White House Correspondents Insider

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

Entrepreneurs and Military Families in Spotlight at Annual Garden Brunch for White House Correspondents’ Weekend

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Media notables, Hollywood stars, and leaders from the business and non-profit sectors came together on Saturday for the annual Garden Brunch in honor of White House Correspondents’ Weekend. The mission of this year’s brunch was to recognize entrepreneurs who are ‘starting out and starting up’, along with initiatives that support members of the military and their families.

Dr. Sachiko Kuno with Halcyon Incubator Cohort4: Jeffrey Prost-Greene, Eric Shih, Kathleen O'Keefe, Daniel Hill, Charlene Brown, Faran Negarestan and Kristof Grina

Dr. Sachiko Kuno with Halcyon Incubator Cohort4: Jeffrey Prost-Greene, Eric Shih, Kathleen O’Keefe, Daniel Hill, Charlene Brown, Faran Negarestan and Kristof Grina

Hilary Rosen introduces Connie Milstein and Derrick & Emma Dockery of Yellow Ribbons United

Hilary Rosen introduces Connie Milstein and Derrick & Emma Dockery of Yellow Ribbons United

The brunch raised awareness for Halcyon Incubator, an organization founded by Dr. Sachiko Kuno that supports early stage social entrepreneurs through an immersive 18-month fellowship program. As guests arrived, they were asked to share their advice for individuals who are seeking to launch a new career and change the world. The notes were shared on an interactive PPI board provided by Microsoft.

Tony Goldwyn shares advice on the Microsoft PPI

Tony Goldwyn shares advice on the Microsoft PPI

Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitz Grant on ABC’s Scandal, shared: “Commit 100% to your dream. That will lead you to places you can’t even imagine!”

Sheila C. Johnson introduces Dr. Sachiko Kuno

Sheila C. Johnson introduces Dr. Sachiko Kuno

Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET, philanthropist and the first African American female billionaire, knows a thing or two about success. Her advice? “Be bold and be fearless!”

Arianna Huffington and Travis Kalanick

Arianna Huffington and Travis Kalanick

Arianna Huffington and Travis Kalanick, who arrived at the brunch together, are two of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. Huffington’s tip: “Remember failure is a stepping stone to success!” And Kalanick shared insights based on his own experience of creating Uber: “You can bend reality but don’t break it!”

Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles focused on practical advice: “Do not argue with your boss when u are drunk, even if u are right.” Under Armour CEO and Founder Kevin Plank also offered sound business advice with “Find out if your product can sell!!!”

Fox News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren encouraged individuals to broaden their horizons: “Travel! See the world so that you know something!” And CNN’s Wolf Blitzer gave advice that is often heard in Washington: “You may be smart, but other people may be smarter. Listen and take advantage and learn. Two heads are smarter than one.”

The focus on entrepreneurship and Halcyon Incubator was highlighted during the event as Dr. Sachiko Kuno, CEO of S&R Foundation, took the stage to talk about the work of her organization and to introduce the program’s current cohort.

This year’s Garden Brunch also raised awareness for Yellow Ribbons United and their initiative #PlayfieldInThePark, which serves approximately 500 children and teens attending the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) Good Grief Camp and Honoring Our Heroes Camp over Memorial Day Weekend. The program was created by Derrick and Emma Dockery, and has recently received the support of Constance Milstein, who was also a co-host of the Garden Brunch.

In addition to sharing their mission with brunch guests, Emma Dockery also had advice for budding entrepreneurs: “Never give up, for every no you may receive there is someone who will say yes!”

Neve Campbell, Derrick Dockery, Emma Dockery, Tammy Haddad

Neve Campbell, Derrick Dockery, Emma Dockery, Tammy Haddad

Additional guests from the entertainment industry included Bryan Cranston of HBO’s All the Way, Director Jay Roach, Oscar winning actress Helen Mirren, House of Cards’ Neve Campbell, Daredevil’s Rosario Dawson, Lisa Edelstein from Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce, Constance Zimmer of UnREAL, The Creative Coalition CEO Robin Bronk, Blindspot’s Jaimie Alexander, House of Cards’ Michael Kelly, actress Sela Ward, Blue Bloods’ Bridget Moynahan, Concussion’s Gugu Mbatha-Raw, model Anne V, Independence Day’s Jeff Goldblum, Valeri and Candace Cameron Bure, Omarosa, Eric Podwall, Dule Hill, Matthew Morrison, HBO’s Len Amato, Scandal’s Scott Foley, and model Daniela Lopez.

Media in attendance included Charlie Rose, Jim Bankoff, Kevin Merida and Marie Donoghue from ESPN, Gayle King, Wolf Blitzer, Laura Ingraham, Bret and Amy Baier, Brian and Jamie Stelter, Betsy Fischer-Martin, Stephanie Ruhle, Joy Behar, and April Ryan. Tech was also represented by Josh Ginsberg, CEO of Zignal Labs, Erin Egan of Facebook, Snap Chat’s Nick Bell and Instagram’s Charlton Golson, John Tass-Parker and Charles Porch.

From the world of government and politics, guests included Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, Heather Podesta, Tony Podesta, Jeremy Bernard, Megan Smith, Robert and Capricia Marshall, Heather Rothenberg and Ellie Schafer, Representative Joaquin Castro, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Dr. and Mrs. Anthony Fauci of NIH, World Bank President Jim Kim, Mike and Kristi Rogers, Ben Ginsberg, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter.

The crowd was kept up-to-the moment on the presidential election with Zignal Labs‘ realtime analytics.

zignal

Dessert treats were provided by Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis of Georgetown Cupcakes.

The 2016 Garden Brunch was held at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown. The event host committee consisted of Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen, Sachiko Kuno, Fred Humphries, Mark and Sally Ein, Connie Milstein, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, David Adler, and Franco Nuschese.

Special 360-Degree Camera on the President’s Lawn – Is There Another Drone at the White House?

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The White House has been using a custom made 360-degree camera set up in both the press briefing room as well as the South Lawn where President Obama boards Marine One, to record video footage.

Another new drone program from the administration? No, the footage being captured is actually all for a video to be shown during the White House Correspondents Association’s annual dinner this weekend. CQ Roll Call White House reporter John Bennett, uncovered this covert operation whilst covering the President. He happened to spot the “disc-shaped” camera and asked about its function.

But the funniest video at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to date, was in 2014 when Veep star Julia Louis Dreyfus and Vice President Biden hit the road together. Watch the video above to relive it!

 

Former White House Advance Man Josh King Releases The Ultimate Insider’s Guide to Politics

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Cover of Josh King's book --Off Script

Cover of Josh King’s book — Off Script

Off Script is a book that Donald Trump will quote. It takes readers inside the Democratic and Republican parties and their operatives’ tools of the trade.

During the 90’s under President Clinton, King served as Director of Production for Presidential Events in the White House office of communications. King was an important part of the communications team while working at the White House, overseeing and helping execute many iconic moments during President Clinton’s two terms in office. He also helped usher the beginnings of the technological revolution in the 90’s into the White House. King assisted in advancing the President’s messaging and communication through the advent of email and the Internet.

Icons of politics and journalism who are supporting and have lent their names to OFF SCRIPT include: Don Baer, Mike Barnicle, Paul Begala, Jay Carney, Mark Halperin, John Heilemann, Joe Lockhart, Mike McCurry, Mark McKinnon, Brad Meltzer, John Podhoretz, Karl Rove, George Stephanopoulos, Danny Strong, Nicolle Wallace and, Beau Willimon.

You can find his book on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Off-Script-Stagecraft-Spectacle-Political/dp/1137280069/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1457622944&sr=1-3&tag=smarturl-20

Here’s what some have to say about OFF SCRIPT:

“Ever wonder what happens in a presidential campaign when the cameras are off, the doors are closed and no one’s looking? Find out inOff Script, a guide to the messy, ugly and sometimes poignant world of political stagecraft by one of the best practitioners in the business.”

–Jay Carney

“Discreetly leading the way in every campaign are the advance men and women who literally set the stage. Josh King, a Jedi master of that profession, vividly brings the image makers out of the shadows in Off Script.”

–Mark Halperin

“Josh King has been at the top of the campaign game for more than 20 years — and Off Script takes us behind the scenes to show what works, what doesn’t and why. A must read for anyone who works on — or just loves — the Presidential trail.”

–George Stephanopoulos

EXCLUSIVE: WHC Insider Interviews Special Assistant to the President Ellie Schafer

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Each year the White House Easter Egg Roll extravaganza brings together visitors from around the nation to spend the day on the South Lawn of the White House with the president, first lady, musicians, celebrities, and athletes. This year the White House hosted over 35,000 people for the event which featured performances from Idina Menzel, the first-ever fun run at the White House with First Lady Michelle Obama, a friendly game of basketball between Shaquille O’Neill and President Barack Obama, story time with the cast of Black-ish, and appearances from Beyonce, Jay-Z, and their daughter, Blue Ivy. Behind the scenes of the entire operation is Ellie Schafer, Special Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Visitor’s Center.

According to Ms. Schafer who joined the Obama campaign in 2007, First Lady Michelle Obama “gave me some pretty specific instructions, the first one was, we wanna make sure that it’s very family friendly, focused on a lot of fun activities for the kids. We have sports, we have reading, we have a main stage, things that people have never seen before.”

The Obamas have made clear they wanted to turn 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue into the People’s House from the beginning. “When Barack and I first got here, one of the goals that we had was to open up the White House to as many people from as many backgrounds as possible.” With the help of, the Obamas were able to accomplish that goal. To do it, they decided to use a lottery system for handing out tickets to the Egg Roll. The result? Visitors came to the White House from all 50 states, from all kinds backgrounds and cultures, making this event one of the most diverse in White House history.

Tommy McFly, radio host and MC of the Easter Egg Roll, says Schafer “has 35,000 guests, A-level stars, and the leader of the free world and his wife roaming around but she is just always cool and calm. Everybody else who is part of the crew feels that too.”

Ms. Schafer comes from a Republican family. Her father Ed Schafer was President George W. Bush’s  Secretary of Agriculture and former governor of North Dakota. She is a former aide to John Kerry’s presidential campaign and ran her own political consulting company in San Francisco before joining up with then Senator Obama.  She is married to Heather Rothenberg, a former Transportation Department highway specialist.

This is the last Easter Egg Roll for the Obama family. Michelle Obama, speaking to the crowd said, “Today is a little bit bittersweet for us, because this is the Obama administration’s last Easter Egg Roll.” Schafer teared up as she surveyed the lawn watching families head towards the gates at the end of the final Obama Easter Egg Roll.

Broadway’s Hamilton Cast Dazzles at the White House

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Cast members perform musical selections from the Broadway musical "Hamilton" in the East Room of the White House, March 14, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

(Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

Barack and Michelle Obama paid tribute to the performing arts on Monday with the cast of the smash Broadway musical Hamilton, who joined forces to host a full day of workshops, performances, and panels for students. The cast comes to the White House at a time when writer/composer and star of the show Lin-Manuel Miranda’s wildly popular hip-hop retelling of Alexander Hamilton’s life is selling out theaters at over $1000 a seat.

The Hamilton cast performed highlights from the musical to a packed crowd in the East Room. According to the First Lady, “We wanted to change things up here in the White House a little bit. We wanted to open the doors really wide to a bunch of different folks who usually don’t get access to this place.” Lin-Manuel Miranda even performed a freestyle for the President in a video which has nearly 8 million views.

You can watch the freestyle here.

Larry Wilmore to Host 2016 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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021815-celebs-larry-wilmore

On April 30th Larry Wilmore will host the 101st White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The White House Correspondents’ Association has selected Comedy Central’s “Nightly Show” host to headline the star-studded event featuring President Obama.

WHCA President, Carol Lee, said of Wednesday’s announcement, “Larry’s edgy, even provocative, brand of humor means he’s certainly up to the task of skewering politicians of all ideological stripes, and we don’t expect the nation’s news media to escape unscathed, either.”

New Leaders of the Press Pack! Pew Says Traditional Reporters Outnumbered, New Era in Capitol Hill Journalism

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bryan_cranston_press_room_white_house

A new study from Pew Research Center found that reporters from niche outlets and digital news publishers outnumber daily newspaper reporters, marking a shift in the makeup of the press corps from previous years. Pew reports that the number of journalists on the Hill that produce local coverage fell from around 200 in the mid-90s to just under 60 by 2015. As of 2014, 32% of reporters in the Senate Press Gallery were daily newspaper publications, in contrast to the 37% of reports from digital and niche publications.

The evolution in the makeup of the Washington press corps signifies a shift in the ways Americans consume news. So called “digital-native” outlets have increased from just 2 in 2009 to over 70 in 2014. According to Pew, “Reporters for broad-interest news websites have only emerged in the Washington press corps in recent years. These are outlets such as The Huffington Post and Buzzfeed that publish on a daily basis and aim for a general audience.”

In an effort to understand the implications for local communities, Pew studied coverage of the federal government in eight local newspapers from across the United States, four of which maintain DC reports on staff and four that don’t. Their findings reveal that 71% of stories from DC reporters contained quotes directly from a member of Congress, three times more than the rate at which reporters outside the Beltway did.

Pew also found that non-DC reporters are much more likely to tie stories from the Hill to the implications they might have for citizens, while DC-based reporters were more likely to address the the impact a particular story had on the politicians involved. The study claims that the dwindling number of DC-based reporters and the increasing reliance of wire-based services makes it more difficult for local publications to deliver clear and consistent coverage of politicians on the Hill.

The results of the poll can be found here: http://www.journalism.org/2015/12/03/todays-washington-press-corps-more-digital-specialized/?utm_source=Pew+Research+Center&utm_campaign=6316aa58cd-Weekly_Dec_3_201512_3_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3e953b9b70-6316aa58cd-399587233

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.

Martha Kanter Leaves Higher Ed Department

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Martha Kaner

Martha Kaner

Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter announced yesterday she would be leaving the administration and returning to academia. In a farewell email to friends and staff, Kanter praised President Barack Obama and her work at the Department of Education.

“Together we have accomplished important milestones in improving education for Americans at all levels, especially for those most in need. I know from experience that great teaching, learning and research have the power to transform our nation and the world. To build on the work and considerable outcomes we have achieved, I have decided to return to academia and will leave federal government service this fall,” she wrote in an email. Kanter joined the Department of Education when she was appointed in 2009. Her exit, however, is a massive hole in DoE according to Politico. Her goodbye stressed her accomplishments and praise for the administration:

“I know from experience that great teaching, learning and research have the power to transform our nation and the world. To build on the work and considerable outcomes we have achieved, I have decided to return to academia and will leave federal government service this fall.

Delivering a world-class education for all is what I have dedicated my life to get done every day. Serving as your Under Secretary has deepened my understanding and appreciation of what “service to improve the public good of our nation” really means. The promise and power of delivering good government to our students and families is a tireless, phenomenal effort, often with few external rewards if done honestly, fairly and well. What unfolds each and every day never ceases to amaze me, even now. I could never have imagined a more exciting and challenging opportunity. For that I thank President Obama, Secretary Duncan and each of you.”

With an uplifting sign-off (“Full speed ahead!”) Kanter plans to go back into education. There are no current names being thrown around for her role or the still-vacant Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. Even the days of 2009 where Kanter was confirmed in three months seem like a forgotten era. Kanter hasn’t specified exactly what type of “academia” she’s heading back to, but it’ll hopefully have a better cafeteria and quad than Seaton Section Park outside of DoE.

Photo via Twitter

White House Continues Trend of Referencing Mean Girls

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Once again, it seems like the White House made a Mean Girls reference.

The 2004 comedy staring Lindsay Lohan, who we’re aware is something of a Washington sparklie, is ripe for referencing inside the Beltway. In a tweet sent out by the official White House account, Bo is the culprit in this recent attempt to reference the lack of fetch ever happening. But who’s the real culprit?

Mean Girls has been a subtle staple inside the Obama media team since the 2012 re-election campaign. A gif here, a(n unofficial) quickmeme template there and a random Ann Coulter reference that makes us think she’s never seen the film. But Mean Girls is essential when dissecting Washington, especially in gif form. Could this be a sign of DoJ fighting the American Airlines/U.S. Airways merger? Proof of Cronut coming to D.C.? Or worse–nothing at all except a brief tweet on a Tuesday?

No word when the administration will start using The Canyons as a talking point.