“Holy. Cow. The magic wall… Is ON THE FLOOR” — The Atlantic Associate Editor Brian Fung.

Green Eggs and Ham — why not?

“Mic check guy just read ‘Green Eggs & Ham,’ in its entirety, at Obama election night HQ. Now reading the Constitution.” — HuffPost‘s Jennifer Bendery.

All in a day’s work

“2 stories & 2,600 words already written today, the last 1,000 drunk will be tougher.” — InTheseTimes labor journo Mike Elk.

5:51 p.m. Famous Last Words

“CONFIDENCE: Romney tells the traveling press he FEELS like a win is coming. He’s written only one speech so far: a victory speech.” — NBC News’ Garrett Haake.

Foreshadowing….5:51 p.m.

“Some rare, non spin on twitter –> RT @jmartpolitico: A senior GOPer w close ties to Romneyland emails a single word: ‘worried.’” — HuffPost‘s Sam Stein.

In response to that… “So people in Romney camp sending out nervous messages to liberal reporters? Really? Wonder how big the camp is.” — Commentary‘s PodWhore (a.k.a. John Podhoretz.)

Reporters and Romney staff clap: the end is near

“Applause on Romney plane — from reporters and staff — as we land in Boston. Final flight of Romney 2012 campaign is over.” — AP‘s Steve Peoples.

Oops! Flack gets ahead of herself: 6:03 p.m.

“I’m not saying this to get ahead of myself, but is Obama capable of giving a graceful concession speech? I’m not sure.” — Amanda Carpenter, speechwriter for Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Channeling Carville

“Carville (paraphrase): If Romney loses Virginia he’s in more trouble than a three-legged, cross-eyed gator on a freeway. #election2012″ — National Journal mag Deputy Editor James Oliphant on Democratic pundit James Carville.

And another thing on Carville…“For god’s sake someone either tighten Carville’s tie or unbutton his top button.” — TPM‘s Evan McMorris-Santoro. And this…“On CNN, James Carville is so excited he seems to have removed his exoskeleton.” — Vanity Fair.

Unraveling…7:17 p.m.

“It’s 7:20 and my nerves are already shot. #ElectionDay2012 #TeamRomney” — MSNBC and The Daily Beast‘s Meghan McCain.

Watch your words around the kiddies, journo warns

“Careful y’all: Your kids are learning a lot about how to win and lose graciously by how you act today.” — Politico‘s Patrick Gavin.

Attack on Trump minus his name

“Is there anyone who punches further below their weight than rich guys who dabble in politics?” — BuzzFeed Political Editor Ben Smith.

From the Road…“AT THIS POINT: crowd at Dem HQ is ready to cheer for nearly anything. Just screamed like Obama being up in Minnesota is 1980 gold. #openbar” — CNN’s Lisa Desjardins.

 ’Saucy’ Meghan Kelly

“Meghan Kelly is serving #curlytopsaucy tonight on Fox.” — Bravo’s Andy Cohen.

Politico reporters: Relax? Forget it!

“To all the road-weary reporters who just want a break: Congrats! You’ll be sitting in the Senate press gallery for the next 9 months.” — Fake Jim VandeHei, faux Twitter account to Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei.

Important, Embarrassing Question to Ponder: “So Megyn Kelly had to get white men in suits to confirm that Obama would go to Ohio. (Because her audience wouldn’t believe her?)” — Reuter‘s Megan McCarthy.

 In praise of Nate Silver’s ass

“I think Nate Silver deserves a ‘tell me how my ass tastes’ moment, right?” — HuffPost‘s Jason Linkins.

Journos react to FNC Karl Rove’s TV breakdown

• “Karl Rove looks like a kid who just learned there’s no Santa Claus.” — TPM‘s Sahil Kapur.

• “Fox is gone full bananaspants.” — The Guardian‘s Ana Marie Cox.

• “Barone explaining to Rove why Obama gonna win OH like watching someone explain to little kid that his dog died.” — Bloomberg‘s Joshua Green, referencing The Washington Examiner‘s Michael Barone.

•  ”Email from big GOP donor: ‘Karl looks like a fool.’” — Politico‘s Ken Vogel.

• “Bret Baier is now trying to figure out how to balance Karl Rove’s petulance and the FNC ‘decision desk.’ Train wreck.” — ClearChannel’s Colby Hall.

• “Rove has basically bullied the Fox hosts into backing off from their call of the election. Amazing TV.” — The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza.

• “Fox thinks it’s up to them who wins. It’s not up to them. It’s over guys. (But please keep this up, this is amazing TV.” — HuffPost‘s Ryan Grim.

And Greta tries to inject a dollop of sanity…

“Fox News says President Obama re-elected.” — FNC anchor Greta Van Susteren at 11:34 p.m.

Speaking of delusional…“I’m neither naive nor optimistic. Just saying I refuse to give up. R some of u telling me ur going to throw in the towel? I don’t think so.” — David Limbaugh, author and brother to conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, after Obama won Ohio.

Depression is…

“Gay marriage, pot, an elated media, and Obama… Yeah, I’ve had better nights.” — Breitbart.com editor John Nolte.

Plouffe Daddy!

“Congrats on a ground game well-played, Plouffe Daddy.” — Freelance video journo for Wonkette and other outlets Liz Glover, referencing Obama campaign advisor David Plouffe.

Uh oh…where’s Romney? 12:11 a.m. 

“Danger for Romney is that if he delays concession too long he’ll look like a sore loser.12:11 still no concession.” — The Daily Mail‘s Toby Harnden, nearly one hour after NBC called the race for Obama.

Outside the White House: 12:33 a.m.

“People are climbing the trees outside of the White House. Total mayhem.” — BuzzFeed’s Rebecca Berg.

Find some inspiration with ex-Love Connection host Chuck Woolery and take notice of a few R’s who handled the loss with maturity…. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

As Matthew Ortega (who’s he? beats us, we’d never heard of his highness before), a hip hop aficionado and a digital director in Washington, proceeded to call us “trash”, RedState Editor and CNN Contributor Erick Erickson was also taking his online beating. “You sir are an idiot,” declared Sam Cantanzaro (i.e. @samsfoodblog).

Even The Fix, WaPo‘s politically neutral blog wasn’t immune. “Losers: you,” remarked @johnspeake. To which the blog’s proprietor, Chris Cillizza, graciously replied, “Always.”

WaPo‘s Ezra Klein lashed out more generally at all pundits, even though he often straddles a delicate line of punditry, journalism and Democratic strategy. “If pundits want to say who won politically, as opposed to on substance, they should wait for polls of actual voters,” he wrote.

Of course there’s always an element of pettiness that emerges on nights like these. “John King needs a haircut. Time pressure of a campaign must be keeping him from the barber,” wrote Ari Fleischer, a bald CNN Contributor who appeared on the network last night alongside the hairy King.

And insults are a pastime. “The fact that Chris Wallace poses as a straight news reporter is a total joke,” wrote ClearChannel’s Colby Hall, referring to the “Fox News Sunday” host “What a douche.”

During the previous debate, CNN Democratic Political Contributor Paul Begala was told to get a brain and grow some hair. This time, the brilliantly named @eatmerawson remarked, “Paul Begala, you always look like you’ve just sucked on a lemon when you speak on air. Eat some more lemons sourpuss.” Eat Me Raw tagged on a smiley face for good measure.

At 11:22 p.m. Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation came unglued and… continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

CNN’s Paul Begala: From a follower — “Paul, grow some hair, and get a brain!!”

CNN’s Ari Fleischer: From Ari — “So according to Twitter I’m a magical undead gentle greyhound lizard zombie vampire vulcan. Got it.” This stemmed from follower Emily Pranger, who wrote, “Whoa. Ari Shapiro looks undead.” Chris Dlugosz added, “I never realized until now that Ari Shapiro looks liks a magical gentle lizard.” And yet another Emily wrote, “Presidential debate. This Ari Shapiro guy looks like he’s 15 and 97 all at once. Without a doubt a vampire.”

CNN’s David Gergen: “David Gergen looks like a thumb.” — IowaHawk‘s David Burge.

Breitbart.com‘s and CNN Contributor Dana Loesch: From a follower, Selena Hines — “@DLoesch Oh shut up! I’m about sick of you!! Romney has been disrespectful the entire debate! Your probably racist.”

The Daily Caller‘s Matt Lewis: From Lewis — “An angry reader ends an email to me with this: ‘May God have mercy on your soul.’”

MetroWeekly Co-Publisher Sean Bugg had feedback for CNN as a whole. Or else a confessional. He wrote, “CNN just hurts my eyes before I can even get to any sort of judgment about their journalism.” And Barron‘s Washington Editor James McTague agreed, saying, “Small wonder CNN ratings are so low.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

FishbowlDC took a look at some of the LIVE! offerings to separate the pros from the piglets.

Politico has done a solid job thus far with its video coverage. Each morning at 7:30 a.m. White House Correspondent Mike Allen and Executive Editor Jim VandeHei begin with a look at the day ahead. An hour later Politico partners with the Tampa Bay Times for a “Playbook Breakfast” featuring high-profile guests such as Liz Cheney, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Karl Rove. Live streaming video continues throughout the day with coverage and analysis provided by Politico reporters and other media types. Convention speeches are also streamed in the evening. Finding Politico‘s video coverage is easy. A large graphic link sits at the top of the homepage. Shockingly, this detail escaped many other publications, which essentially put their video streams in holes then covered them in dirt. One upside of viewing Politico‘s live videos is VandeHei try to intimidate his reporters with scare tactics. Wait, isn’t that Politico Pro‘s Tim Grieve‘s job? “You said you’d have two scoops for us,” VandeHei said to Jake Sherman at the start of one segment. “It’s your birthday!” VandeHei said at one point to another reporter. “We’re going to let you work until midnight!” Only minor audio issues in the stream have ensued.

WaPo‘s live coverage, meanwhile, is mediocre at best, if you can manage to stay awake to actually experience it. It’s unclear how to even get to a video landing page. From the front page of WaPo‘s website, readers can either scroll down a little to click a small icon labeled “live” which leads to a regularly updated blog on political news and posts live streaming video when there is one. The stream we caught was a breakfast yesterday hosted by WaPo‘s Dan Balz, Chris Cillizza and Karen Tumulty along with Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio). Content amounted to a camera that largely zoned in on Portman. The breakfast bore the atmosphere of a cafeteria at a retirement home.

HuffPost Live, the new video venture from HuffPost, has also been streaming segments from the convention. Yesterday the publication’s Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington streamed into HuffPost‘s studio via webcam from Tampa to discuss the Republican convention. What’s distracting is how anyone joining by webcam has to do so wearing headphones, often the white ones that come with Apple products. Video is easy to find with HuffPost Live because it has its own website. Production is sharp enough for online video but we can’t escape the feeling that our annoying relatives are trying to Skype with us. Furthermore, because many of the guests are everyday people joining from home, so viewers are often treated to random home phones ringing and out-of-sight dogs panting.

CNN may have the best online video stream (understandable, given that it’s produced by an actual TV network). The cast we caught was a convention chat between CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Jim Acosta along with liberal commentator Donna Brazile and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. Unfortunately, we have no idea how to navigate back to any video streaming. We were only able to find this particular one because the exact web address was advertised on CNN’s TV channel. But trying to get there from CNN.com is a no go.

Moving on, other than picture quality, which was generally top notch, The Hill‘s live streaming has been terrible. We checked in on several occasions. Once, the camera was fixated on a man tapping on his phone and doing nothing else, with a 30-second clip of music on loop. Another time, the camera was focused on empty bleachers for an unusually extended period of time. And in a third instance, the audio wasn’t in sync with the video. This morning’s stream was a panel discussion featuring conservative author Jonah Goldberg and The Hill‘s A.B. Stoddard, two capable journos who know their way around TV appearances. I’d tell you who the other person on the panel was, but there was almost zero description of the panel underneath the video. The description that was there only contained the name of the event and the time it started. The camera never moved, or zoomed. It simply sat with a wide shot of the panel. On the plus side, the video stream is easy to find. Like Politico, a graphic link at the top of The Hill‘s homepage takes you there.

Tied with The Hill for terrible video streaming is National Journal. Once again, it’s difficult to find when navigating from the front page. Scroll down and a graphic link is to the right with tiny font lettering that says “full coverage.” Even when you get there, the live stream video isn’t at the top, it’s almost halfway down the page. In National Journal‘s case, the picture quality is good but the camera work is poor. It was only a single stationary camera focused on the speaker (and we can’t tell you who it was when we watched because like The Hill, there was no description underneath the video).

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“I love your underwear!” — Bloomberg‘s Stephanie Green to model Elle MacPherson in the hallway of the Washington Hilton prior to WHCD. Turns out MacPherson, who beamed in response, has an underwear line.

Convo between pundit & politico

The following conversation transpired between conservative pundit Ari Fleischer and DNC Spokesman Brad Woodhouse on Sunday.

Fleischer: “I wish POTUS had not poked fun at Secret Service. If anyone should have risen above the easy pot shots, it’s the President.”

Woodhouse: “Ari Fleischer: Like when Bush joked about not being able to find WMD at WHCD in the middle of the Iraq war. That was a real knee slapper.”

Comcast has its period?

“Must be that time of the month again. Comcast internet has gone down forcing me to 3G for who knows how long.” — Accuracy in Media Chairman Don Irvine.

“All dressed up and ready to go to the nerd prom!” – Author and MSNBC Contributor Meghan McCain.

A follower asks, “Is there a Twitter filter to screen out journalist tweets about journalism?” So Reuters‘ Jack Shafer snapped, “Yes. It’s called unfollow.”

Actor adamantly denies ass pinching

“The Mormon stuff is true, but I’ve never done that other thing [pinched a woman's ass] in my life.” — Actor Richard Kind at the Haddad/Rosen garden brunch Saturday afternoon when we approached and said, “So I heard you pinched a woman’s ass the other night. What was up with that?” Meanwhile, FBDC sources maintain it happened. The incident reportedly occurred at the Elle/Creative Coalition/Lani Hay dinner at the Ritz on Thursday night.

Reporter thanks God for editors

“Turning in a draft of a story that includes two of these notes in the text: [IS THIS A WORD?] Thank god for editors.” — NYT‘s media writer Brian Stelter, who came to Washington this weekend for the WHCD.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Stop and check out the chicks: “Look what I passed on the road today. I wonder how old these little guys are” — CNN Contributor and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. American Urban Radio’s April Ryan remarked, “AWWW! The dad in you made you take the precious shot!”

Drudge whoring at the rental car agency

“Rental car guy: ‘Sorry brah, I get most of my news from Drudge.’ #noproblembrah” — Politico‘s Dave Catanese.

All in a day’s work

“There are days when I feel like I can’t push this rock up the mountain anymore, days when #TheRaceCardProject feels like a boulder.” — NPR’s Michele Norris.

Senator’s wife wishes hubby a happy anniversary

Connie Schultz: “My only advice for wedded bliss: Marry your hero. Happy anniversary, honey – aka Sherrod Brown.”

George Zimmerman journo humor

• “I need all Florida helicopters to keep an eye out for any white Broncos. #IJS” — NYT‘s Charles Blow.

• “If you happen to see Zimmerman in line ahead of you at Wendy’s, remember he still has valid permit to carry concealed weapon. So back off.” — Politico‘s Roger Simon.

Reporter talks to himself on Twitter

“@mboyle1 probably not. was just funny. I wouldn’t go out of your way though” — The Daily Caller‘s Matthew Boyle. Hey Boyle, maybe lay off the Mountain Dew and Red Bull today? He followed up by adding, “Haha. Kinda funny though. Guess I got caught talking to myself haha. Bet I end up in @fishbowldc for that one.”

Noteworthy: Politico Playbook published at one of the earliest times in recent memory this morning. Time: 4:45 am. Come on, Jim VandeHei, let Mike Allen sleep!

Hey Speechboy, speed matters

“So why do people care if Bloomberg or the Washington Post was the first to report a fact that within 2 minutes of reporting, everyone knew?” — @speechboy71. HuffPost‘s Michael Calderone has this explanation from a WaPo spokeswoman. “The draft story was not intended to be published until we confirmed that Santorum was suspending his campaign. The draft was inadvertently sent to Bloomberg, with whom The Post has a partnership, through an automated feed. It was not published on our Web site until the news had been confirmed.” Read his full story here.

In England, the sweater vest is a tank top

Politico‘s Emily Schultheis: “Best part of BBC radio interview I did just now: host calling Santorum’s sweater vest a ‘tank top’. Daily Mail Online‘s Toby Harnden, Washington’s official tank top expert, replied to Emily, saying, “It’s the only term recognised in UK! Having to wear a ‘tank top’ still a traumatic childhood memory.”

Necessary Tweet of the Day

“My mother prefers I not curse in my gchat status update ‘from now on.’ Apparently ‘the whole world’ sees that.” — DCGOPGirl.

Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Lizza offers pronunciation advice

“Pro tip: The secret to pronouncing Ahmadinejad is to think ‘I’m a dinner jacket.’ #yourewelcome #cnndebate” — The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza.

Daily Caller reporter gets gipped by BuzzFeed

“Interesting. HuffPost links me in their Rand Paul veep story. BuzzFeed does not extend the same courtesy. Something I said?” — The Daily Caller‘s Matt Lewis. Just speculation, but there is ongoing warfare between The Daily Caller and BuzzFeed Editor Ben Smith.

TPM‘s Marshall razzes CNN’s King

“John King: If you were a form of contraception, which one would you be?” — TPM Editor Josh Marshall. He also promo-ed the one-word debate question with this: “Official John King dingbat question round coming up after the commercial.”

Annoying Tweet of the Night Award

“To those who interpret my tweets as being for or against someone, I’m neutral. I’m just enjoying calling the debate as I see it…” — CNN Contributor Ari Fleischer. Note to Fleischer: SHUT UP ALREADY.

King’s one-word question elicits angry/funny reactions

Coulter weighs in: “Newt: unfaithful Ron Paul: cute Santorum: Satan! Romney: president” — Conservative author and commentator Ann Coulter.

“How would I describe myself? Three words. Hard-working. Alpha male. Jackhammer.” — The Daily Caller‘s Lewis.

“Santorum should’ve just said Santorum. #maturejokes” — HuffPost‘s Elise Foley.

“BREAKING: Stupid question draws really stupid answers.” — The Examiner‘s David Freddoso.

“Sleepy, grumpy, bashful and … Cheerful” — HuffPost’s Howard Fineman.

“Cheerful? Fact check.” — Media Matters Spokeswoman Jess Levin.

“Santorum sets himself apart by describing himself WITH A NOUN. Someone give the man a grammar book.” — The Guardian‘s LA-based Amy Willis.

Hollywood assumption…

Commentary‘s John Podhoretz thinks he knows insider Hollywood gossip? He writes, “Eva Longoria is a co-chair of the Obama re-election effort. So the Botox community is well-represented.”

Unfortunate gaseous exchange

Below the Beltway’s Doug Mataconis: “I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?”

The Right Sphere Contributor Tom Dougherty: “Enchiladas because I want heartburn and gas during the #GOPDebate/#CNNDebate tonight.”

What’s Driving the Day: “Cat saves his owner’s life just HOURS after being adopted” — HuffPost. Read here.

D.C. journo dreams of Chelsea Handler

“Just remembered dream I had about Chelsea Handler last night. She was a neuroscientist inventing a drug to block feelings. Subconscious=lame.” — D.C.-based freelancer Moe Tkacik.

The Observer

“Media scare tactics: John King says, ‘One of these men could be president 11 months from now.’ #CNNDebate” — Politico‘s Roger Simon.

Ash Wednesday Faux Pas Prevention Tip

“Note to self: refrain from saying, ‘umm, you have a little something on your forehead’ today. — C-SPAN’s Jeremy Art in a Wednesday tweet.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Keen Observer

“Did Ari Fleischer come directly from a crack house? I’ve got Samsonites smaller than those bags under his eyes.” — Reason Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Nick Gillespie. Gillespie was on quite the roll. He also wrote, CNN’s “John King = generic human Ambien.” And this: “Gergen thinks in full fragments,” referring to CNN Senior Political Analyst David Gergen. And this: “Listening to most dull pundits is like drinking from a broken water fountain; listening to Gergen like drinking from broken fire hydrant!”

More on Ari…

“I think I speak for everyone still awake when I say we need a closer shot of Ari’s face.” — The New Yorker‘s Washington Correspondent Ryan Lizza.

Newt’s split personality

“Thing about Newt Gingrich is you never know who is going to show up. Right? It could be the good Newt, the smart Newt, the full of good ideas Newt, or it could be the negative, nasty, anti-media Newt Gingrich. I think we saw the first Newt Gingrich.” — CNN’s Gloria Borger.

Uh oh.

“Troubling metaphor? While frantically filing for second edition, cleaning staff turns out the lights in the bureau.” — USA Today’s Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page. About two hours earlier there were also difficulties. She wrote, “Our CNN feed keeps flickering on and off. This could make covering the debate more, um, difficult.”

What does a male sports anchor know about lipstick?

“Wow, Bachman went extra heavy on the lipstick .. #toomuchmakeup” — NBC4 sports anchor Dan Hellie on GOP Presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann.

A reader writes in…

“Betsy, sweetheart, you need therapy. Please don’t try to work out your issues on your blog. It’s sad to watch, honestly. Take care.” –Sent to us by am anonymous reader shortly after we published “Why Washington D.C. Gossip Sucks” regarding the self-analysis of The UnReliable Source in a TBD story. Hmmm…fishy. Wonder who could have written that, someone with the initials A.A.? Read the item that incited this here.

Debate Bloopers by FishbowlMatt

“Herman Cain just called @wolfblitzercnn ‘Blitz’ instead of ‘Wolf’ Oops.”

“Oh Santorum! Africa’s not a country. #samedifference?”

“Call me whatever you want.” — CNN’s Wolf Blitzer to CNN’s John King post debate.

Idiot Watch

“Proof many Ron Paul fans are stupid? I tweet one thing about Ron Paul tonight, it’s positive, and Paul fans complain.” — Editor-in-Chief of RedState.com and CNN Contributor Erick Erickson.

Pick one: The Debate or Dancing With the Stars?

“Wonder what % of #CNNdebate viewers flip to #DWTS. Afterall, very similar: voting system bureaucracy, dancing around issues, fake hair/smiles.” — WJLA-TV reporter Mike Conneen.

National Press Club Exec. Dir. strikes back against suspended member

“It’s not like Sam Husseini can go to the White House, Congress or the State Department and ask a question. We’re about the only place in town he can go and ask a question. We are his meal ticket. For him to say we’re censoring is ridiculous.” — National Press Club Executive Director William McCarren on club member Sam Husseini‘s suspension and charge that the club is censoring him. Husseini was suspended after he allegedly behaved in a disruptive manner at a recent press conference with a Saudi prince. Missed the report published late Tuesday? Read here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Cardona currently heads the public affairs practice at Dewey Square Group, where she founded the Latinovations practice that focuses on Latino strategic outreach on national, state and local levels. During the 2008 Democratic primary election, she was senior adviser and spokesperson to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and served on the campaign’s Hispanic outreach team.  A former communications director for the Democratic National Committee, Cardona also served as a spokesperson at the U.S. Departments of Justice and Commerce during the Clinton administration.

David Frum is the editor and founder of the conservative website FrumForum.com. From 2001 to 2002, Frum served as special assistant and speechwriter to President George W. Bush. During the 2008 election season, he served as senior foreign policy advisor to the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign.  He is a former editor of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page and six time author.

Cardona and Frum join the CNN’s existing lineup of political contributors which includes John Avlon, Paul Begala, Bill Bennett, Donna Brazile, James Carville, Alex Castellanos, Erick Erickson, Ari Fleischer, David Gergen, Roland Martin, Mary Matalin and Hilary Rosen.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Four former White House Press Secretaries joined former CNN White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief Frank Sesno at George Washington University last night for candid conversation.

Press secretaries from the Clinton administration – Dee Dee Myers (now a contributing editor for Vanity Fair) and Mike McCurry – joined Bush 43 press secretaries Dana Perino (now a FNC contributor) and Ari Fleischer at the university’s Lisner Auditorium. Another Clinton flack, Joe Lockhart, planned to attend, but couldn’t due to complications following surgery.

The event, broadcast on C-SPAN and P.O.T.U.S. radio, opened with remarks from CNN’s current White House correspondent, Ed Henry (he and Lockhart are fellows at GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs this year). Henry spoke about “sparring” with several press secretaries during his five years at the White House, and recounted a story about the late Tony Snow, who once lost his temper in a briefing and told Henry to “zip it.” The next day, they put it behind them. It’s important, he said, for the press secretary and the press corps to have a “healthy dose of respect” for one another.

With that, the press secretaries were introduced, and Sesno posed the first question: Was President Obama’s sit-down with Bill O’Reilly before the Superbowl a good idea or a bad one? All agreed it was a “great” idea. “Everyone in America’s in a good mood,” Perino said. Fleischer thought Obama “scored some points for going over to the lion’s den.”

McCurry, along with the rest of the panel, lamented allowing TV cameras in the briefing room, which he said had turned briefings into political theater and weren’t good for public discourse. “It was an idiot who allowed TV cameras” into the briefing room, he joked. (He was the one who first introduced the cameras.)

Each panelist spoke about the relationship the press secretary has with the press. You always see the press secretary defending the president, Perino said, but “you never see” him or her “defending the press to the president,” which is a big part of the job. Others agreed.

But the relationship isn’t always friendly. “Reporters play the aggressive role,” Fleischer said. He charged they also demand an unrealistic amount of access. “They won’t be satisfied till there’s Oval Office cam.” McCurry agreed: “They’re always bitching and moaning about something.”

A few specific reporters were mentioned…

Also: Find out what Perino thinks of AOL/HuffPost…

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Good morning FishbowlDC!

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

It is day 102 covering the Obama administration and week 13 for us. What we know and what we’re reading this Friday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | TV | WEST WING REPORTAGE | NEWS NOTES | JOBS

NEWSPAPERS

More on the print/digital combo at WaPo here.

AP: Reporters at the Chicago Tribune say they believe the marketing department in recent weeks solicited subscribers’ opinions on stories before they were published, a practice they said raises ethical questions, as well as legal and competitive issues.

Named president and publisher of the Gannett Co. flagship earlier this week, David Hunke — former CEO of the Detroit Media Partnership — says some paid content could emerge on the USA Today Web site and he is not shy about making other innovations if they are required. (E&P)

TV

Market Watch’s Jon Friedman: “So far, so good for Meet the Press host David Gregory. He has kept the show on top in the ratings war, after directly following the interim host, Tom Brokaw. Still, it could be argued that NBC handed him a glamorous, high-profile, no-win job.” Read on here.

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, BBC’s Katty Kay, Al-Jazeera Josh Rushing and Daily Beast’s Tina Brown on the White House Press Corps and the cable news “landscape” here.

Politico reports CNN staffers were warned of protestors of Lou Dobbs‘ immigration.

WEST WING REPORTAGE

Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly says the White House press corps has been “neutered.”

NEWS NOTES

More on Ben Bradlee, Sally Quinn and Quinn Bradlee in Washingtonian here. “After reading A Different Life, you might understand Sally’s need to hover. Quinn Bradlee’s is a brutally honest tale of how he grew up hampered by physical and mental maladies in a world of wealth and privilege.”

HAT TIPS: Mediabistro

JOBS after the jump…

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Good Morning FishbowlDC!

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line or let us know in the tips box below.

Its day 38 covering the Obama administration and week 4 for us.

What we know and what we’re reading this Thursday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | TV | MAGAZINES | NEWS NOTES | JOBS

NEWPAPERS

Fourth quarter profit at WaPo plunged 77 percent. This is the ninth consecutive quarter of declining profits. From the AP: Like most publishers across the United States, the company’s publications have been losing advertising revenue to the Internet for several years… Unlike many other publishers, the Post company has a safety net- two large divisions that aren’t dependent on advertising. Its educational unit, Kaplan, and cable TV arm, Cable One, have been doing so well that they collectively bring in far more money than the ailing newspaper and magazine divisions that had once been the company’s cornerstones.”

WaPo announced changes yesterday to continue the paper’s merge of online and print- washingtonpost.com’s Opinions Editor Marisa Katz and her team move downtown to work with the print Opinions team and editorial page editor Fred Hiatt oversees both print and online Opinion content. From the memo: “This move will significantly help our print team leverage and benefit from the interactive expertise we have built up in the online Opinion space under Marisa. ”

From the New York Observer: “Hey, You Media Wimps! If You Want to Save Newspapers, Learn to Love Your iPhones, Then Go Join Facebook”

TV

Nielsen estimates 52 million viewers tuned in to President Obama’s address to the nation Tuesday, across ten national networks. Last year’s address was seen by approximately 37.5 million viewers, 62 million in 2003 (pre-Iraq War) and 52 million in 2002 (post-9/11).

MAGAZINES

NY Post reports that NYT is scaling back the number of issues it publishes of T, the fashion and lifestyle magazine from 15 times a year to 12.

Also from the NY Post, Media Ink reports things are “Getting Nasty at Conde.” “While the industry is down 24 percent in ad pages so far in the first quarter, many of Conde’s venerable titles are down 30 percent. Start-up mag Portfolio is down a staggering 60 percent, while Wired is off 57 percent.”

NEWS NOTES

A great piece in Sunday’s WaPo (I know, I know, its Thursday, but worth another look) Sid Davis, Ari Fleischer, Helen Thomas, Sam Donaldson, Dana Perino and Dan Rather offer their perspectives on questioning the President. From Davis, former VP and Washington bureau chief of NBC News: “The Bush administration practice of each reporter saying “Thank you, Mr. President,” before even asking a question was also maintained. In the olden days, there was only one “Thank you, Mr. President” per news conference, shouted by the senior wire service reporter, and it formally ended the session.”

JOBS

Not all bad news for you budding journos… Poynter just announced a new tuition scholarship program, made possible by a general support grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and proceeds from the book “President Obama,” a collection of election and inaugural newspaper covers published by Poynter and Andrews McMeel. More info can be found here.

HAT TIPS: Mediabistro, Romanesko

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Ari Fleischer and his family (wife and two kids) came by to say hello to the President yesterday. Ari’s four-year-old daughter also wanted to see Barney.

A bright smile and shining bald head greeted some reporters in the White House press room Tuesday. This time he brought his beautiful infant children. They posed behind the White House podium, and tried to mimic some of his mannerisms. Ari and his family also spent time with President Bush. Ari now lives in New York, and apparently has a successful career in communications consulting and speaking — he was in Washington to deliver one of his speeches.

I asked him if he was giving the staff suggestions for life after the White House. None of the staff members will discuss their plans after they leave, but nostalgia is setting in. One of the White House staff members said they are employed for at least another 150 days.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

]]> Patrick http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/ari-returns-to-the-press-room_b13550#disqus_thread http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/ari-returns-to-the-press-room_b13550 http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/ari-returns-to-the-press-room_b13550 Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:54:42 +0000