Chris Licht, Vice President of Programming for CBS News and former Executive Producer of MSNBC’s Morning Joe, will be celebrating the release of his new book What I Learned When I Almost Died: How a Maniac TV Producer Put Down His BlackBerry and Started to Live His Life tonight at The Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC.  The reception was hosted by Constance Milstein, Jon Meacham, Kevin Sheekey and Tammy Haddad.

Here are some photos if you missed the live stream of the event:

WHC Insider Washington Events Book Party, Chris Licht, Constance Milstein, Joe Scarborough, Jon Meacham, Kevin Sheekey, Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC, Tammy Haddad, The Jefferson Hotel

ncarlotto Uncategorized CBS News, Chris Licht, Jefferson Hotel, Jon Meacham, Morning Joe

Fred Ryan, President of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library; close friend and adviser to Nancy Reagan and the Executive Director of The Prince of Wales Foundation, Robert Higdon, a close friend of Nancy Reagan; former Reagan staffers and Washington notables gathered at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the new memoir from Ron Reagan, MY FATHER AT 100. Connie Milstein, Tammy Haddad and Jon Meacham hosted the party. Here’s an excerpt from Jon Meacham’s interview with Ron Reagan.

Check out ronreagan1oo.com for more information about the book.

WHC Insider Washington Connie Milstein, Fred Ryan, Jefferson Hotel, Jon Meacham, MY FATHER AT 100, Robert Higdon, Ron Reagan, Ronald Reagan

Ron Reagan wrote the words about his father’s final moments on this earth but could not bring himself to read them out loud again without getting emotional. And so, in a poignant end to an interview with Jon Meacham, Reagan asked the Pulitzer Prize-winner to please read them instead as he, the son of the 40^th President of the United States, listened with his head partially bowed in front of a captivated audience at the Jefferson Hotel.

“His eyes found the face of the woman who for more than half a century had formed the core of his private world. ‘I love you honey, I love you’ was all she could say.  Was all she needed to say,” began Meacham.

Personal family memories and moments such as these fill the pages of MY FATHER AT 100: A MEMOIR, Ron Reagan’s new book reflecting on the life of his father Ronald Reagan who would have turned 100 years old this February. Researching and writing the book was a son’s tribute to the father he knew and loved behind the presidential pomp and circumstance.

Ron Reagan shared a few of these memories at a book party Monday evening at the Jefferson Hotel co-hosted by Connie Milstein, JC de La Haye Saint Hilaire, Tammy Haddad, Ted Greenberg, and Jon Meacham.

One particular anecdote harkened back to the image of the Hollywood Reagan when he was best known for playing University of Notre Dame varsity football player George “The Gipper” Gipp on the silver screen.  As a youngster, Ron knew that when he and his buddies were a man short to play football out on the front lawn that his father, even though busy working as Governor of California, would be up for a game.

“I’d pass by the window with the football,” said Reagan as he mimed tossing a football in the air to the delight of the crowd,  “and I knew within half an hour or so he’d be out there. He insisted though that he had to quarterback for both teams, that was his position.”

Reagan was warmly greeted by friends and Washington, D.C. notables including Fred Ryan, President of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and close Nancy Reagan confidante Robert Higdon, now chief of the Prince of Wales Foundation.

Also attending: Senator Maria Cantwell, Tammy Duckworth, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Geoff Morrell, Judy Woodruff, Amy Nathan, Steve Scully, Chris Isham, and Roger Simon.

You can watch Jon Meacham and Ron Reagan’s interview below. And for more information on the memoir check out www.ronreagan100.com.

WHC Insider Washington Jefferson Hotel, Jon Meacham, My Father At 100: A Memoir, Ron Reagan, Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, the 40^th President of the United States, would have celebrated his 100^th birthday on February 6, 2011. To mark this milestone, his son Ron Reagan has written MY FATHER AT 100: A Memoir. Reagan shares his personal memories and traces his father’s journey from his family’s roots in Ireland to the Midwestern streets of his birth; from Hollywood to the California Governor’s mansion, and ultimately the White House.

Ron Reagan will talk about his new book with Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and presidential historian at a celebration at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, DC.  Hosted by Connie Milstein, JC de La Haye Saint Hilaire, Tammy Haddad and Ted Greenberg. And for more information about MY FATHER AT 100, check out RonReagan100.com.

WATCH the Party Program below:

WHC Insider Washington Jefferson Hotel, Jon Meacham, MY FATHER AT 100, Ron Reagan, Ronald Reagan

The collective shout of joy from political reporters around the Beltway is well deserved: Jon Meacham’s an editor once again.

The ex-Newsweek editor joins Random House as Executive Vice President and Executive Editor according to a press release published today via the AP. Mike Allen fleshed it out a bit more in his Playbook citing the new role will start in 2011. More important?

Washington now has a powerful new friend in New York publishing. Meacham will have a big checkbook and a huge appetite for great political books, but with high standard (will only take on three or so books a year, which means lots of retail attention to the authors he chooses to work with). A longtime observer of the New York/Washington literary world, when he heard the announcement: “Meacham just became arguably the most influential nonfiction editor in American letters.”

Meacham’s own catalog at Random House includes American Lion on the life of President Andrew Jackson, which also took the Pulitzer Prize.

John Lichman Correspondents, DC, News DC, Jon Meacham, Media, Newsweek, Random House

It’s official: The Washington Post Company has signed a contract to sell Newsweek to businessman Sidney Harman, 91, the founder and chairman emeritus of Harman International.

Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham has agreed to step down as part of the ownership transition.

According to the post on Newsweek.com, Meacham announced his departure in an e-mail to staff this afternoon: “It has been a privilege beyond measure to have worked for NEWSWEEK and for The Washington Post Company for the past 15 years. I will always be grateful for the opportunity the magazine gave me to serve alongside all of you. For half a century the Graham family created and sustained a culture in which we were able to do good, important work, and I know NEWSWEEK will continue to do so.”

“In seeking a buyer for Newsweek, we wanted someone who feels as strongly as we do about the importance of quality journalism. We found that person in Sidney Harman,” said Donald E. Graham, chairman and chief executive officer of The Washington Post Company, in a press release issued by the company.

Harman made his fortune in audio equipment and is the husband of Representative Jane Harman (D-CA).

WHC Insider News Media Donald Graham, Jane Harman, Jon Meacham, Newsweek, Sidney Harman, Washington Post

WHC Insider presents the first annual WHC Weekend Insider Awards to highlight the great deeds of the famous and infamous who came to Washington to party, schmooze, and most importantly – be seen – at the events surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

It’s the biggest weekend in Washington, second only perhaps to Inauguration, which you clever kids know from civics class only comes once every four years (and without as many brunches).

So, here it is, the best of the fetes, as we scour the tables at the Washington Hilton to find someone not represented by Bob Barnett.

BEST OUTREACH BY A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL

Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. No one walks in LA, but apparently Hollywood hottie and “Entourage” star Adrian Grenier was making his way on foot to the Bloomberg/Vanity Fair after party when he was spotted by none other than Rahm Emanuel. The White House Chief of Staff’s brother, Ari Emanuel, was the inspiration for the high-strung, heavyweight agent portrayed by Jeremy Piven on the hit HBO show “Entourage.”

Rahm immediately had his motorcade pull over and Adrian hopped in. Now that’s taking it to the people!

Read more…

WHC Insider Awards Adrian Grenier, Anna Kendrick, Bloomberg, Bob Barnett, Boone Pickens, Bradley Cooper, Candice Crawford, Carol Blue, Carolyn Weyforth, Chace Crawford, Christopher Hitchens, Dan Pfeiffer, Elena Allbritton, Greta Van Susteren, Joe Mazzello, John Coale, Jon Meacham, Jonas Brothers, Katie Couric, Kim Kardashian, Matthew Morrison, Morgan Freeman, Politico, Rahm Emanuel, Robert Allbritton, Rosario Dawson, Sara Olson, Tony Romo, Vanity Fair, WHCA, WHCA Dinner, White House Correspondents Association Dinner

First Lady Michelle Obama is on the cover of the latest Newsweek magazine with a shiny red apple but last week she came to the defense of the Twinkie (the cream-filled sponge cake is apparently a favorite with the Obama girls).

The First Lady spoke with Newsweek’s editor Jon Meacham at the magazine’s Executive Forum in Washington about her Let’s Move initiative to fight childhood obesity.

She’s challenging grocery companies to rework their products and wants nutritional information put on food packaging that’s easier to understand. The First Lady draws a line at putting a warning label on Hostess Twinkies or Kellogg’s Froot Loops cereal but appeals to parents to use common sense when it comes to feeding their kids.

“I’m all in favor of good snacks. We grew up with snacks and chips. But we have to exercise more. Parents have to understand what’s in the Twinkie. So we don’t need a warning, we need information that’s easy to understand.”

The First Lady Defends Twinkies from whcinsider on Vimeo.

jdonofrio DC Jon Meacham, Let's Move Initiative, Michelle Obama, Twinkie

It’s a ritual of spring—like Punxsutawney Phil and the Capistrano swallows—the first weekend in May is the White House Correspondents Dinner. President Reagan dubbed it “Washington’s spring prom” and it has grown into a weekend of events with D.C., New York and even Hollywood’s stars.

One of those events is the annual WHCD Garden Brunch. In 2009, hundreds of guests gathered in the garden, but there was a twist. The brunch was given in honor of the Mother’s Day Every Day campaign and featured honorary brunch Chair Ann Curry of the Today Show, with special guest Susan Axelrod of CURE Epilepsy.

Mothers Day Every Day is a U.S. advocacy group for maternal health led by the White Ribbon Alliance and CARE. Their campaign for healthy moms and newborns aims to raise the political will and resources to reduce maternal mortality around the world to meet the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goal number five.

There were some incredible moments as Captain Richard Phillips, who survived the Somali pirate attack, met Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano and relived his dramatic rescue for the first time.  T. Boone Pickens and his wife Madeleine talked to reporters about their successful campaigns for the Pickens Plan and to save wild mustangs

And “Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford taped a Mothers Day greeting surrounded by the star-stuck, pre-teen girls volunteering at the brunch. Arriving guests loved the adorable girls who greeted them with white ribbons, which were tied around their wrists in honor of mothers everywhere.

Since the garden brunch’s start 17 years ago, when Barbra Streisand made a surprise guest appearance, Hollywood stars in town for the dinner have made the Saturday morning event part of their itinerary.  Last year’s star power included Kerry Washington, Ludacris (escorting his own lovely mother), Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Matthew Modine, Tim Daly and Dana Delany.

Click HERE for last year’s garden brunch photos.

Washington’s own stars—Ben Bradlee, Sally Quinn, Andrea Mitchell, John King, David Gregory, Betsy Fischer, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Luke Russert, Gordon Peterson and Norah O’Donnell—turned out in force to mingle with the year’s top newsmakers: Todd Palin, Alan Greenspan, and Rep. John Dingell.  Last, but not least, there was a who’s who from the Obama administration in the crowd: Austan and Robyn Goolesbee, Mona Sutphen, Melody Barnes, Bill Burton and Katie McCormick Lelyveld.

Media and opinion leaders from around the country gathered including Newsweek’s Jon Meacham, Time’s Richard Stengel, Arianna Huffington, and Walter Issacson. And L.A. media mogul and agent provocateur Andrew Breitbart brought father-in-law Orson Bean, a crowd favorite.  Politico’s Mike Allen posed with nephews and fans while reporters swarmed Val Kilmer to ask whether he would make a run for governor.

This year’s brunch will again honor the Mothers Day Every Day campaign, which is led by advisory committee co-chairs Donna Shalala and Ann Veneman, and co-founders Dr. Helene Gayle and Theresa Shaver. WHCInsider will supply live coverage on Saturday, May 1st, as the first guests arrive.

It’s sure to draw another stellar “cast” of characters who will enjoy a morning drink and conversation with expected—and unexpected—guests. The spring blossoms, the fun, and the gossip, are sure to get everyone in the mood for the White House Correspondents Dinner on that evening.

gtruong WHCD History, Washington Events Alan Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell, Andrew Breitbart, Ann Curry, Ann Veneman, Arianna Huffington, Austan Goolsbee, Ben Bradlee, Bill Burton, Chace Crawford, Christian Slater, Donna Shalala, Helene Gayle, Jon Meacham, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, Luke Russert, Melody Barnes, Mike Allen, Mona Sutphen, Richard Stengel, Sally Quinn, Susan Axelrod, Theresa Shaver, Todd Palin, Val Kilmer

It is always different; the way a White House informs you that you have the President of the United States for an interview. Sometimes it’s a call to warn an important call is coming, and you better agree to the conditions. Often it is four to six people calling to claim credit for making the interview happen. But, as in most things with Obama, this is a drama free process: just an email asking where you can be reached. This email is from Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director of the Obama White House, and the cool and collected center of the daily press hub since the beginning of the campaign.

Newsweek, along with everyone else, had a request in to the White House to get more of President Obama’s words on the record. The interview is for Jon Meacham, named Newsweek editor at 29, now just 40. Meacham is a poet-historian and, like Obama, a bestselling author. Pfeiffer’s email advises that we will get our interview and it will be on Air Force One. Despite no video or audio, we were pleased and I reply, “We are in.” There was a quick handover to the operations folks for details of the trip to Phoenix for the President’s commencement address at Arizona State University.

I ask Meacham if he’s ever been on Air Force One, and he said only at the Reagan Library. My only time was during my stint running MSNBC’s 2004 election coverage when 30 Rock was transformed into “Democracy Plaza,” — a piece of an Air Force One plane was part of the plaza-wide exhibition.

Meacham and I meet up with Newsweek star photographer Khue Bui, a White House press corps veteran and delightful campaign trail mate, who will round out the Newsweek Air Force One team. We arrive at Andrews Air Force Base looking like the desk jockeys we are; editors and producers aren’t usually allowed out of their bureaus.

We watch as the entire White House traveling press corps arrives for a security check; however, they’ll be traveling on the press charter plane departing ahead of Air Force One.

Read more…

thaddad News Media, White House Staff Air Force One, Ben Finkenbinder, Dan Pfeiffer, Ellen Eckert, Jon Meacham, Jonathan Martin, Katie Hogan, Khue Bui, Newsweek, Pete Souza, Robert Gibbs, Samantha Buchan, Sarah Hurwitz, Savannah Guthrie

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

As hot as the Bloomberg After-Party is, the pre-party action has always belonged to Lally Graham Weymouth and her Newsweek bash celebrating the WHC dinner.

Every year, she is the eye of the media storm because of her remarkable guest list, specializing in the irresistible from Richard Gere to George Clooney.

Last year’s Lally-palooza was all politics, as top advisers of each campaign gently schmoozed each other from Obama’s Valerie Jarrett, Greg Craig and Joel Benenson, to McCain’s main men Rick Davis, Mark Salter and Karl Rove, to HR Clinton’s Mark Penn and Melanne Verveer.

Who will be seen sipping cocktails at the Newsweek reception this year? Lally, along with co-hosts Donald Graham and newly Pulitzered Jon Meacham, scored Obama heavyweights again: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Here’s the Newsweek list, hot off the press:

R. Todd Bradley, Executive Vice President, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett Packard
David Brennan, CEO, AstraZeneca
Representative Eric and Diana Cantor (R-VA)
Fmr. Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig
Amb. Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner
Amb. Richard Holbrooke, Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Ms. Kati Marton
Attorney General Eric Holder
Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief, The Huffington Post
Jeffrey Kindler, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer, Inc., and Ms. Sharon Sullivan
Michael Kives, Creative Artists Agency
Martin Nesbitt, President and CEO, PRG Parking Management
Natalie Portman
Sir Nigel and Lady Julia Sheinwald, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the US
Puneet Talwar, National Security Council, Iraq and Afghanistan Affairs
Dr. Eric Whitaker, University of Chicago Medical Center
Owen Wilson
James Berkus, United Talent Agency

jdonofrio Uncategorized Donald Graham, George Clooney, Jon Meacham, Lally Weymouth, Newsweek, White House Correspondents Dinner