Events

Joel Simon, CPJ Executive Director; Ronnate Tissainayagam, wife of imprisoned Sri Lankan journalist J.S. Tissainayagam; Naziha Rejiba, Kalima, Tunisia; Mustafa Haji Abinur, Agence France-Presse, Somalia; Matt Frei, Anchor BBC World News America; Rome Hartman, Executive Producer BBC World News. Photo credit: Jeremy Bigwood

Last night at the Newseum, BBC World News America and the Committee to Protect Journalists hosted the the CPJ International Press Freedom Awards reception. BBC World News America Executive Producer, Rome Hartman, CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon and Matt Frei, anchor of BBC World News America all spoke at the event.

The International Press Freedom Awards take place in New York next Tuesday, November 24th. For more info click here.

Stengel, Ratnesar and Isaacson.

Former chief counsel to President Obama Greg Craig made one of his first public appearances, since his announced departure, last night at a book party for Time's Romesh Ratnesar.

The Aspen Institute's Walter Isaacson and his wife Cathy Isaacson threw the mag's deputy managing editor at a party at their home to toast "Tear Down This Wall."

Isaacson had big news of his own to celebrate-- he was named by Obama to chair the Broadcast Board of Governors.

In attendance: Time managing editor Rick Stengel, Mark Whitaker, Ben Bradlee, Sally Quinn, Michelle Jaconi, Sam Feist and Tammy Haddad.

Jaconi, Isaacson, Craig, Greenspan and Feist. Photos by Julie Fischer.

Cox, Hovell, Summers, Aigner-Treworgy and Memoli. Photo courtesy of Campus Progress.

Ana Marie Cox moderated a panel discussion with former 2008 presidential campaign embed reporters at GWU this week, in conjunction with Campus Progress and the Institute for Politics.

The first panel was made up of ABC's Bret Hovell, former NBC embed turned "Colbert Report" researcher Adam Aigner-Treworgy, Newsweek's Nick Summers and former Biden embed turned RealClearPolitics White House reporter Mike Memoli.

NBC's Kelly O'Donnell, former Hillary Clinton campaign staffer Jamie Smith and former McCain campaign staffer Justin Germany rounded out the second panel.

We learned they can identify hotel chains by just the carpet, they gained and lost a second freshman fifteen, supplied campaign staffers with booze (something O'Donnell calls "a great journalism tradition") and even managed to break some news along the way...

But would they do it again? They all agreed it'd be hard to beat the historic nature of the '08 campaign, but answers were mixed on whether they'd go back.

"You swear you'll never do it again, but there is a certain sexiness to being out there," Summers said. Germany's also in, "it's the Superbowl of politics." Hovell was a hard no.

Among those not receiving GWU credit to attend... Congress Daily's Erin McPike who covered the Romney campaign for NBC and the National Journal, msnbc.com's Carrie Dann who was embeded in Iowa for NBC/NJ, Roll Call's Tricia Miller who covered the Edwards campaign for NBC/NJ and WaPo's Perry Bacon.

The Newseum's Reel Journalism series with Nick Clooney presents the 1940's film "His Girl Friday" on December 1st at 7 pm. Clooney's guest for the event is NPR and ABC's Cokie Roberts.

His Girl Friday (1940), starring Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant is about a newspaper editor who will do anything to stop his star reporter and former wife from remarrying. Cokie will share her thoughts on why the movie - after nearly seven decades - remains such a hilarious crowd pleaser. General admission is $25 and $20 for Newseum members.

This Thursday, November 19th, Foreign Policy will host a panel discussion with former Afghan Finance Minister Dr. Ashraf Ghani (via satellite) at the Newseum. The event titled "How Can We Improve Foreign Aid in the Developing World?" will be held at 2pm and moderated by FP Executive Editor Susan Glasser.

Other panelists include Orazio J. Bellettini Cedeno, Executive Director, Grupo FARO (Ecuador) and Oxfam America Vice President of Policy and Advocacy Paul O'Brien.

Juleanna Glover and Richard Wolffe with Rebecca Project's Malika Saada-Saar and a party guest.

Juleanna Glover opened the doors of her Kalorama home Saturday night to some of DC's most powerful women in media to benefit the Rebecca Project for Human Rights. This is a group founded by executive director Malika Saada-Saar and Autumn VandeHei to advocate for women who have survived addiction, incarceration and poverty.

Women who have benefited from the Rebecca Project, the "Mother Leaders" attended the party, sharing their stories with special hosts Carol Browner, Tammy Haddad, Betsy Fischer (who had to leave early for a "Meet the Press" pretape with Secretary Hillary Clinton), Norah O'Donnell, Amy Holmes, Robin Sproul, Sally Quinn and Jessica Yellin.

It was most certainly a ladies night... CNN's Dana Bash and Edie Emery, WaPo's Liz Spayd and Ceci Connolly, Politico's Nia-Malika Henderson and Kiki Ryan, Politics Daily's Emily Miller, msnbc.com's Carrie Dann, Congress Daily's Erin McPike, Time's Jay Newton Small, The Hill's A.B. Stoddard, Washington Life's Janet Donovan, Christina Sevilla, Miss DC 2008 Kate Marie Grinold and Katie McCormick Lelyveld from First Lady Michelle Obama's office attended. And the Glover sisters- TWT's Liz Glover, Becca Glover and Kristin Glover.

These ladies were joined by Politico's Jim VandeHei, host Autumn's husband, O'Donnell's husband Chef Geoff Tracy, NYT's Mark Liebovich, WaPo's Perry Bacon, Richard Wolffe, Winston Lord, Mix 107.3's Tommy McFly, Lee Brenner, Mark Paustenbach, Pepper Watkins, Marc Adelman, Michael Feldman and White House economic advisor Austan Goolsbee. Also Susanna Quinn and Jack Quinn, and Shanti Stanton and Matt Stanton.

In remarks at the party, Saada-Saar thanked VandeHei and the women involved, "Our organization stands on the shoulders of many people." "We come together to honor the work of these women, to honor the work of mothers and to really recognize what happens when we as women and mothers come together across the divides of race, class, education, lived experience and honor ourselves," she said.

The event was sponsored by Goldman Sachs's 10,000 Women, and Brown-Forman generously donated the party's wine and martinis. Attendees could donate online or by pledge cards.

For more on these women's stories, check out Emily's Post on Politics Daily, and for video of Saar's remarks, check out Politico Click.

Photos by Emily Miller.

NPR's Michel Martin, Autumn VandeHei and Amy Holmes.

CNN's Dana Bash and Jessica Yellin.

More photos after the jump...

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That's CBS' Bob Schieffer backstage at the Country Music Awards in Nashville this week.

He's flanked by Rep. Steny Hoyer and Lady Antebellum-- the band that won the group of the year award, as well as single of the year for "I Run to You."

Held captive for seven months, NYT's David Rohde spoke of the Taliban's strong grip on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan and what this means for U.S. policy as the keynote speaker for ICFJ's 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner, held last night at the Ronald Reagan Center.

It was Rohde's first speaking appearance since he escaped from the Taliban in June of this year. Following his presentation, Rohde sat down for a Q&A with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, ICFJ award recipient and the event's emcee.

Rohde's speech below and his interview with Steph after the jump.

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Singer Amy Grant was in Washington yesterday, performing at the American Red Cross headquarters to kick off the "Holiday Mail for Heroes" program.

Mix 107.3's Tommy McFly and Politics Daily's Emily Miller were there and they report back that the Grant's still got it.

Check out McFly's interview above and Miller's Qs on Grant's politics here.

Some of Washington media's biggest names were in NY last week for the Aspen Institute's 26th Annual Awards Dinner.

More after the jump...

Photos by Max Rapp/Patrick McMullan Photography.

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