Gene Gibbons: The FishbowlDC Interview

Say hello to Stateline.org Executive Editor Gene Gibbons.

What word do you routinely misspell? It’s embarrassing how often I misspell embarrass.

What’s the name of your cell phone ring? Ding-a-ling, I guess. Whatever the default setting is.

What time did you get up this morning? 5:30 AM. I’m an early riser.

When did you last cry and why? Tears of joy when the Bosox won the 2004 World Series.

How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? 200+

What’s your favorite letter? “L” — first letter of my wife’s first name.

Read the rest when you click below…(and see previous FishbowlDC interviews: Julie Mason, David Shuster, Joe Curl, Alex Pareene, Peter Beinart, Jonah Goldberg, Megyn Kendall, Ana Marie Cox, Jim Brady, Howard Mortman, Amy Argetsinger, Jose Antonio Vargas, Chuck Todd, Tom Gottlieb, Kelly Ann Collins, David von Drehle, David Lat, Mark Leibovich, Zain Verjee, David Plotz, Paul Kane, Karen Travers, Mark Halperin, Hugo Gurdon, Greg Kelly,Ken Rudin, John Dickerson, Anne Schroeder, Spencer Ackerman, Bret Baier, Bob Sellers, Greta van Susteren, Danielle Jones, Jonathan Salant, John McCalla, Pam Hess, Ryan Grim, Marc Ambinder, Marty Kady, Jack Shafer, Annie Lou Bayly, Jerry Zremski, Charlie Cook, Dave Hughes, Howard Fineman, Katie Tarbox, Mark Segraves, Chris Cillizza, Tom Sietsema, Bill Triplett, Robin Givhan, David Brody, Norah O’Donnell, Carl Cannon, Jordan Lieberman, David Folkenflik, Molly Henneberg, Ernesto Londono, Brody Mullins, Aaron Blake, Martha Raddatz, Andrew Sullivan, Christina Bellantoni, Shane Harris, Nora McAlvanah, Adam Nagourney, Erin McPike, Mike Memoli, Ju-Don Marshall Roberts, Arthur Delaney, Chris Mincher, Rachel Sklar, Laura Sullivan, Jeff Kosseff, Matthew Cooper, Scott McCrary, Dan Reilly, Jennifer Griffin, Ari Shapiro, Jonathan Kaplan, Rick Klein, Mike Allen, Olivier Knox, Erik Wemple, Nathan Burchfiel, Andrea Mitchell, Mike DeBonis, Anne Kornblut, April Ryan, Amy Morris, Keith Koffler, <strongMark Silva, Ann Compton, Mark Knoller, Betsy Fischer, Katherine O’Hearn, Pamela Brown, Beverly Kirk, Wendell Goler, Glenn Kessler, Susan Page, Michael Crowley, Claudia Milne, Kelly Dinardo, Bruce Becker, Michael Rogers, Paul Schur, Diana West, Eric Nuzum, Bill Adair, Jonathan Ward, Jennifer Sergent, Jeffrey Goldberg, Ken Silverstein, Dana Milbank, Mark Murray, Katherine Lewis, Joe Mathieu, Chrystia Freeland, Sam Youngman, Christopher Dorobek, Greg Mitchell, Candy Crowley, Steve Chaggaris, James Pindell, Linda Kramer, Reid Wilson, Jay Newton-Small, Dan Steinberg Susan Ferrechio, Matt Labash, Gene Weingarten, Ron Allen, Kimberly Dozier, Perry Bacon, Jim Mills, Erin Hartigan, Lindsay Applebaum, Bob Madigan)

Also, drop us a line to let us know who else you’d like FishbowlDC to interview. They must work in the Washington area and you must include their email address.

What single person played the biggest role / had the biggest influence on your journalism career? John Cosgrove, former president, National Press Club. A long time ago, for better or worse, he encouraged me to come to Washington and get a job in journalism.

When’s the last time you volunteered? Where? Volunteer sailing coach at US Naval Academy since 1998. Help coach ocean racing team.

Who is your favorite active journalist? Frank Rich is a must read every Sunday.

What did you have for breakfast? Coffee — not a big breakfast person.

What one toiletry item could you not live without? Toothpaste.

If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? Ian McEwan’s writing skills.

Red or white wine? Red

PG-13 or R? PG-13

Lincoln, Jefferson or Washington Memorial? Jefferson Memorial

Leg or breast (chicken, of course) Breast

Friday night or Saturday night? Saturday night

“Wedding Crashers” or “Old School” Wedding Crashers

The Palm or Cafe Milano? The Palm

Yankees or Red Sox? Red Sox

Jenna or Barbara? Neither

McSteamy or McDreamy? Hunh?

Leno or Letterman? Letterman

Stewart or Colbert? Stewart

Boxers or briefs? None of your goddamn business.

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