CAROLJOYNT.COM

The Golden Globes of the East Coast are in Washington

KEVIN SPACEY AND MICHAEL DOUGLAS, IN DC FOR THE WHCA DINNER

It's entirely possible, if they want to, for the White House Correspondents Association leaders to turn their dinner into the East Coast version of the Golden Globes. Don't laugh. The WHCA has a lot in common with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who turned their sleepy little awards dinner into a boffo money maker. It's the subject of my column this morning on: New York  Social Diary

Tony Kornheiser Goes To A Big Splashy Party

 TONY WITH WILLIE GEIST

No kidding. Tony Kornheiser was at the White House Correspondents Association dinner and the party after hosted by Vanity Fair and Bloomberg at the French ambassador's Kalorama mansion. N-O kidding. I couldn't believe my eyes.  His being there is notable not because he doesn't belong but because Tony is the most anti-social socially skeptical person around, at least in all of his quadrant of northwest Washington, and up and down Connecticut Avenue, and admirably so. He is a hero to other skeptics (me, included).  Tony being there gave the party a seal of worthiness the hosts hopefully recognized. Almost any splashy party can have Sofia Vergara and Jon Bon Jovi. But Kornheiser? Nah, not so easy. 

TONY KORNHEISER AND WILLIE GEIST

While I could have gone about snapping pics of movie and sitcom stars I was instead drawn to Korny. Like everyone else he was dressed up in a tuxedo and looked quite fetching. When he introduced a group of people to each other, a group that included Maureen Orth and her son Luke Russert, he completely forgot to include Mo in the round of intro's, and here's what happened. She looked at him and said, "F U Tony Kornheiser." Haha. You know, it was said with affection, but that made it a party, at least in the little corner of the French ambassador's terrace where we were hanging out.

Spending time with Tony made the party more fun, less tedious. He doesn't know this but I took these photos at the risk of being thrown out  (Vanity Fair sent an embassy staffer to warn me I would be booted and never invited back), but the risk was worth it, on behalf of Tony's fans, the notorious Littles. I could have listened all evening to his long and interesting conversation with Tony Romo, in which Romo was exclaiming everything will be different this year. Oh, really? 

MAUREEN ORTH AND TONY KORNHEISER 

Thank you Willie Geist for acting as my agent and recommending that Tony appear on my show. Willie was a guest a year ago. But good luck with bagging Tony. I've been asking for years, since back when we started The Q&A Cafe at Nathans, and I'm no closer than I ever was to getting a "yes." But he's always very friendly when he see's me. 

What did Tony and Willie discuss? Among other subjects, Matt Lauer, but that part was OFF THE RECORD. 

I got a ride home with Nnamdi Asomugha of the San Francisco 49ers. We had a good conversation in the back of his hired sedan. He proves, once again, that people involved in sports - like Tony - can be much smarter than people who are not.

"At Large with Carol Joynt" on @WUSA9: Petraeus, Medical Marijuana & a Big Party

 

"At Large with Carol Joynt" on WUSA 9: Beltway Buzz on FLOTUS & More

 

Take That, Bob Woodward! His Media Pals Pile On.

Only the the most recent example of how members of the media like to eat their own.  When it comes to Woodward, and the jealousy of his peers, it could be an anthropological exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. 

"At Large With..." Me, Friday Morning, 6:15, WUSA-TV

 

Here's the video from today's installment of "At Large With Carol Joynt" on WUSA-TV. We discuss a few of my stories: The Gone-Ballistic Former White House Pastry Chef, What Next for Hillary Clinton, and grand opening of Chevy Chase Pavilion (story tk later on washingtonian.com).

The Truth About PR Management and Media

THE PROBLEM IS NOT ONLY AT THE WHITE HOUSE

“The balance of power used to be much more in favor of the mainstream press,” said Mike McCurry, who was press secretary to President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Nowadays, he said, “The White House gets away with stuff I would never have dreamed of doing. When I talk to White House reporters now, they say it’s really tough to do business with people who don’t see the need to be cooperative.”

That paragraph is from Politco this morning.  It's timely and the issue is bigger than the White House and reporters who cover that beat. McCurry's words define the overall relationship between "communications" or "public relations" and the in media general - regardless of the beat or subject. Since I last worked full-time in the MSM in 2000, at MSNBC, and coming back in 2011, to Washingtonian, the biggest change is that shift int the balance of power. The PR people know it, they exploit it, and the are accustomed to current day media who accept it and do as their told. 

I'm glad Politico addressed the matter, but they should come back at it and examine the overall reversal of power in what my sister-in-law calls "managing the media."

I  could go on and on, but here's the Politico story: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/obama-the-puppet-master-87764.html#ixzz2LLUYZGK5

White House Christmas 2012 - We've Got The Scoop

HOLIDAY PACKAGES FROM A PREVIOUS WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS

We went to the White House today for the unveiling of the "White House Christmas 2012" decorations throughout the public spaces of the mansion. It's always a good show. That said, the last time I did this event was during the Bush Administration. There have been significant changes. Nonetheless we did two reports: 

The White House Unveils Its Festive Holiday Decorations

and

White House Christmas 2012 By The Numbers

To note the changes, take a moment to step back in time and read this from the New York Social Diary archives:

White House Christmas 2007

Dinner with Bono, Tina Brown, Charlie Rose, Martha Raddatz & The Admiral

MY VIEW AT THE "HERO SUMMIT" DINNER: ADM. WILLIAM MCRAVEN, TINA BROWN, BONO

I love a good dinner party, which isn't the same as loving a dinner party. I love a dinner party when it is good. As much as I go out, and that ranges from 5-6 nights a week over the last several years, my barometer of what's good is highly developed. Generally I can determine what to expect well in advance, from the invite, the guest list, the location and the caterer. Often I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong.

I was wrong about the Hero Summit dinner.

I thought it would be just another corraling of the usual suspects with a lot of tedious speeches. Wrong. And I should have known, because of one essential and important ingredient: Tina Brown. I've been fortunate to have attended her events in the past, and one of her at-home dinner parties (and she's twice appeared on The Q&A Cafe), and Tina doesn't do boring. Even when everyone around her may be beige, she's consistently technicolor. And by that I don't mean she's one of those faux bubbly hostess types. No no no. She's not warm and cuddly. She's strategic. Heat-seekingly so. But she's very good at what she does: being Tina Brown. And fun to watch. 

I wrote a report for Washingtonian on the Hero Summit dinner. It captures most of what I experienced, but let me add here that what made the evening a stand-out, apart from Tina and the setting (the U.S. Institute of Peace), and a provocative guest list (meaning NY imports), were the interviews conducted by Charlie Rose and Martha Raddatz. Dinner organizers try to stage Q&A's all the time and usually they don't work. I consider myself a master class of the Q&A, and what I've learned over the years is that an audience that's been drinking and a Q&A don't mix. The secret is to put the interviews right up front, and that's what Tina did. Charlie interviewed Adm. McRaven just as we sat down, and Martha Raddatz came right after to do a compelling talk with an actual Blackhawk team about a stunning rescue mission (to them routine, not to anyone in the audience).

It was a reunion for me with Charlie Rose. We go so far back -NBC News, CBS News Nightwatch, PBS - and I still believe we did great work together, certainly some of my best. We talked about a mutual friend Tom Mazzarelli, who had worked with me at Larry King Live and with Charlie at CBS News. We were both singing Tom's praises, and I told Charlie this: "Working with Mazz reminded me of working with you, in that I felt like sometimes we shared a brain, which made the work so much better and more fun." He said Tom's taking a wee break from the network news grind. I don't blame him. That's healthy. Soon enough he'll be the executive producer of some hot big show. On that Charlie and I agreed 100%, and then we hugged a lot. 

One thing more: if you haven't yet been to the Institute of Peace, do check it out. The building reminds me of the East Wing of the National Gallery, with expansive clean spaces and grand views.

Marion Barry's News-Making Interview at The Q&A Cafe on YouTube

Here is DC Council Member and former Mayor Marion Barry with me at the Ritz Carlton Georgetown Hotel after finishing our 45 minute interview. It aired tonight on DCN/Channel 16. It also made a lot of news when it was taped last week. So, please check it out. Here's the YouTube clib below:

 

Cronkite, LBJ: Memories Are Made Of This

 

This is a clip of TV history I've never before seen, though I was there, and I thank my friend Shane Harris for unearthing and sending my way. It is Walter Cronkite reporting the death of President Lyndon B. Johnson "live" on the air. A writer, I sat off camera to his left. Across from me was the editor, John Merriman. On Cronkite's right were the two other writers, Raybun Matthews and Charles L. West. 

We were not many minutes into the show - maybe into the first commercial break - when the executive producer, Paul Greenberg, rushed out of his office, known as the "fishbowl," to tell Walter that Tom Johnson was on the phone and it was urgent, that LBJ had died. We came out of commercial and Walter took the call on the air. This clip underscores his professionalism and calm and journalistic grounding. Off camera, we scrambled, writing little bits of information that we slid to Walter below the shot. Very subtly, you can see him cooly referring to the little notes as we pass them to him -- from both directions. 

At the end of the clip, as we go to commercial, you see me, ready to pull copy from the wire machines that lined one wall of the studio. They were the Reuters, Associated Press and United Press International wires. They were our lifeblood back in those days before computers, tweets, email, text messages and so forth. We kept them in these big boxes so that while we were on the air the tick-tick-tick of the machines would be muffled, but you can hear them. You can hear our electric typewriters, too. 

This is just one of the most remarkable days in history but also in my professional life. I'd only joined the writing staff of The CBS Evening News in December of the year before. Cronkite hired me away from Time magazine, where I was a fledgling reporter. I was all of 22-years-old but a real hard-news Hannah about the business. This particular event, and the way Walter and the staff handled it, made me proud. We sprinted along until the end of the first 30-minute live 6:30 show, but while Walter talked we totally wrote a whole new show to do live at 7pm. We had all of five minutes to pull it together. The producers prepared clips and obit material. That night we did a network special. 

It was an exciting night. This was 1973, and Watergate was in full flower, so our days were routinely exciting. Still, this moment stood out. Not to get all gushy, but I watch and listen to the clip and it reminds me what a great front row seat I've had to so much history. I'm reminded, too, of what journalism was like before it got adorned with silly frills or sidetracked into meaninglessness. I miss the urgency of breaking news and being the broadcast to beat and, especially, the high standards. The standards were remarkable, compared to what passes for standards now - not only in television, but in all so-called news media. 

Because Shane mentioned it, here's a piece I wrote after Walter died: Remebering Old Iron Pants. The picture at the top is what we called the "bumper shot," which flashed on screen as went to commercial. I'm at my desk (Coca Cola and ash tray struck from the set).

 PS-The clip is in black and white, but we broadcast in color.

LATER: Afer posting, I received this wonderful message from a former colleague, Carolyn Terry Dorsett, who was Walter's executive assistant: 

 "Carol...thank you so much for sharing that clip! I remember that vividly as I took the call from Tom Johnson, put him on hold and contacted "the fishbowl". I, too, miss all the high standards of those days and count myself as most fortunate to have been at Walter's side from '63 to June, 1973. I still have the lovely note you wrote me the day I left."

Leonard Downie: A Washington Post Blast From Its Glorious Past

 

Another favorite from the archives. We taped this show in 2008 at Nathans right after The Washington Post, on Leonard Downie's watch, scored big with the Pulitzers. As executive editor he was on a roll and in a good mood. I look back on it now and wonder if it marked the end of an era for the newspaper. At the end of the interview, we talk about a novel-in-progress. "The Rules of the Game" was published by Random House after he left the Post. 

Watch this and you'll think he should get back in the daily journalism game.

Washington Post's Sour Grapes Begin to Ferment

This appears on the front page of the Washington Post's website today:

Buyers of prominent Georgetown mansions keep a low profile

Annie Gowen

Maryland biotech entrepreneurs, who made waves by snatching up prime Georgetown real estate, finally reveal themselves to a curious public.

That's all well and good, though the "reveal" already happened - in the May issue of the Washingtonian, with the actual first and exclusive interview. I expect this kind of bluster from our principal competition - the Post and the Washingtonian are mano-a-mano competitors (daily with website) - and we all hype our stories to some extent, but this particular hype is a bit extreme. It reeks of sour grapes on the verge of fermentation.  That said,  the back and forth of the competition is probably healthy for a city which has so few publications still publishing. 

This volly could be because Washingtonian called them out on their over-hyped Watergate 40th anniversary celebration, or because Washingtonian's editor, Garrett Graff, called out Sally Quinn on her memo to readers about her dismal social life. 

I'm sure this won't be the last of it. Every time we beat them, they in turn want to beat us, and vice versa ... and so it has been in big-city journalism for decades and decades. 

For now, the bottom line is that the owners of Evermay have given up their privacy for the near term and very well the long term, too. 

Sometimes, Working on a Tough Story, The Path Becomes Dense

BEET GNOCCHI AT BOURBON STEAK LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF DEXTER, BUT GOOD

...and that's where I'm at in a story that's been being pursued, by myself and a colleague, for more than six weeks. Lots of reporting, lots of notes, lots of meetings with sources, interivews, on and off the record. In the end, it feels like making a basket. The story isn't done until the basket can hold something. Just when you think its tight and knotted, a piece becomes unraveled. That was this evening. It didn't mean we're not on to something. It meant we're on to more than we realized. We have to re-weave the basket. So, this evening we met with a source and had some drinks at Bourbon Steak.

Later, I came home, walked the dog, had a cup of decaf, and did my usual yoga. Tomorrow. Back to basket making. I will hope fewer people will lie, but we're prepared. 

Not An Attack on The Washington Post, But ...

...the Post did send out a peculiar announcement for its upcoming celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, and I used the announcement for a Washingtonian story about modern media management. They don't call it a celebration, but for them, you know, it kinda has to be. After all, Watergate's legacy for the Post is everlasting journalistic fame, a Pulitzer, a place in the history books. The only part they probably don't celebrate is how Watergate, and their coverage of it, has become the benchmark by which everyone measures the paper's current performance. I doubt that will come up at the big event on June 11 at the Watergate office building. 

Congratulations To My Colleagues ... @washingtonian

It was a big night for The Washingtonian at the City and Regional Magazine Awards in Las Vegas. The publication won some very big awards. Here's the news sent to us in an early morning email from editor Garrett Graff: 

 

I wanted to share some very, very good news: Tonight at the CRMAAwards, Washingtonian won the 2012 profile writing category for lastyear's Tom Bartlett profile of Gene Weingarten. That's always thetightest category of the CRMA writing awards and the judges calledBartlett's piece the "craft at its highest level."

...minutes later we did it one better: We won the overall "Excellence in Writing" category forour March 2011 issue, the highest writing award offered by CRMA, beatingout Texas Monthly, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. That MarchHome Improvement issue, as you might recall had features by Luke Mullins (AndyNajar), Shane Harris (Bloomberg's Death Star), Marisa Kashino (The Man Who VettedSarah Palin), and Emily Leaman (What’s Killing the Elephants?), aswell as a What I've Learned by Bill O'Sullivan and a piece by Adam Goodheart.

Bravo to my talented colleagues. It's a delight to work among them every day. Look out for the June issue when it hits newsstands on Thursday. It's a winner, too. 

 

Who's Got The Cred In the Case of the Book about Ben Bradlee?

There's a lot of dust getting kicked up around Jeff Himmelman's biography of Ben Bradlee. The brouhaha is the focus of my first piece for Washingtonian after a terrific time away in Texas. The full story is at washingtonian.com. By the way, I recommend the book as your weekend reading: Yours In Truth.

WHCA: A Night Out Among the "Prom" Nerds

SPOTTED OUTSIDE THE W HOTEL: BILL PLANTE, CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, SALLY QUINN AND WALTER ISAACSON

At the extraordinarily crowded Google party, Google founder Eric Schmidt stood against the wall near the entrance. "Do you like crowds?" I asked. "No," he said, emphatically. I'm with Eric. It was too crowded. Almost impossible to move through the rooms in the basement of the W Hotel. But guests were smiling, laughing, shouting to be heard, and apparently having fun. Like any prom, these events are best for catching up with friends. Read my preview story on washingtonian.com

INSIDE: THE DINNER AT THE HOME OF DAVID AND KATHERINE BRADLEY

I saw some dear friends from across the years, friends I don't see often enough, so foraging into the mosh was worthwhile. Heidi Berenson, who worked with me at CBS News and now has her own media company; Britt Kahn, who worked with me at Larry King Live and is now one of Conan O'Brien's producers, and Stephanie Ruhle, with whom I go way back, to when she was working on Wall Street, and now covers Wall Street for Bloomberg. (And her handsome husband, Andy Hubbard, who still works on Wall Street). Crushed in with us was Dave Grimaldi of the FCC, who have their own issues with Google.

SETTING UP AT THE BRADLEY DINNER

Up on the W's rooftop, The New Yorker party was less crowded, and of course there is that spectacular view, and they had food. I spent most of my time sitting with Lloyd Grove of The Daily Beast, catching up and talking about our children. His daughter, Camilla, went to high school with my son, and his son, Julian, worked summers in the office at Nathans. Also joining us was another good friend, Francesca Craig, social secretary at the French Embassy, meaning everyone wanted to lobby her to get on the list for the Vanity Fair party at the ambassador's residence tonight. She was handed enough cards to fill a rolodex. 

THE VIEW FROM THE W HOTEL'S ROOFTOP BAR

The most civilized event of the evening, and reliably so, was the dinner party earlier at the home of Atlantic Media founder David Bradley and his wife, Katherine Bradley. It was just right, featuring an African-themed menu with steak and sweet potatoes and spices. If the whole weekend could be like that! 

AT THE NEW YORKER PARTY: CHAMPAGNE AND FOOD!

Yes, there were movie stars all over the place, but spotting them is not the reason to dive into this weekend's events. I like to see old friends. 

I don't do brunches, so I'll skip those today. Besides, I wouldn't want anyone to see me in the daylight. Too scary. Gotta get more sleep and then go out and haunt the night. 

Donald Trump and I Have a Quick Chat About Things

I had a phone appointment with Donald Trump today. I called him at his New York office and we talked for 15 minutes or so. It was very friendly. He was peppy and engaging. We discussed his plans for the Old Post Office Building, but I also had an "Apprentice" question and a WHCA dinner question. He answered both. Here's the chat: www.washingtonian.com.

Sarah Palin - The Person, Not the Caricature - in HBO's "Game Change"

NO, NOT TINA FEY, BUT JULIANNE MOORE AS SARAH PALIN

Soon the Newseum will host the premiere of the new HBO film, "Game Change," based on the political bestseller of the same name. It will debut on the air March 10. From beginning to end, it is about Sarah Palin, who is played by Julianne Moore. Please read my review of the film, on washingtonian.com: A Sympathetic Portrayal of Sarah Palin. 

Dwight Eisenhower, Queen Elizabeth and Tim Tebow

ELIZABETH THE QUEEN

Sorry for a delay in posting. It's been a busy week for me, so far.

I get to bed early, up early, to work early, but still days feel short. Not bad or unsatisfying. Only short. I fall behind in everything that is not work. Thus the phone messages from collection agencies...(and, of course, each thinks it is unique). Ha!

Here are some posts, so far this week:

Party for Sally Bedell Smith to Celebrate her Book, Elizabeth the Queen

Q&A with Sally Bedell Smith

Susan Eisenhower Talks About Her Family's Battle with Frank Gehry

And you wonder what any of this has to do with Tim Tebow. Read the Sally Bedell Smith book party story and then you'll know.

 

The 2012 Presidential Election Year Begins

Yes, with the 1,000 GOP debates it feels like the 2012 campaign has been happening for a year, but actually it officially starts in these next 12 hours with the Iowa caucuses. Next week is New Hampshire, and then primary after primary after primary. Just watch, whether because the coverage is interesting or amusing or engaging or enraging...but watch (or read, or listen). 

Iowa will count for something tonight because A) it is the venerable Iowa caucus, and B) the weather forecast is good (for Iowa), so estimates are more than 150,000 Iowans will participate. On the other hand, campaign experts predict the outcome won't make the GOP field any more defined than it's been for the past several weeks of clockwork shifting among Republican voters. Here's a good politico.com piece that focuses on the candidates mind-numbing mediocrity. 

I haven't decided who will be my "go-to" yet for cable campaign coverage, because I'm not keen on most of the prime time cable shows, with the occasional exception of Anderson Cooper. Piers Morgan is unwatchable, his MSNBC and Fox competitors are boring. I wish Chuck Todd and Chris Matthews had a 9 pm campaign show. Until that happy day I will just have to record Chris at 5 and otherwise patch patch patch.

My favorite political website remains RealClearPolitics.com. It is an ideal one stop, aggregating most of the other "print" reporting and commentary, plus polls, plus news. Hoping lots of new sites and fresh ideas will emerge during the run. My favorite campaign app of the moment is from The New York Times. 

On Washingtonian.com, The Blog Broadcasters Love & Hate

Dave Hughes is editor of the website dcrtv.com, the go-to for and about local Washington and Baltimore radio and TV people, and the occasional story about the local print media. I have a story about Dave and his site on Washingtonian.com today. Read it here. 

When Not To Believe A Publicist

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR (ABC News)

...in quotes like the following, from Page 6, spewed in regard to whether Christiane Amanpour is unhappy at ABC's "This Week" and begging CNN to take her back: An ABC rep said, “I just got off the phone with Christiane, she says that’s total nonsense. She’s very happy at ABC News. She’s not going anywhere. She’s had the most extraordinary year. She’s a critical, essential voice.” A CNN rep declined to comment on “speculation.”

Hahaha. Right.

Martha Joynt Kumar, Featured on Politico

 MARTHA KUMAR AT THE Q&A CAFE

This appeared on Politco Tuesday about Martha Joynt Kumar, my sister-in-law. She's supposedly on vacation, but as you'll note, not entirely:

Scholar Martha Kumar tracks President Obama and the media
By ABBY PHILLIP | 8/1/11 10:00 PM EDT

 At about 3:35 p.m., hours after President Barack Obama appeared in the press briefing room for thesecond time in a week to discuss debt ceiling negotiations, an email landed in the inbox of White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest.

Subject line: “From Martha: News Conference As Seen in Hilo Hawaii.”

“Or more specifically from the treadmill … in Hilo on the Big Island. It was carried in its entirety on CBS as probably on all the others,” wrote Martha Kumar, the Towson University professor widely considered to be the foremost scholar of tracking the interactions between the presidency and the press. “The newsers have worked to [Obama’s] benefit,” she added in her July message, as debt ceiling negotiations intensified.

Kumar, 70, is perhaps the only academic to spend more time in the White House briefing room and the West Wing than most correspondents. She records every instance of the president’s dealings with reporters — from press conferences and joint availabilities with world leaders to one-on-one interviews with local affiliates.

Kumar travels from her Georgetown home to Pennsylvania Avenue on her zippy silver Vespa as often as four days a week. She sits in the cramped basement of the White House press room among the scribes, and when she’s not conducting interviews for her book about Obama’s presidential transition, she makes the rounds in the West Wing, offering a political scientist’s insights on the administration’s communications strategy, home-baked treats and small talk.

Earnest said that when Kumar speaks, he listens. She advises from the prism of an academic who has scrutinized presidential administrations dating back to Gerald Ford.

“She’s agenda-free,” Earnest said. “I would say that most of the time that she comes with the data, she comes with some insight to share: The data comes as a one-pager, the advice comes in her gentle tone.”

Underlying all that work, Kumar says, is a desire to help each administration learn from the communications and organizational mistakes of its predecessors.

“Generally my feeling is as political scientists we should share the information that we gather to make government operate more effectively,” Kumar said in a phone interview with POLITICO from her home in Hawaii, scheduled during a marathon writing session for her book. “That is my goal: not only develop an understanding about how government works and how the White House communications operation works but also to assist people in government.”

It’s not unusual to spot Kumar perched on a small folding bench next to the briefing room’s front row. With clipboard in hand, she collects statistics about the briefing, including the number of questions asked and the number of reporters present. She has offered her data as a resource to White House press secretaries since the Clinton administration.

“Who’s that lady with the gray hair?” former Clinton White House press secretary Mike McCurry remembers thinking soon after he started the job. “A lot of people just assume she’s a reporter.”

Smart press secretaries learn quickly to use Kumar as a resource, McCurry said.

“She doesn’t have any of the barriers that the members of the Fourth Estate have,” McCurry said. “She’s somewhat outside of the adversarial relationship, so she can observe it and comment on it. She helps the White House understand the press and the press understand the White House.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60431.html#ixzz1TvzT3eQk

 

Stephanie Ruhle: High Finance (and working Mom) Role Model

From The Glass Hammer, this is about a friend of mine, Stephanie Ruhle Hubbard, and worth a read. The full story is at the link at the bottom:

August 1st, 2011 | 6:00 am

Voice of Experience: Stephanie Ruhle, Managing Director, Relationship Management, Deutsche Bank

filed under Voices of Experience

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City)

“It’s an interesting time to be a woman in this business – you have the opportunity to be a pioneer and affect change. Women might be on the verge of real change thanks to women supporting women. There is a sense of urgency to promote and empower,” said Stephanie Ruhle, Managing Director in Relationship Management at Deutsche Bank.

Ruhle thinks more women are entering the discussion for senior roles on Wall Street. She spoke enthusiastically about the opportunities afforded by the field, as well as the importance of senior female role models to empower the next generation of women.

Unbelievable Energy

Ruhle began her career in 1997. While studying abroad in Italy, she took an internship with Merrill Lynch – which sent her to New York for the summer.

“On my first visit to the trading floor I was so impressed by the energy and spontaneity. This was a business environment unlike anything I had imagined. The sense of opportunity was palpable – a real meritocracy.”

Ruhle joined Credit Suisse and took a role in sales and trading right after graduating college. “I began in corporate bond sales and started to focus on credit derivatives – and this was really when hedge funds were getting into the CDS space,” she recalled. She stayed at Credit Suisse for six years working in hedge fund sales, and moved to Deutsche Bank in 2002.

She explained, “Deutsche Bank is the preeminent powerhouse for credit derivatives on the Street.” Last year, Ruhle transitioned to senior relationship management, covering some of the banks largest clients for all Corporate & Investment Bank business.

“Based on the way the market has moved, it’s been great. In 2010, Deutsche integrated investment banking and sales and trading. You could see the synergies day one.”

Currently, Ruhle said, she is energized by the...continue 

 

Take Five and Watch; A Gaga Revelation

 

Howard Stern is without a doubt the best interviewer in American media, and his interview with Lady Gaga was one of his best. One of her best, too, though I'm not a student of Gaga, and only barely a casual fan. At the end of the interview she sang a song of her own composition, accompanied only by herself on the piano. This is the result. I think it could make a solid fan of anyone who listens. It's a shame the interview isn't included, but then that's why we have to subscribe to Sirius.

Enjoy this remarkable performance and note it occurred in the early morning, when Howard does his show, and still her voice is very wide awake. 

NYSD Today: Summer Pursuits

My regular Monday  New York column has a little something for everyone, beginning with the American flags distributed throughout Georgetown this past weekend. Interesting where one ended up. Also Washington Kastles tennis begins today down at the team's new stadium on the Maine Avenue waterfront, where a week ago I boarded Jeff Pfeifle's yacht Sea Loafers for a lovely cocktail gathering, a prelude to surgery for Jeff's friend, Adam Mahr. Reluctant to give up the watery theme, I also attended a fascinating gala for explorers and exploration hosted by, (who else?), National Geographic Society, and featuring a humble James Cameron. Read it all here on New York Social Diary.

Reagan Airport Pictures and Musings

 THE INFORMATION DESK

I may be a white knuckle flyer but I love airports, especially good airports. Reagan National, since being made over, is an airport gem. I wish they had apartments in the terminal. I would live there. Dulles was a gem, but its owners ruined it with overdevelopment. Back in the "Come Fly With Me" era, Dulles was actually a dinner destination for Washingtonians. At the rear of the main concourse, between the docking bays for the shuttle buses, they had a sleek and sophisticated restaurant that overlooked the airport. At night the runways were up close (there was no mid-field terminal) and they were marked with lights that included white but also dazzling cornflower blue and fire engine red. It was possible to sit at a window table, white tablecloth, flowers, crystal wine glasses, silver flatware, excellent food and service, and the entertainment was to watch 747's land and take-off. It was romantic, especially if seeing someone off or meeting someone. Or, even just for the fun of it.

 CHECKING OUT THE ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

Quietly, but effectively, flight announcements could be heard in the dining room. "Air France to Paris, boarding now;" "British Airways to London, boarding now;" "Pan Am to Rome, boarding now;" "TWA to Los Angeles, boarding now." And so on. Whenever I had a dinner date at Dulles I always brought along my passport -- just in case.

 SOOTHING CLEAN LINES AS PASSENGERS APPROACH THE TERMINAL 

They also had very swanky private clubs and lounges, especially the Concorde lounge, where Dom Perignon was the house drink. Sigh. I was fortunate to fly the British Concorde a half dozen times, and the French a couple of times. Memorable, exceptional experiences. Those were the days. But even subsonic flying was a treat. I remember TWA having actual menus in the back of the plane, not just up front, and the menus had choices among steak, chicken or fish. I remember wine lists, cocktails in actual glasses (again, in economy), and nice blankets and pillows. Flying was hot, not just transportation, not the ordeal it is today.

But back to Reagan. Even though I didn't sell piles and piles of books at the Borders there yesterday (we sold some) it was still a treat to spend a few hours in the concourse, observing. I watched the human comings and goings, the rituals, the pace of those passing through mixed with the ambling of those with jobs in the building, going about their business. So much about an airport is well-oiled, smooth, calm, as it should be. The psychology is very clear: soothe the passenger, prepare the passenger to step aboard a metal tube and zoom through the air at hundreds of miles an hour. The calm creates a sense of security.

 THE VIEW FROM MY SIGNING TABLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONCOURSE

There are distractions, of course. The shops and restaurants, which are welcomed. The scent of Cinnabon, which overwhelms and should be called Sinabon. The Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, irritating but unavoidable, a fact of modern life. Reagan offers soaring architecture, too. The floors shine like fresh ice. I want to skate on them in socks. Or do cartwheels from one end to the other. Or be the person who runs the buffer. How rewarding.

I've always thought Reagan would be a great place to produce a TV talk show. Back when I was one of the show's producers I thought Larry King Live should have moved its studio there. I'd still like to see a daily syndicated "live" talk show originate from there and, yes, I wouldn't mind at all being the producer and host. The guests would be all those marvelous people passing through, each with stories to tell, each coming from something, going to something, and mixed in with them would be the usual suspects, the notables, the newsmakers. 

Jon Moss and I once looked into opening The Q&A Cafe at the airports. It would serve both as an airport bar, modeled a little on Nathans, but also a media-centric restaurant packed with TV's broadcasting the news from every global network, ipad like devices  built into the tables (much like the juke boxes of old), where patrons could call up whatever media they wanted to read or watch. Youtube terminals, and racks of old school newspapers and magazines. We'd also use it for taping my show and re-running past interviews. It was a good idea. Why didn't it happen? Money, of course. I had none. 

PEOPLE WITH A DESTINATION

Yesterday at my signing table, with my "Please Buy My Book" plea before me on the table (after I had to take down from the glass), I spent time talking to passengers, pilots, airport staff, but in between I let my mind wander to all the possibilities of interesting ways the concourse could be used to communicate. Ooooh, that would be a fun job, and it would be almost living there.   

DSK in Georgetown, Part II

CAMERAMAN PARKED OUTSIDE THE GEORGETOWN HOME OF DOMNIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN

Will the notorious Dominique Strauss-Kahn return to his Georgetown home now that he's free to roam around -- but not leave -- the United States? Obviously a media outlet thinks that's possible. This evening there is a super sized HD satellite truck parked outside his home on Dumbarton. Across the street a man relaxes in a lawn chair with a camera on a tripod nearby. The camera is aimed at DSK's front door. For now the shades are still drawn, as they have been since he was arrested in New York.

SATELLITE TRUCK ON DUMBARTON STREET IN GEORGETOWN

If DSK does return to Georgetown he will not have a lot of protection from prying eyes. The house is quite public and is adjacent to a park and a children's playground.  

The opinion among his Georgetown neighbors (at least among those I've talked to) is that the story is not nearly finished. The charges still stand even if the prosecution's case has been weakened by the accuser's challenged credibility. DSK has a reputation here that dates back to his reported affair with a Georgetown woman. 

Note: not that they need another death knell, but the DSK episode has been just one more nail in the coffin of the American media, in all its forms, who jump and think later.