White House Correspondents Insider

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

Washington Examiner Shutters Yeas and Nays, Will Become Weekly Magazine

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The Washington Examiner is shutting down in June and relaunching itself as a weekly political magazine. The news trickled out earlier today over Twitter and became a full-on torrent once layoffs hit the Examiner newsroom:

The Local section’s closure was announced and publicized this morning. The plan to completely reformat the paper came a few hours later as the memo was circulated to the Washington City Paper along with the 87 staffers being laid off. The new Examiner “will offer news, analysis, investigative reporting and commentary on issues affecting national legislation and policy across a number of key areas” according to a press release from Examiner owner Clarity Media Group.

This means the loss of Yeas and Nays‘ Nikki Schwab and Alicia Cohn. While the site will probably stay up in some form, it’ll be without the two voices that cover the side rooms of The Jefferson, grilling Jake Tapper on his guffaws or Sandra Day O’Connor’s history of beer and chalupas.

Favreau Joins The Beast of the Northern Wild

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Photo: Haddad Media

So much for Los Angeles for former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau. The recently departed director of communications made his media farewell tour and we had all assumed he set sail for greener pasteurs inspired by (now canceled) 1600 Penn. Instead it seems Favreau figured out there was another Favreau in town and decided to go the traditional route for former presidential speechwriters: a bi-weekly column at The Daily Beast. This comes after the fact that Favreau is yet another former White House staffer looking to open his own specialized communications firm in Washington. But at least he’s following in the time-honored footsteps of the Beltway!

Fishbowl NY has the full memo for News|Beast Editor-in-Chief Tina Brown:
I am thrilled to announce that President Obama’s former director of speechwriting Jon Favreau is joining The Daily Beast as a bi-weekly columnist. It’s wonderful to have his combination of writing talent and sophisticated insight as commentary on the political scene.

Says Jon, “I’m excited to join the talented variety of writers and political observers who contribute to The Daily Beast, and hope I can add a new perspective from time to time based on the experiences I’ve had over the last several years.”

Please join me in welcoming him to The Daily Beast!

Best,
Tina

[PHOTOS] The 2013 Preview of the Kennedy Center Opera Ball

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Washington National Opera Board Chairman Connie Milstein gathered opera for the kickoff of the 2013 Opera Ball held Sunday night at The Jefferson Hotel. The “Music of the Night” Party, which was providing a preview for the Kennedy Center and Washington National Opera’s 2013 Opera Ball, focused on the food and entertainment for this season’s performances.

Woven throughout the program were selections of “Phantom Of the Opera” from barritone Norm Lewis,star of “Scandal” and Broadway star of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” performed three selections from “Phantom of the Opera” to a packed room of diners and Washington cultural society. Other performances included selections by Soprano Shantelle Przybylo from “La Bohéme,” “Rigoletto” from Yuri Gorodetski, “Edgar” from Javier Arrey and ending on “Music of the Night” with Norm Lewis reprising “The Phantom.” The guests for the affair ranged from ambassador to Washingtonian essentials like Jeremy Bernard, Kathleen Seibelius, Chairman of the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees David Rubenstein, Ellen Tauscher, Grace Bender, Melissa Moss, Jonathan Silver and Bob and Ellen Bennett.

This year’s ball is a partnership between the Italian consulate, thanks to Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero and Mrs. Bisogniero, featuring a black-tie and commemorate the 200th birthday of opera composer Giuseppe Verdi and “The Year of Italian Culture.” The Opera Ball will end with a special performance from the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program when it occurs on April 6th.

The Donald Denied Reopening White House Tours, Obama May Anyway

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Not even The Donald can reopen The White House tours shuttered by the sequester. Or to be more accurate, The White House said “No thanks” when the notable centerpiece of NBC’s The Apprentice took to his new beloved medium of Fox News to take on the administration.

In the ultimate act of media ourobouros, Politico quoted White House Senior Adviser Dan Pfeiffer on CNN earlier after Trump commented on a Tweet from Newt Gingrich. So much back and forth between the news mediums makes our head spin as pundits go from Twitter to TV to Politico and back again. So why exactly can’t it work? Pfeiffer explained earlier:

“It doesn’t work that way; we can’t have private individuals paying the Secret Service — so that’s not how it works. This is about a very tough budget cut that the Secret Service has to take because of the sequester. It’s why we should have avoided the sequester to begin with.”

Already Yellowstone announced a late opening–by a week–that has caused tourists and small businesses to grumble about experiencing the Great Outdoors. Meanwhile this morning President Obama may review the suspended tours for school trips and students according to Post Politics. From his interview with ABC News:

“I’m always amused when people on the one hand say the sequester doesn’t mean anything and the administration’s exaggerating its effects and then whatever the specific effects are, they yell and scream and say, ‘Why are you doing that?’ Well, there are consequences to Congress not having come up with a more sensible way to reduce the deficit.”

Politico Pro Bono Later This Month

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Politico has announced Politico Pro will become a free quarterly magazine while keeping exclusive web-only content for subscribers. Fishbowl NY announced the new quad-nual publication from Allbritton. While it is hyperlocal in covering catch-all issues like energy, technology, lobbying and health care with the slogan “We’ll spare you the boring, jargon-laden stories,” Pro has built itself steadily online over the last year.

Nieman points out the “pricing starts at $3,295 per year. But most Pro subscribers are part of a group membership, and those start at around $8,000 per year for licensing content from a single vertical to five people.” Share the content and you get banned. It’s like all the giddy exclusivity from 2003 of having Hotline sent to your Blackberry and printed for your daily media packet at 6 a.m.

You can hardly put a cost on information in Washington if you recall the exorbitant fees for Hotline. Even if, in the case of “House of Cards,” that information is incorrect it’s still the sexy type of power that makes folks want to eat ribs and address an unseen fourth wall. Still, if Politico Pro could tell us where to find decent ribs to eat while lamenting our attempts to be Secretary of State, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? We’ll wait to see when the new quarterly “will be distributed on Friday, March 22 to every member of Congress, the White House and all federal agencies as well as to 160 newspaper boxes and 100 Washington-area Starbucks. Like POLITICO’s newspaper, the magazine will be free with a circulation of nearly 40,000.”

“When we launched POLITICO Pro in 2011 our mission was to deliver exclusive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting and dominate coverage of the most important policy areas,” said POLITICO Chief Revenue Officer Roy Schwartz. “We are thrilled with how quickly Pro became the essential news source for thousands of policy professionals working at the country’s most influential organizations.”

If you’re feeling particularly generous via social media, you can always use their hashtag: #GoPro2013.

Washington Media Types Desperate for a Judd/McConnell Campaign

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Ambassador Melanne Verveer, Ashley Judd, Aparajita Gogoi, Nthabiseng Tshabalala, Baroness Amos, Maria S. Eitel

If only there were an easier way to introduce a Capitol Hill hopeful instead of Washington’s normal trial-by-flame-war. But with the chum in the 2013 waters that Ashley Judd, daughter of of Naomi Judd and actress, could be gunning for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky seat. Politico sites GOP insiders and The Daily Caller sites NSFW Mr. Skin for their facts about the potential candidate. And yet how bored everyone must be of the sequester by asking if her running is harmful for Democrats or how “Team Mitch” already is reminding potential voters Judd lives in Tennessee:

And then there’s Juan Williams, who is best presented without context:

“Some Tea Party activists consider McConnell too moderate because he negotiated on deals that led to tax increases and the unpopular sequestration cuts. A tough GOP primary could split Kentucky Republicans and cause him to spend lots of money, weakening him before an election fight against Judd.”

So McConnell’s toughest fight is the former star of Double Jeopardy because he’s in trouble with the Tea Party? While this isn’t anything new for an actress–i.e. remember that thing you said about mining and rape from 2010? The Internet does!–here’s hoping that Judd will weigh in about her own future. In her own words.

It must get exhausting for her to be told all about her future at 317 Russell before she’s even announced an official candidacy.

Senate Finally Goes -30- on Investigating Kathryn Bigelow's Film

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Now that Zero Dark Thirty has been shut out of the Academy Awards, the Senate Intelligence Committee has called off their investigation. In what can only be a move by the secret fans of Jennifer Lawrence and Silver Linings Playbook, Politico reports that the committee will “no longer pursue the contacts between the movie and the Central Intelligence Agency.”

Senator Dianne Feinstein released a statement yesterday explaining why she was satisfied with ending the inquiry:

“In December, Senators Levin, McCain and I wrote to Acting CIA Director Michael Morell seeking information provided to the filmmakers of ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ by the CIA. The CIA responded with information about its interaction with the filmmakers. I see no need to request further information. In a separate letter, Senators Levin, McCain and I requested the basis for CIA’s view that enhanced interrogation techniques provided some intelligence that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden. The CIA’s response to that letter is forthcoming.”

“Finally, Senators Levin, McCain and I wrote to Sony Pictures in December and outlined our view that scenes in the film which credit CIA’s interrogation techniques with leading directly to the takedown of bin Laden were inaccurate and misleading. The committee has not made any contact with the filmmakers, did not request documents from any individual associated with the film, and have not conducted any investigation into the film whatsoever. We have simply asked questions of the intelligence community pertinent to our oversight responsibilities.”

Now we just have to wait and see what Capitol Hill’s thoughts about Olympus Has Fallen.

Kid President Announces This Year's White House Easter Egg Roll

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If the Obama administration ever had a clear challenge, it may be overcoming the charm and charisma of Kid President. A part of the Soul Pancake Channel, this time Kid President is bringing word of the 2013 White House Easter Egg Roll to us through a somewhat more official channel:

The lottery to get a ticket for the annual roll, being held on April 1, starts today and closes on Monday, February 25. The theme this year, chosen by First Lady Michelle Obama, is “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!”

This year’s souvenir eggs come in four bold colors – purple, blue, yellow, pink – and include the stamped signatures of the President and First Lady. A commemorative teal “Bo” egg featuring the First Dog’s paw print is included only in the 2013 5-pack Collector’s Egg Set.

The White House also invites all elementary and middle school students to submit poster designs for the 2013 Easter Egg Roll. Designs should reflect this year’s theme, “Be Healthy, Be Active, Be You!” The First Lady will select the winning design, which will be used as part of the White House 2013 Easter Egg Roll program. Submissions are due by March 5 and can be sent here.

We have to admit, even Robert Frost would probably be allowed to think this is cool.

Gavin Newsom's Citizenville in D.C. [PHOTOS]

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2/15/13 - Book Party for Gavin Newsom's "Citizenvillie"

California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom felt right at home at Washington’s Jefferson Hotel on February 16th to discuss his new book, “Citizenville: How to Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government.” While WHCInsider provided live coverage of the program C-SPAN’s Book TV covered all the action from the Gallatin Room for an upcoming segment (scheduled for next weekend or so). Newsom mingled among the select crowd of reporters and government officials keen to hear how Farmville can become legitimate models for politicos. Among the crowd were Newsom’s old friend Hilda Solis, the former Secretary of Labor, and former California Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, who paid tribute to Newsom as a strong leader for California and in technology. The book party was co-hosted by Constance Milstein and JC de la Haye St. Hilarie, Tammy Haddad and Ellen Tauscher. Top Obamaites Evan Ryan and her husband Tony Blinken, Jeremy and Robyn Bash, Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, Jane Oates, joined journalists Kate Boulduan Jim Fallows, who recently moved back to Washington, Jane Mayer, from the New Yorker,Michael Falcone from ABC News, David Chalian and Jonathan Martin from Politico, Betsy Fischer Martin of Meet the Press and Rob Saliterman from Google. Eve O’Toole, whom Newsom called his “best friend and trusted adviser” and her husband Peter O’Toole, joined Holly Page, Mandy Grunwald, Martha Slagle , Jonathan Capehart, Judy Kurtz, Heather Podesta, Melissa Moss, and “get excited” chairman Marc Adelman.

After Newsom signed copies of his new book and gave a few brief interviews, the crowd retreated for a closed door dinner and more than a few verses from some popular songs. While that remains a secret, check out some photos from the event to see what you missed when gaming change comes to Washington:

Gavin Newsom Toasts 'Citizenville' at the Jefferson [VIDEO]

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Citizenvillie
Join us tonight as California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom stops into the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. to discuss “Citizenville: How To Take the Town Square Digital and Reinvent Government.” The Current TV host will be introduced by Ellen Tauscher at 7:00 p.m. est and give brief remarks about his newest release.

We’ll be talking with Newsom along with our livestream of the event starting tonight at 6:30 p.m. est and then have a copy of the event afterwards. You can also catch it on C-SPAN-2’s Book TV at a later date.