Beltway journalists’ obsession with Twitter has made “Klout me” the new “Google me.” We sometimes like to think of ourselves as ahead of the curve.

For those unfamiliar with Klout, it’s an online tool that measures how important you are in the Twittersphere on a scale of 1 to 100. Your level of importance (“Klout”) is determined by how many people are responding to and sharing your tweets. The more engaged people are with your content, the higher your score. Klout also shows what topics you’re most invested in, who you influence (meaning, who’s reacting to and sharing the messages you tweet) and who’s influencing you.

In voyeuristic fashion, we went ahead and checked the Klout on a sampling of Washington journos.

Dylan Byers: The new media reporter at Politico working with Ben Smith on his revamped blog. His Klout score is 57. The topics he deals in most on Twitter are pretty straightforward. They include: New York City, advertising, and family (aww). He influences Adweek‘s David Levine and Politico‘s Eliza Krigman. On the flip side, Think Progress and NYT‘s Brian Stelter shape his Twitter world.

Nia-Malika Henderson: National political reporter for WaPo. Some of her favorite Twitter topics are moms, Henderson, and Barack Obama. Who she influences most: MSNBC Al Sharpton‘s “Politics Nation” and “The Bill Press Show.” Those who influence Henderson are entirely exclusive to WaPo reporters, except CNN’s Sam Feist.

NJ‘s Major Garrett: Congressional Correspondent for NJ and, according to Klout, a New England Patriot’s fan. That’s the second thing he’s most engaged in on Twitter. Others are major league baseball and conservative politics. Garrett influences Wofford College and NJ‘s Chris Frates. He’s influenced by Slate‘s Dave Weigel and The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball. His Klout: 56. UPDATE: Major questions Klout’s validity. He writes in, “I AM NOT A NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS FAN…..I have never tweeted anything about the Patriots. I am a San Diego Chargers fan and San Diego Padres fan and fan of my alma mater, the University of Missouri and have tweeted frequently about them, but never, ever, ever the Patriots. Klout is seriously missing a klue.”

Current TV’s David Shuster: Former MSNBC anchor, current Current TV contributor/Keith Olbermann sub. He’s got a Klout score of 48 and an incredibly random group of topics he tweets about. Included are libraries, mother nature and religion and spirituality. Oh, and tea. Strange bedfellows: He influences WaPo‘s Ezra Klein but is shaped by Olbermann and FNC’s Bret Baier.

WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart: Editorial writer at WaPo and high flying with a Klout score of 60. Some things he likes to tweet about: Rick Perry, LGBT and Africa. Find the common link. He influences 12,000 people, but no big names at the top. However, he pays a lot of attention to MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan, The Daily Caller‘s Matt Lewis and The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza.

NBC’s Andrea Mitchell: MSNBC anchor. She likes to tweet about food, coffee and photography. The people she most influences appear to be just a bunch of fans but her tweets are influenced by Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and Politico. Her Klout score is up there at 63.

Dave Weigel (couldn’t do it without him): Political reporter for Slate. His Klout is scored at an impressive 75. Some topics he deals in most on Twitter include earthquakes, Sarah Palin and job search. Sadly, the person he influences most is an account dedicated to Weigel: @Weigelisbored. The top three people who influence him are Politico‘s Smith and Jonathan Martin and new addition to Slate, Matthew Yglesias.

To be fair, we Klouted ourselves, too…

FishbowlDC: Yours truly. Our Kout score is a respectable 54. A few topics we apparently like to tweet about: Coma, guitar and Barbara Walters. Who’s paying attention to us: Sirius XM’s Julie Mason, FishbowlDC’s Matt Dornic and Washingtonian‘s Carol Joynt. Our biggest influences are, who else? Dave Weigel, Chuck Todd, Ezra Klein and Chris Hayes.

– EDDIE SCARRY

Quotes of the Day

A Brilliant Suggestion

“With Andy Rooney retiring, only viable option for 60 Minutes is to bring in @markknoller for that role.” – Reuters White House Correspondent Steve Holland referencing CBS White House radio correspondent Mark Knoller. Read the breaking story on Rooney here.

G-dropping discussion continues…

“OK, so we’ll start dropping g’s on every pol we cover, right?” — PBS’s Gwen Ifill to CNBC and NYT‘s John Harwood.

Revenge of the Smoothie

“Why do I take a smoothie from home to work you ask? What else can I use to coat the inside of my car, my phone, and my trousers?” — Slate‘s John Dickerson.

The Anti-Christie

“Downside of weighing 100lbs? You’re the first person people want to sit next to. Maximum space.” — The Blaze‘s Eddie Scarry.

Only in Washington…

“One of the best days at National Journal is the day the new Almanac of American Politics arrives #coolperk” — NJ Congressional reporter Major Garrett.

A message to the universe: “BUMMED AS EVER RE EXISTENCE RIGHT NOW, HINT HINT JOB CREATORS” — Washington freelancer Moe Tkacik.

Travel blogger seeks explanation for global insanity

“Is there some crazy lunar eclipse tonight? I’d like an explanation why everyone I’ve talked to today is hostile, angry or just plain cuckoo.” — Poshbrood founder Elizabeth Thorp.

Deep Thoughts: “Is Chris Christie even Chris Christie?” — Politico‘s Jake Sherman. And more on Christie from “Fast Break” (h/t Mike Allen) Sherman’s colleague Matt Negrin: “How many times is MSNBC going to say there’s ‘BUZZ’ around Christie???? It’s the beehive of cable TV!”

Rhetorical q’s at a glance

“There are people who go on twitter to look smart?” — Gawker Political Editor Jim Newell in response to Politico Ben White‘s question, “What percentage of Twitter consists of reporters trying to look smart to other reporters? My guess: A lot.”

News that makes you go HUH? The View‘s Sherri Shepherd, who doesn’t exactly have the reed thin physique of Bob Schieffer‘s crush, Gwyneth Paltrow, is saying she worries that big, fat Chris Christie could die in office. Meanwhile, Barbara Walters insists that Christie will be the GOP candidate. Many Twitter followers wrote to tell us that at least one fat President  — William Taft — had been elected and even had a special bathtub made for him. Does The View have a special tub for Sherri?

Quick Convo Amongst Three Journos

HuffPost’s Amanda Terkel: @brianbeutler Why are you linking to porn sites? I think you meant to link to this: [Read here.]

HuffPost‘s Jennifer Bendery: Touching Porn Movie?

TPM‘s Brian Beutler: Talking Porns Memo?

Items you will need in order to read The Hill‘s recent story on Chef Geoff Tracy and his wife, CBS Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell: A pillow (to take periodic naps), a brick wall (to bang your head against) and a red pen (for rewriting purposes).

The journey begins with a picture on the front page of the Washington Scene section. Though the story is about the couple, the picture shows Tracy with the V.P.’s wife,  Jill Biden. No, O’Donnell’s husband hasn’t run away with the second lady. The full picture inside shows the couple and their children posing with V.P. Biden and his wife.

We’re going to keep this simple since the story itself is a torture chamber.

Five Ways the Story Unnecessarily Cozies to the Couple

1. Affection abounds. The writer begins with Tracy (with his hidden warm blue eyes) kissing his wife. Shortly thereafter we must endure Norah playfully tapping her husband on the shoulder after a particularly unfunny canned joke about how long they’ve been married. “Yeah, thank God he bought me diamond earrings for our anniversary,” O’Donnell said, hitting Tracy on the shoulder playfully. (Did they choreograph this before the interview?)

2. Soundbites. A reporter is supposed to steer interviewees away from quotes that make readers want to crawl into a hole. Instead, the piece reads as though author Kate Oczypok let her interviewees sit down and write it, not the other way around. Example: Norah: “CBS came to me and offered me an incredible position so few women have held. I’ll have a front row seat to history and be the principle substitute for Face the Nation and contribute to 60 Minutes—It’s my dream.” (No questions about the poor treatment of women in the business. Not even a single question about whether Norah has ever experienced sexism in the course of her career.)

3. Missed opportunities. In two random lines, we learn that O’Donnell, when she was little, used to pretend to be Barbara Walters and that she wanted to be the female Tim Russert. We get zero details. Really? You don’t even ask Norah how she distinguishes between being a man versus a woman or if she looked in the mirror and did a Wawa imitation? You don’t ask her to do one now? And Russert — is this really her eventual goal? How would she critique the current NBC “MTP” hosted by David Gregory? The lack of tough questions throughout this puffy piece is daunting.

4. Pointless sucking up. Norah “hates the idea that women can’t have a high-powered job and be a mother.” She says, “It’s absolutely archaic.”  “…And sexist,” Tracy added. (Yes, they are a modern couple trying to make the life-work balance work. There’s nothing new or interesting about this. And what a relief to see that Geoff also thinks sexism is “archaic.”)

5. Soundbites II. This one made us cringe. “Norah’s the national and international star and I’m just the local mayor, unelected of course,” Tracy joked. “In all seriousness, I’m very fortunate that I get to entertain people on a daily basis.”

Remember that brick wall we asked you to bring? Time to use it unless you prefer the pillow.

Read the complete monstrosity here.

Roll Call has hired Joshua Miller to be a politics reporter. He comes to the publication from ABC, where he was an associate producer. The announcement says he’s worked with some of the “biggest names” in journalism such as Jake Tapper, Christiane Amanpour and Barbara Walters. Hiring editors also liked his “get it done” mentality.

See the full internal memo…

Read more

Say hello to Politico‘s media writer Keach Hagey, a native of Evansville, Ind. She came to Washington from The National newspaper in Abu Dhabi, where she was covering the business of media in the Middle East. Previously she wrote for CBS.com and the Village Voice. We wouldn’t have guessed this, but she prefers the cuss word, “motherfucker” as well as the word, “pork.” Well done. Read on.

If you were a carbonated beverage which would you be? Ginger beer

How often do you Google yourself? Occasionally.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor (or vice versa) “I can’t cover that zoning board meeting tonight because I have band practice.”

Who is your favorite working journalist? William T. Vollman

Do you have a favorite word? Pork. I don’t eat it, but I like to say it. I just think it’s a well-constructed group of letters, in the same way that Drew Barrymore’s character in “Donnie Darko” likes the words “cellar door.”

Who would you rather have dinner with – First Lady Michelle Obama or Bestselling Author and former V.P. candidate Sarah Palin? Palin.

What’s the name of your cell phone ring? The fake old timey phone sound that comes on the Blackberry.

When did you last cry and why? Three days ago, while watching “Out of Africa” for the first time. So embarrassing.

What word do you routinely misspell? Across.

What swear word do you use most often? Motherfucker.

What word or phrase do you overuse? See above.

What TV show do you have to watch? True Blood.

Where do you shop most often for your clothes? Beacon’s Closet.

Whom do you prefer for daytime talk, Dr. Phil, Ellen, Oprah, Tyra or the women of The View? The View. Barbara Walters has no peer.

Pick one: Leno, Letterman or Conan? Letterman.

If you were trapped on a deserted island, which public official would you want to be trapped with and why? Haley Barbour, assuming he brings his whiskey.

Who is your mentor? Wayne Barrett, Dave Blum, Michelle Johnson

What’s the best advice you ever received in the course of your career? Don’t take no for an answer.

Read more about Keach after the jump…

Read more

FishbowlDC caught up with Bob Epstein, Executive Producer of NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, through a spokeswoman. While we are dying to know if Williams is planning to pull a Barbara Walters and say anything that could spring a few tears out of House Speaker John Boehner in Thursday’s upcoming interview, Epstein wouldn’t go there. He did prep us on the interview set to air at 6:30 p.m. ET.

“At an incredibly unique time in America’s democracy, this is the exact right day and place to do this important interview– from the corridors of the Capitol, on Boehner’s first full work day since being sworn in as Speaker. With “Nightly” being in such a strong position, Brian will have the opportunity to ask the right questions about how Boehner sees the next two years playing out, both in terms of his relationships with the White House and with members of his own party. We’re also looking forward to having the first chance to see inside Boehner’s new office– to see if he’s unpacked his boxes and hung up his pictures since Speaker Pelosi moved out.”

QUOTES of the DAY

Obama’s hair getting grayer?

“Superficial side note on Obama on MTV — is his hair grayer now? Did he stop dyeing it?” — Human Events investigative editor Emily Miller in a Thursday tweet.

Journo offers sidelines commentary of fight on “The View”

“Whoopi and Joy almost gave Barbara Walters more heart problems today.” — WaPo‘s Federal Eye Blogger Ed O’Keefe in a Thursday tweet on FNC’s Bill O’Reilly’s appearance on ABC’s “The View” in which hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar stormed off stage when O’Reilly opined on Muslims, the mosque and 9/11.

Reporter feels longing for Facebook

“Sitting alone in the office, waiting to do a radio hit, I feel my first pangs for Facebook since deactivating this weekend.” — Politico congressional reporter Meredith Shriner in a Thursday tweet.

Reuters Bureau Chief brings poem into prose

Curses are like young chicken: they always come home to roost, to quote the title page of Robert Southey’s poem The Curse of Kehama, published in 1810. — Reuters Washington Bureau Chief Simon Denyer in his introduction to his Washington Extra piece Thursday on handling home foreclosures, election watch, the Afghan war and whether the U.S. will take a harder or softer line with China.

Kids say the darndest things

“@chucktodd arent these questions better than he gets in news conferences? College kids rule.” — NBC News’s Andrea Mitchell in a Thursday tweet regarding POTUS’s MTV event.

Reception fare

“The hors d’oeuvres included miniature beef empanadas with tomato salsa, serrano ham croquetas, crab tostada with guacamole & lime, roasted corn, black bean & jack cheese quesadilla, bite size tamales and for desert miniature dulce de leche cheesecakes.” — Ruben Barrera of Notimex in a mouthwatering VP Pool Report Thursday. This was the spread at a VPOTUS  event at the Naval Observatory for Hispanic Heritage Month.

TVWeek has released their “10 Most Powerful in TV News” list today. Who else but Fox News President Roger Ailes (who has long been called the “most powerful name” in news) tops the list. For as much as cable and national news channels squabble amongst themselves, all vying to be on top, they’ve all landed somewhere on this list.

Some numbers have more than one correspondent underneath. For instance, number 10 is soon-to-be ABC “This Week” host Christiane Amanpour and CNN’s Candy Crowley.

Highlights:

2. Steve Capus, NBC News; Phil Griffin, president, MSNBC
3. Jom Klein, president, CNN/U.S.
4. Sean McManus, president, CBS
5. Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart
6. David Westin, ABC News
7. FNC’s Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck
8. Barbara Walters and the Women of “The View”

Read the full story here.

Famed Washington author Kitty Kelley‘s “Oprah” hits bookshelves tomorrow. The unauthorized biography has been causing quite a stir even before its release, allegedly blackballed by Larry King, Barbara Walters, David Letterman and Charlie Rose to name a few? ‘Why?’ you might ask. Apparently, out of respect for the big O.

“Oprah” took four years and 850 interviews for Kelley, a Georgetown resident, to produce. FishbowlDC was lucky enough to get our hands on a copy and although we’re only a few chapters in, we’re fairly certain Kelley can add another “bestseller” title to her roster.

Kelley and her biography will be feted on Friday evening at the home of Marina and Daniel Ein. FishbowlDC will be there to catch up with Kelley after the big release.

This just in…

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour will be the new host of ABC’s “This Week”.

From ABC’s David Westin:
I am delighted to announce that Christiane Amanpour will join ABC News as the new anchor of “This Week.” A highly respected journalist recognized around the world for her reporting, she brings to her new position a wealth of experience and knowledge, as well as a deep commitment to bringing news of the world to the American people. She will also appear on all other ABC News programs and platforms to provide international analysis of the important issues of the day. And, she will be anchoring primetime documentaries on international subjects.

Christiane will join us from CNN where, for two decades she has reported from the worldÂ’s major conflicts, including those in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Rwanda, and the Balkans. She has received every major broadcast journalism award. A formidable interviewer, she has sat down in global exclusives with many of the worldÂ’s leaders and military chiefs from the Middle East, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa, Europe and the United States.

More than once over the years we’ve talked with Christiane about her joining us in one position or another. Until now, it wasn’t the right time or the right fit. We are fortunate that this time it worked for Christiane and for us.

With Christiane we have the opportunity to provide our audiences with something different on Sunday mornings. We will continue to provide the best in interviews and analysis about domestic politics and policies. But now we will add to that an international perspective. All of us know how much the international and the domestic have come to affect one another – whether it’s global conflict, terrorism, humanitarian crises, or the economy. And our international reporting has long been a hallmark of ABC News, part of the legacy Peter Jennings left for us. Christiane will bring the international and the domestic together, in the interviews she does and in the roundtable over which she presides. Our audience has come to us for years to see differing points of views expressed in intelligent and compelling ways; now the different points of view will be expanded beyond partisan politics alone.

Christiane will be joining ABC News in August. Until then, Jake Tapper has agreed to become the regular, interim anchor of “This Week.” Ian Cameron will continue as executive producer. All of us owe a debt of gratitude to him and to Jake, Terry Moran, Jonathan Karl, Barbara Walters, Elizabeth Vargas, and Matthew Dowd for taking up the reins of the program during this transition. Thanks to their hard work and dedication we’ve maintained the high standards set by George Stephanopoulos before he left the program for “Good Morning America.”

Please join me in welcoming Christiane to ABC News.