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

Kennedy Secret Service Agent, Clint Hill, Relives Nov. 22, 1963 at Cafe Milano

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Clint Hill at Cafe Milano

Franco Nuschese hosted one of the most memorable people in modern history at his Georgetown restaurant, Cafe Milano, on Sunday, November 24, 2013. Clint Hill is the Secret Service agent, assigned to Jacquie Kennedy, who jumped on the back of President Kennedy’s car when he was shot in Dallas on November 22nd, 1963. Franco Nuschese introduced Mr. Hill and co-author Lisa McCubbin, to talk about the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy and their new book, Five Days in November. He told the story to the rapt crowd that included White House aides Jeremy Bernard, Ellie Schafer, and the State department’s Evan Ryan. Media stars Jim Lehrer, Wolf Blitzer, Polson Kanneth, Jonathan Capehart and Ruth Marcus lined up to shake the hand of the man who tried in vain to save President Kennedy’s life. The Vice President’s son, Hunter Biden, former congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, former protocol chiefs Ambassador Lloyd Hand and Lucky Roosevelt, and Diane Jones watched the video of the iconic photos as Mr. Hill described each second.

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The crowd was meserized by his personal heartfelt recitation of that day and the days after. Agent Hill was assigned to protect Mrs. Kennedy and he demonstrated some of the same grace that she showed the world on that terrible day.

He told the story of how Mrs. Kennedy had asked the secret service agents to teach John John how to salute and how he would not use his right hand. Before the funeral a Marine colonel was asked to help entertain the young boy and he taught him to salute with his right hand a his father’s funeral, a moment no one can ever forget. The president and first lady promised John John that he would have a birthday day party when they returned from Dallas, so after the funeral she gathered their close family and had a party for him. Mr. Hill has not given interviews prior to this year and the pain and suffering he felt all these years was palpable to the respectful crowd.

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2012 Presidential Debates: Crowley and Raddatz Join Lehrer and Schieffer

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Presidential elections are determined by a few important moments and most of those moments happen during presidential debates.

The Commission on Presidential Debates, where Janet Brown serves as Executive Director, and co-chairs Frank Fahrenkopf and Mike McCurry rule,  announced their slate of moderators for the 2012 debates.   You can bet both campaigns are already pulling tapes of their interviews and previous debate performances to prepare for this years.  A hat tip to Martha Raddatz who’s war coverage will be great preparation for her role in the Vice Presidential Debate between VP Joe Biden and the newly named running mate to Mitt Romney, Rep. Paul Ryan.  There will be several changes to format which you can read about in the official announcement here.

Fahrenkopf and McCurry quotes from the release, “The new formats chosen for this year’s debates are designed to focus big time blocks on major domestic and foreign topics.  These journalists bring extensive experience to the job of moderating, and understand the importance of using the expanded time periods to maximum benefit.  We are grateful for their willingness to moderate, and confident that the public will learn more about the candidates and the issues as a result.”

This year’s debates – for the first time – will be available LIVE on line.

Simon Marks named President of MacNeil Lehrer Productions

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Simon Marks will be the new president of MacNeil Lehrer Productions effective September 1, 2010. Marks, the associate executive producer of the PBS NewsHour, will replace retiring MLP President Les Crystal.

MacNeil Lehrer Productions is the partnership of Robert MacNeil, Jim Lehrer and Liberty Media and produces the PBS NewsHour, along with other broadcast and digital journalism.

From the official press release: Marks helped devise and oversee the recent integration of the NewsHour’s broadcast and online operations; managed the design and construction of the NewsHour’s new, digital newsroom; and the played a leading part in the launch of the re-branded “PBS NewsHour” nightly broadcast, website and mobile services in December of 2010.

“Simon brings a vision and a feel for the future that is a perfect fit for MacNeil-Lehrer Productions as we chart our way in this exciting and challenging time for all of us in the business of serious journalism,” added Jim Lehrer, executive editor and lead anchor of the PBS NewsHour and partner in MacNeil Lehrer Productions.

“I’m deeply honored and grateful that Jim Lehrer and Robin MacNeil would even consider me to succeed Les Crystal at MacNeil-Lehrer’s helm,” added Simon Marks. “I’m excited to continue the important work we’ve already begun at the PBS NewsHour, and I look forward to furthering MacNeil-Lehrer’s reputation as the gold standard for video journalism in the digital age.”

"NewsHour," ABC News Cutting Back on RTCA Tables This Year

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McCain And Obama Square Off In First Presidential Debate

Jim Lehrer of PBS' "NewsHour"

Two of the news organizations that won’t be taking as many people to the RTCA dinner this year as in the past are PBS’ “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and ABC News.

In conjunction with “Washington Week with Gwen Ifill & National Journal,” “The Newshour” normally takes 15 tables, but this year, it is down to just two. The show’s financial crunch in the last year, due to corporate underwriting cutbacks, has been well documented.

“It’s a tight economic climate and we can’t afford it,” says Rob Flynn, VP of communications and marketing. “The organization is important to us and we’d like to do more.” Indeed, Linda Scott, producer of Capitol Hill and Congressional coverage for “The NewsHour,” will serve as chair of next year’s dinner.

Despite the smaller presence, the “NewsHour” snagged a high-profile administration guest. Sitting at one of its tables will be retired Marine Gen. James Jones, the National Security Adviser, and his wife Diane.

Also at the tables: “NewsHour” correspondent (and soon to be co-anchor) Judy Woodruff, PBS President CEO Paula Kerger and her husband Joe Kerger; the new COO of PBS, Michael Jones and his wife, Vicki Hawkins-Jones; and Les Crystal, the president of MacNeil Lehrer Productions. Ms. Ifill won’t be in attendance because “Washington Week” duty calls.

ABC News' Jonathan Karl

ABC News' Jonathan Karl

ABC News, meanwhile, will have just a single table. George Stephanopoulos won’t be there, but Jonathan Karl, the network’s senior congressional correspondent, will be in attendance, and of course Robin Sproul, VP and Washington bureau chief.

“We made a decision to cut back and have a smaller presence at the dinner this year. Since the White House Correspondents’ dinner was Obama’s first journalism dinner as President, we had a greater presence there and the guests to show for it. We’d also rather focus our resources on covering the news right now,” said spokeswoman Emily Lenzner.