Reuters has hired Fred Barbash away from CQ Roll Call to be the Domestic Policy Editor. He comes to Reuters from CQ Roll Call where he was Managing Editor of CQ Weekly for two years.

Barbash has certainly made the rounds in this town. He has worked at WaPo, Politico, CQ Roll Call, the Medill School of Journalism and now Reuters.

Congratulations to Barbash!

By the way, CQ Roll Call will be looking to replace him…

See the respective memos after the jump…

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Author and journalist Susan Orlean (left) has written two nonfiction pieces that have been turned into films. She’ll discuss her new book, Rin Tin Tin, in Mediabistro’s first online Literary Festival & Workshops starting July 16. Other speakers include Rebecca Skloot, Jason Boog, and Jason Allen Ashlock. Register now.

Monday night was the premier of Jeopardy’s “Power Players” Edition. Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs won the opening round, beating CNN’s Lizzie O’Leary and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews. Matthews put up a pathetic performance and didn’t exactly convince anyone of his brain power. O’Leary took the opportunity to live-tweet her own appearance on the show and let us know just what was going on behind the scenes. She tweeted, “It’s all about the buzzer, people.” Later, as the show was going to a break, O’Leary tweeted, “You guys: in the commercial breaks I totally trash-talked Gibbs.” We’re not sure if we believe that. Crazy Lizzie tweeted 24 times last night referencing her appearance. She jabbed at herself online when she gave an incorrect answer about New York Yankee baseball player, Derek Jeter, saying, “Look, New York, it’s Jeter. I KNOW. #pressure.” When Matthews bombed a question about Francis Gary Powers and just called him “Gary Powers”, O’Leary shit-talked him by tweeting, “Francis. Gary. Powers. #seventhgrade”

O’Leary came in second place and raised $10,000 for her charity, 826DC, a non-profit that tutors children in creative writing.

In his appearance on “The View” today President Obama was asked by co-host Whoopi Goldberg whether he could “feel the bumps” while riding on Air Force One. Obama said yes, but explained that most people feel exceptionally safe when riding in it.

This was the perfect opportunity for Politico‘s Jennifer Epstein to chime in and remind everyone that she knows exactly what Obama means.

 

Totally true: I don’t worry about crashing while on AF1 but sometimes get nervous on other planes

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) May 15, 2012

Here in Washington the lucky among us gets to rub elbows with powerful lawmakers and bigwig ambassadors, all for the sake of namedropping and humblebragging to friends and loved ones until they can hardly stand us.

Sounds fun, right? If nothing else, at this event there’s a “light breakfast” involved. On the morning of May 17, Fleishman-Hillard, an international communications firm, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace are convening the Peruvian and Mexican Ambassadors with Social Media reps from Facebook and the office of Sec. of State Hillary Clinton for a brief hour and a half program entitled “Digital Diplomacy: A New Era of Advancing Policy.”

The description of the events is as follows: “In a world of likes and hashtags, governments are using social media tools to reach beyond traditional diplomacy. Ministries and embassies are adopting new strategies for the digital age and exploring innovative ways to reach and engage domestic and foreign constituencies. Please join the leading thinkers in diplomacy and communications for a discussion on the evolution of public diplomacy and the ways visionary diplomats are using these powerful new tools to connect cultures, increase awareness, and advocate policy positions.”

Register to attend here.

Read about the participants after the jump…

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The Atlantic is hosting it’s third annual Food Summit and got a pretty gigantic get for the affair: Martha Stewart. Other guests include chef and restaurateur Mario Batali; Deputy Sec. of Ag Kathleen Merrigan; and Revolution Foods’ Kirsten Tobey.

Expect panel discussions, one-on-one interviews, and keynote addresses. The Summit will explore key themes in food, including the obesity epidemic, childhood nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and the role of government regulation. Hosting the Summit will be Corby Kummer, Atlantic Senior Editor and James Beard award-winning food writer.

Media wishing to attend on May 24, please contact Natalie Raabe at The Atlantic (nraabe@theatlantic.com).

The Instagram smartphone application has become an indispensable tool for journalists who want to share high-quality photos on the go. Gone are the days of blurry pictures with bad lighting.

But not everyone is up to speed on the app.

Exhibit A: FNC’s Ed Henry snapped this grainy, kind of blasé photo on May 11 while in Reno, Nev. “President’s limo — The Beast — parked in driveway,” reads the caption.

There’s not much to be said about this, but an Instagram filter makes a nice difference.

Exhibit B: The Washington Examiner‘s David Freddoso tweeted this not even remotely artful sideways photo on Monday.

We took the liberty of spinning it right side up and ran it through an Instagram filter to give it purpose.

But not every photo works with Instagram… Read more

ColinDaily‘s Colin Drummond was on hand today as David Beckham was spotted leaving the St. Regis Hotel this afternoon. He was headed to the White House where his L.A. Galaxy team is being honored.

“The only disappointment is that Victoria Beckham was not on hand with their beautiful daughter (paparazzi dreams),” Drummond told FishbowlDC.

 

 

“The @bpshow Restroom For Narcissists. Perfect for me.” — Mediaite‘s White House Correspondent Tommy Christopher snaps a picture and jokes about the bathroom he encountered during an early morning appearance on Current TV Bill Press‘s radio/TV program.

This is the bathroom for the entire third floor. A little birdy whose name starts with p and ends with r tells us he stole the “n” from the door. Clearly an act of juvenile delinquency.

Special memo to Tim Graham from NewsBusters: In case you are confused, Peter Ogburn, an FBDC writer, is also the producer for The Bill Press Show. Graham was recently riled when we pointed out his confusion between the words “flatulent” and “highfalutin.” Despite me being the writer, his only point of contention was why didn’t we “disclose” that Ogburn works for Bill Press, a fact we have stated repeatedly on the site. Graham wrote that Press had called Ann Romney‘s  ugly, pricey fish shirt “flatulent” as opposed to what Press really said, which was “highfalutin.” No, Graham, Romney’s shirt did not pass gas.

The White House Soup of the Day, as reported by MSNBC’s “The Daily Rundown” is…

French Onion.

After an extremely long, pregnant pause, host Chuck Todd said, “Hollande is now president of France, so in honor apparently, it’s French Onion Soup Day.”

 

Photo Credit: HuffPost‘s Sara Kenigsberg

HuffPost reporter Elise Foley, an avid tweeter, is all smiles in the above photograph. But the painful reality is that she was texting and walking when she broke her arm.

Foley faces six weeks in the sling.

“Very slowly,” she remarked on Twitter on how she’ll proceed with her tweeting habits.

When we wrote to confirm that she really injured herself while texting and walking, she replied with what may be the shortest answer ever to FishbowlDC: “Yep.”

Considering her injury, we’ll leave it that. Be careful out there!