White House Correspondents Insider

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

Disney Taps Biden Aide Kristina Schake as Executive Vice President of Global Communications

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Via Walt Disney 

Kristina Schake, the head of the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine education campaign, has been named by Disney as its new executive vice president of global communications, according to a Disney Press Release.

After a long career in Hollywood, Washington beckoned and brought Kristina Schake to The White House to help Michelle Obama become one of the most successful First Ladies in history as her communications director. She’s been in Washington since; previously appointed by President Biden as counselor to the Secretary for Strategic Communications at the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and heading the vaccine education campaign. She also served as the global communications director for Instagram.

Schake will report to Disney’s chief corporate affairs officer, Geoff Morrell. In a statement to Deadline, Morrell said, “Her experience in the public and private sectors, in political and corporate campaigns, make her ideally suited for this important role and to help me integrate communications with government relations, public policy, and corporate social responsibility into a new Corporate Affairs team. Together with the exceptional professionals at Disney, we will help the world’s greatest storytelling company engage even more effectively with our many stakeholders around the world.”

Following her graduation from John Hopkins University, Schake began her career working for Los Angeles Mayor Richard J. Riordan and later became a senior communications strategist for First Lady Maria Shriver, the Women’s Conference, and the California Endowment’s Building Healthy Communities Initiative. She also co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights there, which worked to overturn the ban on same-sex marriage. She will be returning to California for her new role at Disney. We wish Kristina all the best.

President Obama to Netflix Spokesman Confirms Conversations with Barack and Michelle Obama

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The New York Times has exclusive reporting on conversations between President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to join Netflix. “Former President Barack Obama is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows that will provide him a global platform after his departure from the White House, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Under terms of a proposed deal, which is not yet final, Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world. The number of episodes and the formats for the shows have not been decided.

Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics, according to people familiar with discussions about the programming. They said the Obamas had talked about producing shows that highlight inspirational stories.

But the Netflix deal, while not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com, would give Mr. Obama an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media, with 101 million Twitter followers and 55 million people who have liked his Facebook page.”

“President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire,” Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president, said Thursday. “Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories.”

Read the rest here.

Trump to Meet With Barack Obama in the White House as Transition of Power Begins

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President Barack Obama is set to welcome President-elect Donald Trump into the White House as the transition process beings in Washington. It will be their first face-to-face meeting ever. Vice President-elect Mike Pence will be meeting with Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama will also meet with her successor, Melania Trump.

Donald Trump and his running mate will begin receiving daily Presidential briefings and vetting cabinet appointees as well as Supreme Court nominees. The transition efforts follow the most contentious presidential campaign in modern times and tensions are sure to be high. Obama and Trump have traded jabs throughout the years. It remains to be seen how smooth the transition effort will be, given the rivalry. Trump will assume office on January 20th.

First Lady Michelle Obama gives White House State Dining Room a facelift

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First Lady Michelle Obama has redecorated the White House State Dining Room for the first time since the Clinton Administration. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

First Lady Michelle Obama has redecorated the White House State Dining Room for the first time since the Clinton Administration. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

The White House State Dining Room, the top destination for locals and dignitaries, has been redecorated by First Lady Michelle Obama for the first time since the Clinton administration.

The changes include new curtains, whose peacock blue and ecru stripes compliment the “Kailua” blue in the Obama state china service, both of which incorporate a Hawaiian feel from Obama’s home state. The new mahogany, custom-made chairs, however, take influence from President James Monroe’s chair selection for the East Room in 1818.

A new blue-green, custom-made rug was also acquired, which includes designs from the ceiling of the dining room in its intricately woven stitching. Installment on two new rugs, so they could be switched out for cleaning, began in 2012.

In total, the redecoration cost the privately funded White House Historical Association’s White House Endowment Trust $590,000. The Old Family Dining Room, which Michelle Obama redecorated earlier this year, cost $290,000 and now sports a more modern feel with abstract art and bold colors.

Read more about the State Dining Room’s redecoration on bigstory.ap.org.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Joe Biden: White House Correspondents' Dinner 2014

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As part of the President’s presentation at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Vice President Joe Biden and Julia Louis-Dreyfus starred in a film that surprised the people at the dinner and rock social media. Watch the full video.

Photos: White House Easter Egg Roll 2013

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As spring blossoms in Washington–not that the lack of Cherry Blossoms help–we come to look upon the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. Held for the fifth year under President Obama, the Easter Egg Roll was presented this year in part with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Get Up And Move campaign.

“Today we’re going to have more than 30,000 people who will pass through this yard in celebration of nutrition and health and activity,” she said. “And we could not do this if it were not for all of our wonderful volunteers, our staff, all of the terrific performers and athletes who have taken time out of their lives and their busy days to make this important. So we need to give all of them a round of applause for all their hard work.”

The annual basketball and tennis outing was not as easy for POTUS. Per the Pool:

“POTUS stepped to free throw line and kids were asked to stand on opposite sides, depending on whether they think he would sink it. Most kids moved in one direction, but one boy went to the “miss” side.

“Oh, man,” a stunned POTUS said, hands on hips. The boy didn’t budge. And three others joined.

In sharp form, POTUS released the ball. It bounced off the rim and circled it — miss.

“Come on. Come on. Did you see that?” Obama said.

It got worse. A little while later, after playing tennis, Obama started to take shots amid the kids and pros.

Miss. Miss. Off the rim. Miss. Miss. Off the rim. Airball. He moved closer to the net.

But time and again, he missed. Of 22 shots POTUS took, he made two. (22 was general consensus of poolers)[.]”

At least reading went a little better for Obama than the pick-up game.

Washington Filmmakers Sean and Andrea Fine Win at Oscars

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The Oscars had a few D.C. surprises last night ranging from the White House to Best Documentary Short. Michelle Obama came in from a remote shot to announce the Best Picture winner, Ben Affleck‘s snubbed-yet-beloved Argo. Keeping the presidency in spirit, Daniel Day-Lewis took home Best Actor for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. The full list of Oscar winners can be found here, but the other local surprise comes from a prominent Washington famil with a long film tradition. Sean and Andrea Fine won for Inocente taking Best Documentary Short.

Sean is the son of famed documentarians Paul and Holly Fine whose award-winning work was on 60 Minutes, Nightline and 20/20 as well as WJLA-TV. Paul Fine’s father Nate was the Washington Redskins photographer.

2008 White House News Photographers Dinner with Andrea Nix Fine, Sean Fine, Holly and Paul Fine, Bryce Fine

Co-directed by Sean Fine and his wife Andrea Nix Fine, the short follows a young undocumented girl struggling to become an artist in Los Angeles. They sourced funding through Kickstarter, making this the first project from the crowdfunding service to win an Academy Award. Fine truly rocked out his D.C. pride thanks to his RG3 socks. Fine tweeted out the photo at RG3 post-win:

And in case you thought social media wasn’t relevant, there were 8.9 million related Oscar tweets. As for how FLOTUS even became an idea as a presenter, it all goes back to–who else in Hollywood–Harvey Weinstein according to Deadline:

“The idea of getting the First Lady on the show first came from Lily Weinstein, who mentioned it to her big Obama contributor dad Harvey, who suggested it to the Oscar producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron and Academy president Hawk Koch. The group flew to DC a week and a half ago to put the logistics together with the White House. The Oscar producers told Deadline’s Pete Hammond earlier this week that they “were being like the CIA” about a couple of surprises on the show, keeping things top secret. In towns like Hollywood and DC where people love to talk, they pulled it off. There was no indication on the show’s rundown and most of the people on the Oscars had no idea who the secret guest would be. ‘I knew we could do it and we did it,’ Koch told Deadline tonight about keeping Obama’s name under wraps.”

This came after FLOTUS and POTUS were at the National Governors Association’s Ball, complete with Chris Christie still recovering from his “hugfest.”

Alicia Keys, fun., Smokey Robinson and More To Play Inaugural

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The Presidential Inaugural Committee released a short-list today of the artists performing for the Kids’ Inaugural Concert. It will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Saturday, January 19, and is the same venue as the official Inaugural ball on Monday, January 21.

The events will include appearances by Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley, Far East Movement, fun., members of the cast of Glee, John Legend, Katy Perry, Marc Anthony, Mindless Behavior, Nick Cannon, Smokey Robinson, Soul Children of Chicago, Stevie Wonder and Usher.
[Read more…]

GQ's Least Influential Skirts The White House

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First Family

Can we really claim Michelle Obama is the seventh least influential person in the world? Does that mean she’s more or less influential than pop earworms like Gotye or the constant influence of Madonna on the world stage? If Mitt Romney is first is that because he lost the 2012 election or because he’s barely recognized while at a CVS?

These are the sorts of questions that plague us as we go through all 25 choices on GQ’s list of The Least Influential People of 2012. The list’s a mix of pop culture mainstays, but the additions of the political choices seem to sting a bit much. Especially when going after the First Lady:

[Read more…]

First Family Leads the Fun at the Annual White House Easter Egg Roll

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President Obama and the First Family opened the South Lawn of the White House to 30,000 excited visitors for the 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll.  Visitors from all 50 states were treated to fun and games, all focused on the theme “Let’s Go, Let’s Play, Let’s Move” to encourage kids to make healthy choices.

The President joined the kids in all the activities, including rolling Easter eggs, reading “Where the Wild Things Are”, shooting hoops, playing tennis and cheering on and encouraging all the kids to have fun.

Melina Spatharis watched the President play tennis against tennis legend Chris Evert and got to shake his hand, “I thought it was awesome and the President looked like he was really having fun,” she said.

Additional activities included Rachel Crow singing the National Anthem, actress Julianne Moore reading to the kids, chefs cooking healthy and yummy dishes, US Olympian gymnast Dominique Dawes and NFL Star Antwaan Randle El leading the kids in the Eggtivity Zone Obstacle Course, and Charlie Brown, the Power Rangers and other costume characters taking pictures and having fun.

Click here to view a slideshow of pictures