Inside the ABC News Booth at the White House from whcinsider on Vimeo.

The glamour that is associated with being a White House correspondent, and the glitz of the premiere political beat, wears off pretty quickly once you’re actually inside the cramped and sometimes clammy work spaces where the press corps spends its days and often its evenings and nights.

ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jake Tapper gave WHCInsider a tour of the press set up and operations inside the West Wing.

Check out our earlier story on the renovation of the White House Briefing Room.

thaddad Correspondents ABC News, Jake Tapper, West Wing, White House correspondent

While President Obama’s nomination for the Supreme Court is still top of the fold, the hot gossip around town is who will be picked for the D.C. version of Bravo’s hit reality show featuring housewives.  Here is Patrick Gavin’s take from Politico.

And Channel 8′s Rebecca Cooper speculates about who’s in and who’s not.

“Often called a D.C. social doyenne, Tammy Haddad edits the Web site White House Correspondents Insider. “To be really famous, you either have to be in the White House or have a whole lot of money,” she said. “We’ll finally be able to see these checkbooks and see who has some serious coin and who has climbed their way to the top.”"

Check out Rebecca’s take.

gtruong News Media, Washington Events Bravo, Patrick Gavin, Politico, President Obama, Rebecca Cooper, Tammy Haddad

Bravo announced it would spin-off its popular “Real Housewives” franchise with a DC-area installment. No word yet on whether they will be Georgetown, Potomac, or McLean housewives, but less glamorous zip codes need not apply.

“We’re tapping personalities who are among Washington D.C.’s influential players, cultural connoisseurs, fashion sophisticates and philanthropic leaders — the people who rub elbows with the most prominent people in the country and easily move in the city’s diverse political and social circles,” said Bravo Media’s Executive Vice President and General Manager Frances Berwick.

Get the scoop from Express Night Out here.

gtruong Washington Events Bravo, Frances Berwick, Real Housewives

For easier viewing link
BizBash’s Top 100 Annual Events in Washington DC 2009 –

David Adler Uncategorized

David Adler White House Feed

Invitations vary in style and format depending upon the type of occasion for which they are issued. The broad categories of formal and informal occasions will be used in this discussion.

Formal: A formal occasion might include an official ceremony, any type of reception, official luncheons or dinners, dances or weddings. In these situations, a tbrmal invitation is most appropriate.

Formal invitations are generally in one of the following forms:

1. Fully engraved ¹
2. Semi-engraved
3. Handwritten
4. A phone call followed by a “To Remind” card

In any of these four types of invitations, use the following standard format as a guide:

¹ The expression “engraved” is used herein for simplicity. It is intended to be synonymous with other modes of printing such as thermography, or raised print, which is a very acceptable substitute.
² Use complete name of hosts: or if for very senior officials, the position, title, and spouse’s name; e.g., The Secretary of the Navy and Mrs. Claytor.
³ Lines 2 and 3 may be combined to read simply, request the pleasure of your company.
⁴ Indicate the type of function as: at dinner, at cocktails, at a buffet-dinner, etc.
⁵ The “in honor of” phrase may also properly be the first line of an engraved invitation, or the last.
⁶ Figures are never used in a formal invitation; the day and month are capitalized. The following examples of time indications are also correct:

1. “from six to eight o’clock”
2. “at half past six o’clock”
3. “at half after six o’clock”
4. “from six-thirty to eight-thirty o’clock” (used only when two half hour periods must be shown and space is limited)

⁷ Specify the location of the function. If a residence is involved, the address may be reflected instead in the lower right comer.
⁸ If it is desired that a written response be made, to a place other than the site of the function, indicate the mailing address here.
⁹ Specify an attire which is appropriate to the type of function and the hour. Read more…

David Adler Protocol

The White House rolled out a new Web site that will share raw data from government agencies — Data.gov — which can be the foundation for new, user-generated apps. And WhiteHouse.gov is launching new tools to open government decision making to the public.

“The whole process is premised on the notion that people are smart and they have things to share. It’s an important step in creating opportunities for citizens to engage with the government and co-create policy,” said Obama’s Deputy Chief Technology Officer Beth Noveck.

Read the rest of the Washington Post article here.

gtruong White House Staff Barack Obama, Beth Noveck, Data.gov, White House

The White House produces its own videos and the major news networks are shut out.  

To Read more from TV Newser CLICK HERE.

gtruong Correspondents, Media Strategy, News Media

Charles Ommanney covering Obama in New Hampshire 1/6/2008

Award-winning Newsweek photojournalist Ommanney talked with Holly Fine about covering the White House.

The winner of this year’s Best Photo award from the White House News Photographers’ Association, Newsweek’s Charles Ommanney, talked with WHCInsider about covering President Obama during his public and private moments from the campaign to the Oval Office. Ommanney told WHCI contributor Holly Fine that while candidate Obama had occasionally denied him access, team Obama understands something the Bush staff did not: the power of images.

Holly Fine Some people say your photographs got Barack Obama elected.  How do you react to that?
Charles Ommanney Well my God that’s so funny! In a way, I suppose I could say that is an incredible compliment.  At the same time, it’s a very gray area in journalism. When you work very close to these people, you find yourself being in a bubble and you forget about the outside world.  You can wake up one day and you realize or question whether you are being objective, because it is hard to not like someone like Barack Obama.  In fact, it was actually hard once I got on the inside of the Bush campaign in 2000, it was hard not to like him. It’s kind of a gray area that we all go through, you ask anyone who spends time traveling with a presidential candidate.

HF Can you remember the exact moment when you said to yourself, I am photographing the face of the next president?
CO I think around Iowa, when the Iowa caucus was going on. The size of the crowd and again it all comes back to this sort of bubble that you live in.  We were hearing on the road that John McCain was getting 2,000 people, if he was lucky, in an audience and then you were going to gymnasiums in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids and having 20,000 people turn up and you start realizing that this is some kind of phenomenon going on here. You knew you were kind of living some sort of history.

HF How did he change in the campaign through your camera?
CO The candidate to a degree is shielded quite a lot by the force of people underneath him, working for him, doing everything.  I am not sure Barack Obama really changed during the campaign, if at all.  I think it would be extremely unusual if these huge crowds of adoring fans didn’t affect his ego.  But really, Barack Obama didn’t change that much.  The people that changed were the people around him. Read more…

gtruong News Media Barack Obama, Charles Ommanney, George Bush, Holly Fine, Michelle Obama

Tim Geithner and Jon Meacham from whcinsider on Vimeo.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner seems to have gotten used to the slings and arrows of Congress, but Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham stopped Secretary Geithner in his tracks when he asked him about being included as one of People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People under the heading of  ”Barack’s Beauties” along with First Lady Michelle Obama, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers, and assistant White House Chef Sam Kass.

Here is the transcript:



MR. MEACHAM: People magazine has selected you as one of “Barack’s Beauties.” Would you phrase it that you’re–you were in close consultation?  How does that feel?


SECRETARY GEITHNER:  It doesn’t–[laughing]–it doesn’t feel particularly good, frankly.

[Laughter.]
 It doesn’t make up for the challenge of being away from my family and doing other things, but you’re so nice to bring it up, Jon.



MR. MEACHAM:  Well, you’re welcome.

I’d like the record to show that I think Alexander Hamilton blushed as well at various points with various folks.





Jon Meacham, the newly crowned Pulitzer prize winner can get a little history into anything.


gtruong Uncategorized, White House Staff Barack Obama, Jon Meacham, Michelle Obama, People magazine, Rahm Emanuel, Tim Geithner

Some of the politicos zinged by President Obama’s remarks at the White House Correspondents Dinner took it in stride on the Sunday talk shows.

Check out Lynn Sweet’s column on PoliticsDaily.com.

gtruong Event Coverage President Obama, White House Correspondents Dinner

Its only been 7 days since boldfaced names joined washington’s finest to enjoy a rare weekend together at the WHCD. The President rocked the room and Wanda Sykes rocked Rush Limbaugh and the political world has been debating both. While most WHCInsiders are now focused on the extraordinary war between Speaker Pelosi and the CIA, and the coverage of this war, we thought you would enjoy a digital journey back to what feels like a lifetime ago.

WHC Weekend Party Video from whcinsider on Vimeo.

gtruong Event Coverage, Uncategorized, WHCD 2009 Guests

Who is happier: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich or former Governor Mitt Romney?

The White House Correspondents Dinner has dominated the headlines over the years with celebrity sightings, presidential roasts, and comedy routines.

This year President Obama used the cover of the dinner to have a private meeting with one of the top GOP contenders for the 2012 nomination, Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. Obama asked Huntsman to be Ambassador to China and Huntsman said yes. That is another blow to the GOP and another notch on the President’s 2012 belt.

Click here for Marc Ambinder’s analysis.

thaddad Washington Events, White House Staff Governor Jon Huntsman, President Obama, White House Correspondents Dinner

Check out the New Newsweek cover..with President Obama VERY up close…
Editor Jon Meacham will interview Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on Monday at the Naitonal Press Club
Sign up to watch it LIVE on Newsweek’s Facebook page at Newsweek.com.

David Adler Uncategorized

 Sting’s eco-wacko wife charters private jet for flight to Obama dinner (The DM Headline)

Trudie flew her personal hairstylist from New York to Washington, DC for this? She could have gotten the same effect by sticking her head out the window of the cab on the way to the White House.
Our Green Hypocrite of the Week award goes to Trudie Styler, wife of rocker Sting.
Instead of flying commercial or taking the Amtrak Shuttle, she chartered a private jet to take her eight person entourage from New York to the White House Correspondents dinner in Washington, DC. Included in the entourage was Antonio Prieto, her personal hairstylist.

‘Yes, I do take planes,” Styler said haughtily. “My life is to travel and my life is also to speak out about the horrors of an environment that is being abused at the hands of oil companies.”

Sting and Trudie claim to be big proponents of saving the rainforests. She’s a co-founder of the Rainforest Foundation. In 2006, he organized a charity concert for the Foundation, but caught flak after donating a paltry 41% of the proceeds to rainforest programs.

But it’s tough to reconcile that concept with the fact that it’s been discovered that Mr & Mrs Sting “have a carbon footprint estimated at 30 times that of the average UK resident.”

Maybe this guy should change his name from Sting to Scam. Mr & Mrs Scam just seems so much more appropriate.

Source: DailyMail UK via Deceiver.com

David Adler Event Coverage, Uncategorized