Coming to The Q&A Cafe on Tuesday, November 12: USA Today's chief Washington correspondent, Susan Page. Susan is also biographer of former First Lady Barbara Bush. Her next book will be a biography of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She's a regular on the Sunday shows and cable TV, and overall a well respected and well liked chronicler of all things Washington. Please join us:
What: A Q&A Cafe TV show taping with lunch served
When: Tuesday November 12, noon to 1 pm.
Where: The George Town Club, 1530 Wisconsin Avenue NW, at Volta
How: Call Joe Pikovsky at The George Town Club to book at seat. 202-333-9330
How Much: $35, all inclusive of lunch, soft drinks and dessert from Georgetown Cupcake.
The Q&A Cafe is now in its 18th year, with more than 500 notable individuals having appeared for long-form interviews. It airs at 8pm each Friday on DC Cable, channel 16. Up next, Tuesday, December 10, RdV Vineyard founder and winemaker Rutger de Vink.
Our next Q&A Cafe is an interview with veteran Washington political journalist Howard Fineman. The date is Friday, March 1, the location the George Town Club, the time NOON, and please make a reservation to join us. The contact for that is Joe Pikovsky at the GTC, 202-333-9330, or shoot him an email, Joe.
This will be Howard's third appearance at The Q&A Cafe. His first was when we were at Nathans, his second when we were based at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and so its only right he hits our current home, the GTC. Needless to say, much to discuss. Expect a good political conversation with a reporter and analyst who has been covering Washington politics since the Founding Fathers. He was raised in Pittsburgh, began his career in Louisville, KY with the Courier-Journal, and made Washington his home through a long career with Newsweek and also as global editor of Huffington Post.
As always, lunch is included as well as dessert from Georgetown Cupcake.
For Washington in general and Georgetowners in particular the story of Albrecht Muth and Viola Drath is all too familiar. They lived up on Q Street across from the Exxon. They were seldom seen and not well known until she was found dead in the upstairs bathroom and he was charged and convicted of the murder. Last week, Christoph Waltz announced he is directing and starring in a film about the couple. A "Memo to Christoph Waltz" is the title of my New York Social Diary column today.
Because I worked in network news for much of my career friends ask what I think of the Brian Williams scandal, and how it could have happened. The better question is why, and the answer puts blame as much with the industry, and the culture of fame, as it does with Williams. It’s the inevitable derailing of a direction in the news business, especially broadcast news, that began with Watergate and the incredible fame that hit Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein and begat more fame for countless other previously anonymous journalists, especially in regard to television.
Before them there was some Washington journalism fame, but nothing on a scale of the post-Watergate era. It quickly went from cluelessly innocent to quietly corrosive. If you saw “Broadcast News,” and remember the anchor “Tom Grunick” played by William Hurt, you get my drift.
One and the same? Anchors Brian Williams and Tom Grunick (as played by William Hurt?).
I was a producer at CBS News in Washington at the same time director James L. Brooks and his team were in town making that movie. They were very present at our bureau on M Street, and in our lives. Though the script was written, Jim continued to work on details. I remember one particular lunch with him at the Hay Adams where he asked me a series of questions about techniques used in shooting a field interview and alternative options to certain “cutaway” shots. It’s a point that’s critical to the film’s plot, and to Grunick’s veracity.
I also recall parties with the cast, and some of us joking with William Hurt that with his “looks” he could score an anchor job in a heartbeat. And then there was Albert Brooks, my idea of a heartthrob, who played the hard core, by-the-books reporter who lacked the star power and charisma to make it in the anchor chair. Just characters, right? Maybe not.
Albert Brooks (as the fast-talking Aaron) comes very close to stealing "Broadcast News."
The funny thing is back then, mid-'80s, coming off the Walter Cronkite era at CBS and with the Tom Brokaw era in full flower at NBC, we laughed off the film’s premise — that just being likable and charismatic and attractive was enough to get the big job, and so what if you skirted the truth a little bit here and there; it was all in the service of getting a point across; about the story, but also about the anchor’s empathy and sincerity. “This couldn’t happen,” we’d say to each other.
Tom Brokaw — the last of NBC's truly trusted?
Walter Cronkite.
Jim Brooks, a network news veteran himself, saw more clearly what was happening and got out in front the way Paddy Chayevsky did with his script for “Network,” the decade earlier and equally prescient movie about TV. Watch these two together and then examine the Brian Williams saga. Oh, and maybe also check out the last decade of reporting on the White House Correspondents Association dinner. (My friend Patrick Gavin is directing a documentary film about this event, which has the potential to be revealing.)
The White House Correspondents Association Dinner mixes all the modern celebrities together — political, entertainment and news.
What happened in the aftermath of “Woodstein,” sometimes with subtlety, sometimes not, is how suddenly having a byline was a gateway to celebrity, to having an agent, book contracts, possibly a network retainer. Being on TV, local or national, meant you might get tapped to play a TV reporter in a movie. It became about the fame. The line got very fuzzy between news and show business. It became not unheard of for interviewees to want the autograph — or a selfie with — the interviewer. In addition to the money and attention, the more famous reporter was endowed with skills and talent that didn’t land on unknowns.
They were called "Woodstein," Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein at the time of Watergate, and the first really big modern era news stars.
If you weren’t on TV, you didn’t count. Young people who once just wanted to be a reporter, dogging a story, now wanted to be the TV anchor. And why not? There’s millions to be made, the perception of magic powers and infinite wisdom, and wherever you go there’s an entourage of executives and other staff whose every waking moment is devoted to your care, feeding and most insignificant whims.
The modern era anchor exists in a bubble of unchecked adoration. Until they mess up, and all the toys are taken away, except for a payout on a pointless contract.
Brian Williams wanted to live up to the image of being Brian Williams, and why wouldn’t he? If he didn’t achieve and maintain those heights he risked becoming ordinary, a ratings drop, and losing his job.
By inflating the facts, which is what he apparently did, he fulfilled that image. Fame fanned him with approval. It’s easy to get lost in the adoration of fame, especially if you don’t necessarily have a strong sense of self-worth, and the risks are the same regardless of whether the famous person is the star of a half hour sitcom or a half hour news broadcast.
Brian Williams got lost and his industry, in disruption itself, can’t help him
On Friday October 10 it will be my last day at Washingtonian magazine. It will also be three years to the day since I joined the staff as Editor-at-Large. On October 20 I begin a new chapter as Vice President of Communications for the FP Group. I'm eager for a new challenge. As I depart Washingtonian this week I'm thrilled about what's ahead but know I will miss good friends and the laughs we had and some memorable experiences, especially producing the monthly photo feature "Behind The Scenes." I'm so proud of that series. I'm also grateful for the support from publisher Cathy Merrill Williams. Washingtonian has an innovative new editor, Michael Schaffer, and many years of great issues in its future.
Along with my role, FP CEO and Editor David Rothkopf announced two other new hires: Gopal Ratnam and David Francis.
Carol Joynt to Be New VP Communications, Two New Reporters Join Edit Team
October 6, 2014 — Washington, DC — David Rothkopf, CEO and Editor of The FP Group, a division of Graham Holdings Company has announced three new additions to the staff of the company that publishes Foreign Policy magazine, ForeignPolicy.com and produces FP Events. These new hires come as the FP Group has passed a number of important milestones including more than doubling its paid subscriber base since the launch of its paywall a year ago, reaching 1 million registered users, over 800,000 Facebook followers and over 500,000 Twitter followers. The total aggregate audience reached by all FP platforms including the website, magazine, newsletters and social media now exceeds 6 million a month worldwide.
“These new hires are part of the continued strengthening of our team and the deepening of our capabilities as an organization,” said Rothkopf, “And we are delighted to have them join our already strong roster of top journalists and business professionals.”
Carol Ross Joynt joins FP as Vice President of Communications. She was at Washingtonian magazine as editor-at-large for the last three years. Her extensive career is principally in broadcast journalism. Carol has been a producer for all the major networks and cable channels, in New York and Washington, and worked closely with Ted Koppel, Walter Cronkite, Charlie Rose and Larry King as a writer and producer on their nightly broadcasts. She started her career in print, with the wire services and then as a reporter for Time magazine in its New York bureau. She also directed films for the National Gallery of Art.
Carol won the national Emmy Award for “Best Interview” for a Charlie Rose prison interview with Charles Manson at St. Quentin. Her memoir, “Innocent Spouse,” tells the story of the dozen years she spent away from journalism, owning Nathans, a Georgetown saloon. It was published by Crown and featured in Vogue magazine and on the Today show. Follow Carol on Twitter @caroljoynt
Two reporters join FP's news team. They include:
Gopal Ratnam, who is coming over from Bloomberg News and will cover the White House with a focus on the way the Obama administration crafts and carries out its national security policies. Gopal, who had been Bloomberg's Pentagon correspondent, has covered a wide variety of subjects in Washington over the last 15 years, including child-labor law violations, the international arms trade, the politics of weapons purchases, and the war in Afghanistan. Follow him @g_ratnam.
David Francis joins FP to guide the evolution of Situation Report, FP's morning email that combines sharp analysis of the key national security and foreign policy issues of the day with links to must-read articles from the U.S. and around the world. David, an award-winning international journalist whose work has appeared in Slate, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Financial Times Deutschland, will oversee The Cable, FP’s breaking news blog, which will provide FP's analysis of key events in the DC and US foreign policy communities as they happen. Follow him @davidcfrancis
FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT CLINT HILL AT CAFE MILANO
As the JFK 50th anniversary comes to a close it is former Secret Service agent Clint Hill who may have had the last public word at a Washington event commemorating the assassination. Hill, who jumped on to the back of the presidential limousine moments after the shots were fired in Dallas, appeared Sunday at Cafe Milano for a private party for his latest book, "Five Days In November." He told his story once again as guests watched corresponding photos and video on large screens.
Looking back over the last couple of weeks of remembrance, if I had to pick one media opportunity that stands out from all the others, it would be to commend CBS News, which is live-streaming the actual "live" coverage of that November weekend 50 years ago ... and in real time. It's riveting. In fact, if you go there right now, and do go there right now - CBS News JFK Assassination - you will watch as the public file by JFK's casket in the Rotunda (just as I did and wrote about on New York Social Diary) as Samuel Barber'sAdagio mourns with them. That went on all day and night 50 years ago. Tomorrow, you will be able to watch the funeral in full. Trust me, it's a must watch.
Here's what else stands out from watching the CBS coverage: how intelligent, mature and composed the CBS News correspondents were as they told about unfolding events. Never once was it about them, as so often happens with reporters today. They don't fawn, they don't sensationalize, they don't inject themselves into the story. My God, a reveltation. There are so many ways the profession of journalism has eroded and declined since then. Watching the coverage reminds me of why I chose a journalism careeer all those years ago and why today I rarely if ever identify myself as being in that line of work. "Media outlier," is what I prefer.
It's sentimental to watch Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Charles Collingwood, Eric Sevareid and othersdo their jobs. I'm so proud that early in my career I got to work with all of them and for a long time. They do a splendid job of providing straight, clear and responsible journalism.
Mark Plotkin at The Q&A Cafe, taped on Wednesday November 6 at the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The main topic is local politics, but Mark also offers opinions on various office seekers, reporters who are friends, on social media -- "it's crap" -- and on what he thinks was really behind his firing from WTOP radio.
If you enjoy this show, there are more full shows at our Q&A Cafe on YouTube page.
A little twitter exchange last night with ESPN's Keith Olbermann, which started at 8pm with my tweeting out a story on his Nats rampage, then his reply at 9:22pm, which is when I would have thought he'd be writing his show. He made me laugh, thus my reply. For a moment I wanted to write "you're so hot when you're hot," but restrained myself:
FROM 2010, HELEN THOMAS WITH JAMES BRADY AND SARAH BRADY
On New York Social Diary today I report on the death of Helen Thomas, including some thoughts from my sister-in-law Martha Joynt Kumar, who talks about Helen's last couple of years. Also, we rerun a piece I wrote about Helen from 2009. I first met and worked with Helen in 1969 and we remained friends ever after. She was a singular, dedicated, passionate reporter. There are no more like her
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
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.
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.
“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."
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:
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.
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:
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
...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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Carol Joynt has "a perfect eye, an infallible ear and the unequaled gift of rearranging the alphabet into words which both entertain and mean f**cking something."
-- "Hollywood Bob"
THE Q&A CAFE
The Q&A Cafe is now in its 21st year. We launched in October 2001 at Nathans in Georgetown as a response to the September 11 terror attacks, and from that initial purpose grew into a weekly community interview lunch, the first "talk show in a bar." When Nathans closed in 2009 we moved to the Ritz Carlton Hotel and since 2015 our home has been The George Town Club. Some 500 notable individuals, from all fields, have appeared for interviews, which are taped and air Fridays on DC Cable. All are welcomed to attend. For reservations: 202-333-9330.
Emmy-winning CBS News producer, talk show guest wrangler, published author, host of The Q&A Cafe, print & digital journalist, filmmaker, photog, and former saloon owner. Read more...
"Innocent Spouse"
Here is information for my popular memoir Innocent Spouse...
MEDIA: For book-related inquiries, please contact my agent, Laney Becker, at 212-243-8480
Emmy-winning CBS News producer, talk show guest wrangler, published author, host of The Q&A Cafe, print & digital journalist, filmmaker, photog, and former saloon owner. 
Here is information for my popular memoir 
