White House Correspondents Insider

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

Funny or Die Opens Washington, D.C. Office

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“Funny or Die is opening a Washington, D.C., office to build on the success of politically minded videos such as President Barack Obama’s turn in the hot seat on Between Two Ferns.

“The new office, which is housed at the 1776 Campus, is being led by former White House staffer Brad Jenkins, who has been named managing director and executive producer of Funny or Die DC.”

Read more via hollywoodreporter.com: Funny or Die Opens Washington, D.C. Office

Jeremy Bernard to step down as White House social secretary

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Jeremy Bernard and Hilary Rosen

“One of the White House’s most beloved staff members has been telling close friends the buzz is true: He is leaving the East Wing. Jeremy Bernard, White House social secretary, bon vivant, party maestro and trusted member of the Obama inner circle is set to officially announce his departure in the next few weeks.”

Read more via politico.com: Jeremy Bernard to step down as White House social secretary

WHCA Announces 2015 Award Winners

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The White House Correspondents’ Association has announced its 2015 award winners.

WHCA president Christi Parsons: “For the Aldo Beckman Memorial Award, which recognizes repeated excellence in White House coverage, the winner is Peter Baker of The New York Times. Baker won the Merriman Smith Memorial Award in 2014.

“Baker’s pieces are written with depth, insight and authority. He uses his longevity on the beat to give his stories the historic context that lifts them beyond the crush of daily coverage. Strong reporting makes for good writing, as Baker shows time and again. Iraq, he writes, is the ‘graveyard of American ambition.’

“The Merriman Smith Memorial Award, which recognizes deadline work in both print and broadcast, goes to Josh Lederman of the Associated Press [‘Fence Jumper’] and Jim Avila of ABC News [‘Cuba/Alan Gross’].

“The Edgar A. Poe Award, which recognizes coverage of news of national or regional significance, is shared by Carol A. Leonnig of The Washington Post [Secret Service], and The Wall Street Journal team of Gary Fields, John R. Emshwiller, Rob Barry and Coulter Jones [‘America’s Rap Sheet’ series].”

Special mention to Scott Horsley of National Public Radio for his creative coverage of White House policies and politics.

Press Uncuffed

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Please support journalists who are under siege globally. The Washington Post’s Dana Priest shows us how we can do something from our own computers. Thanks, Dana!

“We’re journalism students at the University of Maryland working with our professor – Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest – to raise money to free imprisoned journalists around the world by selling bracelets bearing their names. Press Uncuffed works in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an independent, nonprofit organization that advocates for journalists in danger.”

Support the campaign.

New White House Briefing Room seating chart

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seating_chart_with_logosThe White House Briefing Room seating chart was released Tuesday by the White House Correspondents’ Association. USA Today White House reporter, Gregory Korte, created this visualization of the room.

“The White House Correspondents’ Association recently made adjustments to the briefing seating chart, promoting some news organizations and instituting seat-sharing arrangements for others. The calculus that goes into the assignments is part tenure, part audience and part commitment to the White House beat. News organizations that don’t show up every day will find another reporter sitting in its seat; miss enough briefings and the seat may be lost permanently.”

One of the biggest updates: “Newcomers Buzzfeed and Al Jazeera get partial seats through seat-sharing arrangements with Scripps-Howard News Service and the Chicago Sun-Times, respectively.”

Read more via USA Today: Here’s the new White House briefing room seating chart