ABC’s Karen Travers has been in the Middle East this week producing Martha Raddatz’s reports — first in Iraq and most recently aboard the USS Eisenhower in the north Arabian Gulf. She blogged about the experience here (they were the only Western television crew on either of the carriers).

From here:

Reston, Va.: How have you felt about the reviews of “Shooter,” including the Washington Post’s? Seems that it hasn’t had the best reviews … do you take the negative reviews personally?

Stephen Hunter: It got some fine notices from some fine critics, about which I was quite pleased. It got mauled by some people for a variety of reasons, some legit, some not. I tried not to take anything personally but in the end it’s all personal, isn’t it. That’s what Prozac, wine, trips to the Shore with the beautiful wife, blazing away with my various .45s at On Target are for. I have the best life, and any time I yield to personal rage, I’m a complete fool.

Check it out here.

TNR/GQ’s Ryan Lizza has sold his untitled book to David Hirshey at Harper. The book will examine the underlying shifts in American politics by following the 2008 major presidential candidates.

From the release:

WTTG FOX5 has been awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award for “Overall Station Excellence” by the Radio-Television News Directors Association. FOX5 also received awards in the “Best Investigative Report” and “Best Newscast” categories. RTNDA’s Edward R. Murrow awards recognize exceptional accomplishments in electronic journalism.

Curtain raisers here and here.

In the midst of Karl Rove rapping, we forget about this little love story from Wednesday’s “Hardball” (via Hotline):

Chris Matthews said on “Hardball” last night: “Tonight’s the radio and TV Correspondents Dinner, the big Washington annual event where I met my wife Kathleen 29 years ago. It was 1978. I was a mid-level staffer at the White House. Kathy was a producer at WJLA TV. We were introduced by Anne Edwards of the White House staff and have been together since. Kathleen and I are bringing as our guest tonight Darrell Hammond of ‘Saturday Night Live.’ Darrel is that uncanny mimic. He can do the very soul of Bill Clinton. He brings Dick Cheney to the stage better than Dick Cheney does. And he does me as good if he is doing them. He must be pretty good. Although I cannot tell, because nobody can tell how someone is doing you. In fact, you would not know, people watching, what it’s like to have somebody imitate you, because you do not know what your like” (MSNBC, 3/28).

FishbowlDC has learned that longtime journalist and broadcaster Roger Mudd
is writing a history of the CBS Washington bureau. He’s about halfway thru it.

Mastermedia International — ” a nonprofit media organization committed to serving media leaders with professional consulting regarding America’s Christian market and personal counsel concerning issues of faith” — features one journalist a day who desperately needs your prayers.

Tomorrow: “Craig Dubow corporate Pres & CEO Gannett Co. (owns USA Today, 393 other papers, 22TVs)”

Get prayin’….