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Bush Gift to Obama "Visual Messaging" Team

April 18, 2009 By WHC Insider

Behind the Scenes at the New White House Briefing Room Redesigned for the 24/7 News Cycle

The White Briefing Room Series
Part One: The Technology

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in 2007. Courtesy of White House Photo Office.

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in 2007. Courtesy of White House Photo Office.

On the surface, the revamped and spiffed-up White House Press Briefing Room looks like a clean, well-lighted and more streamlined version of its old self. But largely hidden from public view is evidence of the extensive cutting-edge technology — not to mention the intensive labor — that went into the 2006-07 renovation.

For instance, that rich, royal blue backdrop behind the podium? Not blue at all. “That’s an entirely new backdrop with lots of LEDs,” says Scott Sforza, the former White House deputy assistant communications director and director of the renovation project. “Those lights can make the backdrop any color of the spectrum.”

Complete walls were torn out. A stairwell to access cabling in the deep end of the pool below the briefing room floor was dug and installed. (Yes, the briefing room is atop the old White House swimming pool.) New wiring, new lighting, new air conditioning (finally serious air flow), and pretty much new everything went in. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Press Secretaries, Uncategorized Tagged With: Scott Sforza, Starship Enterprise, White House Press Briefing Room

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Exploring “behind the scenes” of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

We track the White House Correspondents’ weekend and all the activities around it, from journalists and media companies to the White House and politicos.

Tammy Haddad is Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief of WHC Insider and CEO of Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents Insider is not affiliated with or approved by the White House Correspondents’ Association, which is a registered trademark of the WHCA.

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