W. Bush White House press representative Dan Meyers has joined public affairs consulting firm APCO Worldwide as senior director and head of advocacy. In addition to his White House credentials, he was special assistant to the political director of the Republican National Committee, and a worked as an aide for Rudy Giuliani during his 2008 presidential bid.

Prior to joining APCO, Meyers spent nearly a decade with public affairs firm DCI Group, leaving the organization as Vice President.

Dan Meyers, in a statement, said of APCO, “In an increasingly divided Washington, APCO has a proven track record of finding ways to create political movements to shape and influence policy. The firm has an established history of working on some of the largest and highest profile issue campaigns in the history of the city. I look forward to continuing that with APCO’s dynamic team and ultimately helping clients achieve their goals.”

Read the release here: http://apcoworldwide.com/news/detail/2018/01/10/apco-bolsters-its-advocacy-and-public-affairs-expertise-in-washington-with-new-hire

Tina Urbanski and Colleen King named Executive Producers of MSNBC’s Hardball and The 11th Hour with Brian Williams

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Tina Urbanski, the new Hardball showrunner

 

MSNBC veteran producers Tina Urbanski and Colleen King have been promoted to showrunners for Hardball and The 11th Hour respectively.

Urbanski takes on the role of co-executive producer at Hardball with Chris Matthews, one of the cable channel’s longest-running shows. She takes the reins from Ann Klenk, a veteran producer who spent 19 years at the network and will be retiring from television.

King, a longtime Hardball producer, moves up from senior producer of The 11th Hour. Colleen began her career at CBS and had been a longtime Hardball producer.

MSNBC President Phil Griffin said of the promotions, “Colleen now helms The 11th Hour as executive producer. A key member of the 11th Hour family since the program’s inception, she helped grow the broadcast with Pat Burkey from a 30-minute “pop-up” to the #1 cable news program at 11 o’clock,” and “Tina takes on the role of co-executive producer at Hardball, continuing her fantastic work alongside fellow co-EP Court Harson. She first joined us here at MSNBC in 2002 as an assistant to Chris Matthews, quickly rising through the ranks. While at Hardball, Tina produced memorable interviews with U.S. presidents, politicians and top newsmakers both in-studio and at remote locations around the world, helping the program to become a staple in our primetime lineup.”

You can read Phil Griffin’s full statement below:

Team,

I am thrilled to announce the promotions of two of our best, Colleen King and Tina Urbanski, to executive producer.

Colleen now helms The 11th Hour as executive producer. A key member of the 11th Hour family since the program’s inception, she helped grow the broadcast with Pat Burkey from a 30-minute “pop-up” to the #1 cable news program at 11 o’clock. As a senior producer, Colleen worked across the network on many of our shows and specials, including Hardball, Morning Joe, The 11th Hour and our 2016 election coverage.

With Colleen managing The 11th Hour, Pat will be focusing on Deadline: White House, and will continue working with Brian Williams on breaking news coverage.

Tina takes on the role of co-executive producer at Hardball, continuing her fantastic work alongside fellow co-EP Court Harson. She first joined us here at MSNBC in 2002 as an assistant to Chris Matthews, quickly rising through the ranks. While at Hardball, Tina produced memorable interviews with U.S. presidents, politicians and top newsmakers both in-studio and at remote locations around the world, helping the program to become a staple in our primetime lineup. She was also an important member our 2016 presidential election team, bringing our coverage to life as a senior producer on the campaign trail, from debates to party conventions.

Tina and Court take the reins at Hardball as current co-executive producer Ann Klenk retires after 19 years with NBC family. Ann is a core member of the MSNBC team, and her spirit and dedication are unparalleled. We wish her the best in all her future endeavors.

Please join me in congratulating both Colleen and Tina on their new roles.

Pope Francis Calls “Fake News” A Very Serious Sin

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Photo courtesy Pixabay

Pope Francis called on journalists over the weekend to report precise, complete and objective information to the public, instead of one-sided viewpoints or ‘old news that has been dealt with’ and hurts society at large.

While talking to Catholic media, the pontiff said that “You shouldn’t fall into the ‘sins of communication:’ disinformation, or giving just one side, calumny that is sensationalized, or defamation, looking for things that are old news and have been dealt with and bringing them to light today.”

The Pope also went on to praise the world done by the mainstream media, and that objective journalism performs a mission that is among the most “fundamental” to democratic societies.

David Cameron Tells Trump “Fake News” Act is Dangerous

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Photo courtesy Pixabay.

At the annual Transparency International UK lecture in London, former British prime minister David Cameron called President Donald Trump’s attacks on the mainstream media was dangerous, with the true threat to democracy coming from sources like Russian twitter bots.

“When Donald Trump uses the term ‘fake news’ to describe CNN and the BBC, that is not just a questionable tactic.  It’s actually dangerous,” the former prime minister said in his remarks.

Cameron noted that “of course” journalists occasionally makes mistakes. But Trump’s use of “fake news” as an attack on the media “is an attempt to question the whole legitimacy of organizations that have an important role in our democracy.”

“Let me put it like this. President Trump, ‘Fake news’ is not broadcasters criticizing you. It’s Russian bots and trolls targeting your democracy, pumping out untrue stories day after day, night after night.”

“When you misappropriate the term ‘fake news’,” he continued, “you are deflecting attention from real abuses. Ignoring what’s happening on social media is facilitating a form of corruption that is undermining democracy.”

Cameron resigned as prime minister in 2016, immediately after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in their “Brexit” vote, which Cameron opposed.  Many point to the similarities between the surge in nationalistic movements surrounding the Brexit vote and the 2016 U.S. presidential elections that placed Trump in the White House.

 

Washington Post Reporter Apologizes to President Trump for Posting Inaccurate Photos on Twitter

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Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

President Donald Trump has received an apology from Washington Post reporter David Weigel, who posted a photo of Trump’s rally in Florida on Friday.

Weigel had posted a photo on Twitter of the crowd at the Pensacola Bay Center showing a significant number of empty seats.  After being told that the photo was taken before the venue started, Weigel removed the post and apologized in a later Tweet with the president.

In response to the apology, the president demanded Weigel be fired.

The Washington Post issued a statement on Weigel’s erronious Tweet on Saturday:

“Dave Weigel relied on an inaccurate image in tweeting about President Trump’s rally in Pensacola,” said Washington Post’s vice president of communications, Kristine Coratti Kelly. “When others pointed out the mistake to Weigel, he quickly deleted the tweet. And when he was later addressed by the president on Twitter, he promptly apologized for it.”

RTCA Revokes Russian Television Network RT’s Congressional Credentials Following FARA Registration

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Photo courtesy the Kremlin

RT, the Russian international television network funded by the Russian government, has complied with a request from the Department of Justice that it register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

In response to the network’s registration, the Congressional Radio and TV Correspondents’ Gallery officially revoked RT’s credentials on Capitol Hill.

“The rules of the Galleries state clearly that news credentials may not be issued to any applicant employed by any ‘foreign government or representative thereof,” Craig Caplan, chairman of the Radio-Television Correspondents’ Association, wrote in a letter to RT.  “Upon its registration as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registrations Act (FARA), RT Network became ineligible to hold news credentials.”

The network countered the RTCA decision in part by questioning the status of Japanese news agency NHK.  RT stated they had received assurances from the State Department that FARA registration would not affect its operations.  They also claimed other “foreign agent” networks such as Japan’s NHK held Congressional press accreditation.

RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan slammed the RTCA decision, stating that it “looks like only RT is denied congressional accreditation on the basis of FARA status, while the likes of NHK and China Daily carry on business as usual, and US officials continue to claim that the forced FARA registration for RT America’s operating company isn’t at all discriminatory.”

The RTCA executive committee responded in an email statement that this is not true.

“In a widely reported response to our decision, RT has questioned the accreditation status of NHK, Japan’s largest publicly-funded broadcast outlet and a longtime Gallery member, asserting they, too, have registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).  This is not accurate.  The company in question, NHK Cosmomedia America, Inc., is a separate entity that has never been issued credentials by the Congressional Radio-TV Correspondents’ Galleries”

The Foreign Agents Registration Act was created prior to World War II to prevent foreign propaganda from swaying the American public, particularly Nazi disinformation in the 1930s.

Journalists Express Mixed Feelings On Attending White House Christmas Party

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Photo courtesy the White House

Following CNN’s announcement they will not attend the annual White House Christmas party for the media, other reporters have expressed mixed responses and reservations over socializing with an administration that often lambastes mainstream journalists as “fake news.”

For example, New York Magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi wrote in an email to Politico that:

“While I don’t think it’s improper to attend social events with the president per se, I personally am uncomfortable with the idea of being a guest in this White House for a party (if I would not be covering the party), given Donald Trump’s stated threats to the First Amendment and general lack of understanding or interest in its importance. For that reason, my personal feelings are that it sends the wrong message to schmooze under mistletoe while our freedoms are under attack. That said, I don’t judge colleagues who arrive at a different conclusion.”

Another White House correspondent, who wished to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak on the record about this topic, said that he would attend the holiday event.

“I do get bothered [by the attacks on the press].  But I don’t view it as our role to engage in a fight with the president. I think that it’s our role to keep doing our jobs reporting the news and not treat it like we’re two warring institutions of American democracy. We don’t need to reciprocate that attitude.”

CNN announced earlier this week it would not be accepting the White House invitation, although they would send a reporting team to the event and report on any relevant news that may come out of the party.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded by posting on Twitter that “Christmas comes early!” because of CNN’s decision.


The White House Christmas party is held annually, and is normally a casual event where reporters mingle off-the-record with administration officials and staff.

Media Stars Support Non-Profit Journalism On #GivingNewsDay

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Fox News Bret Baier and Wolf Blitzer in Washington, DC

November 28th is #GivingNewsDay, a day to give back to the hundreds of nonprofit newsrooms across the country. Donations up to $1000 will be doubled by NewsMatch, a national campaign to support nonprofit, local, and investigative news organizations. News Match 2017 was launched by Democracy Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation to give people an easy way to find quality newsrooms in their region.

Thousands have already gone on social media to promote and discuss nonprofit news, as well as encouraging others to join in this year’s efforts.

Visit NewsMatch.org to find a nonprofit newsroom and invest in quality journalism. NewsMatch will double your impact.

News Match Raises Awareness and Money for Non-Profit Journalism on #GivingNewsDay

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Photo courtesy Pixabay

Traditionally the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been a day of charity, with millions of individuals taking time to donate to nonprofits and philanthropic causes.  This year, the grassroots campaign News Match is launching #GivingNewsDay to promote an investment in quality non-profit journalism.

News Match 2017 was established as a campaign through Democracy Fund, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation.  It’s mission is to support nonprofit news organizations that play a vital role in holding those in power accountable through non-profit news.

“We’ve never seen a movement of funders and donors turning out to support nonprofit news like this before,” said Sue Cross, Executive Director and CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News. “But because these are challenge grants, nonprofit newsrooms across the United States are depending on you to donate and unlock these matching funds.”

Through December 31, individual donations up to $1,000 will be matched by News Match partners.  Nearly 20 individuals and foundations have also set up campaigns to match donations for local News Match participants.  The Gates Family Foundation, the Wyncote Foundation, and the News Integrity Initiative have each pledged to match donations to specific newsrooms. And in ten states, individual donors and local foundations have added at least another $400,000 in matching funds to the campaign.

“Trusted nonprofit news organizations… are essential to building stronger communities, holding our decision makers accountable, and providing people with the information they need to contribute to civic change. Ensuring they have a bright future is in all of our interests,” said Jennifer Preston, Knight Foundation vice president for journalism.

All news organizations participating in News Match are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News. To be a member, an organization must be a 501(c)(3) or have a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, must be transparent about funding sources, and produce investigative and/or public-service reporting. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

If you would like to donate to #GivingNewsDay, please visit newsmatch.org before December 31, 2017 to contribute.