You’d think that a new mom intent on breastfeeding her newborn while balancing a White House reporting job in a locale that doesn’t easily allow her to do so might elicit sympathy.

But you’d be wrong.

This morning, Yahoo News published a first-person account by Rachel Rose Hartman, explaining the difficulties of pumping in the course of her day at the White House. She takes readers on a journey through the ordeal of having to use an unclean, unisex bathroom to pump for breast milk.

She writes about all that, amidst an Obama administration that claims to care about such a thing: “Under President Barack Obama’s new health care law, employers with more than 50 workers are required to provide a private lactation space other than a restroom for nursing mothers up to one year after giving birth,” writes Hartman.

A low but fitting blow: “Perhaps you’ll recall that these restrooms recently shot to fame as the chosen place for Al Roker to dispose of his dirty underwear?” writes Hartman.

Ultimately White House Correspondent Association President Ed Henry, Chief White House Correspondent for Fox News, and WHCA’s Christi Parsons, addressed the matter and in coordination with the White House, came to her rescue. The eventual solution: radio booths provided by — not the White House or any order by President Obama — but the Christian Broadcasting Network and CBC/Radio-Canada. In the interim, American Urban Radio Networks’ April Ryan allowed her to use her booth.

What comes next is pretty shocking: readers unleashed a torrent of insults and complaints about why this was even a story, why she doesn’t just stay home with her kids and more. Read more

The White House Correspondents’ Association has elected the newest members to their board. Politico’s Mike Allen writes that the newly elected president for the year 2014-2015 will be Christi Parsons from Tribune. Also elected were Ari Shapiro from NPR and Bloomberg’s Margaret Talev. Talev announced on Facebook last night, “Thrilled, along with Christi Parsons and Ari Shapiro, to be joining the board of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and your support.”

Parsons told FBDC that what matters most is a job well done and not the infamous White House Correspondents’ Dinner that took a controversial turn for the worse this year.

“It was a good campaign. It’s a sign of health in the organization that all of the seats were contested, and that 210 journalists ended up casting votes,” she wrote in an email. “One thing that was clear in my conversations with people — I talked to most of the active members — was how committed the White House correspondents are to sound journalistic ideals and to vigorous coverage of the beat. The dinner is important, and it’s fun to talk about. But what matters most is our responsibility to do this job well, to constantly push for more information, and people take that very seriously. That’s what the association is all about.”

Asked for her reaction on her win, Talev remarked, “It’s an honor to be chosen by our peers to represent the White House press corps, and I’m excited, with Christi and Ari, to join our colleagues already serving on the board. While our membership draws from competing and diverse news organizations and technology and social media are rapidly changing how we all do our jobs, as a press corps we are united by universal interests — especially the imperative for timely access to the President, other White House decisionmakers and public information.”

From L to R: Christi Parsons, Donovan Slack and Margaret Talev.

Now the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is blissfully receding from most people’s memory and the hangovers have subsided, that can only mean one thing: the campaign is on for three seats on the association’s board. This year’s races could be especially contentious: Christi Parsons (Chicago Tribune/LAT) v. Donovan Slack (Politico) for President. Also, Bloomberg is trying (for the third straight year!) for a seat on the board with their candidate, Margaret Talev.

Balloting is by mail, over many weeks. First, a signup sheet gets posted in the White House briefing room. Candidates sign up and declare their candidacies. Then they send statements to membership. Trust us, the campaigning is already well under way!

Let the contentiousness begin.

A note of explanation to readers: It’s a crazy system: FNC’s Chief White House Correspondent Ed Henry becomes president and will honcho the 2013 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. So if you want good tables or many tables, he’s the guy whose ass you want to kiss for the next year. It takes TWO YEARS upon one’s election as WHCA president before he/she actually takes office. So after these elections are decided, you could have a full two years head start to suck up and as we know, the turtle tends gets ahead by going slow. Longest transition in the western world.

In further annoyingly technical explanation: There are nine seats total on the board. Typically, there are three open seats per annual election. The three elected in the coming weeks/months all take office shortly after election. To be elected president, one has to win both election to a specific seat AND the race for president.

NBC’s Meet the Press: NPR’s “Planet Money” Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson and a roundtable with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, NPR’s Michele Norris, Washington Examiner’s Byron York and “Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East” author Robin Wright

CBS’ Face the Nation: Mexican Ambassador to the US Arturo Sarukhan and a roundtable with WaPo’s Rajiv Chandrasekaran, NYT’s David Sanger and syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker

ABC’s This Week: Pastor Rick Warren and a roundtable with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, NYT’s Paul Krugman, WaPo’s Ruth Marcus and ABC News’ George Will

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN), Sen. Tom Coburn (R-WY), Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl and Fox Business Network’s Liz Claman and Jenna Lee

CNN’s State of the Union: Iraq Multi-National Force Commander Gen. Ray Odierno, Iraqi National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar

CNN’s Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz: “Inside Edition” host Deborah Norville, WaPo’s Amy Argetsinger, Financial Times’ Chrystia Freeland, CNN’s Tara Wall, Mother Jones’ David Corn, Democratic strategist Joe Trippi and former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino

CNN’s GPS with Fareed Zakaria: Syrian Ambassador to the US Imad Moustapha, “Outliers” author Malcolm Gladwell, FGR Associates President Felix Rohatyn, “God is Back” author and The Economist’s John Micklethwait and “The Age of the Unthinkable” author Joshua Cooper Ramo

NBC’s The Chris Matthews Show: NY Magazine’s John Heilemann, CNN’s Gloria Borger, BBC’s Katty Kay and HDNet’s Dan Rather.

Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Journal: Chicago Tribune’s Christi Parsons, NYT’s David Sanger, LA Times’ Doyle McManus and CNN’s Gloria Borger

Bloomberg’s Political Capital with Al Hunt: Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), Afghanistan Ambassador to the US Said Jawad, Bloomberg’s Hans Nichols, Margaret Carlson and Kate O’Beirne

Roll Call TV with Robert Traynham: Roll Call’s Emily Heil and Elizabeth Brotherton and WaPo’s Mary Ann Akers

Will update throughout the day as we learn them.

From their Friday Feature:

Christi Parsons is a DC corr. for the Chicago Tribune, where she is currently covering Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL). She graduated from the Univ. of AL and has a master of studies in law from Yale Law School. She started at the Trib in ’89 and just moved to DC this year. But today she’s our Friday Feature:

What’s your most embarrassing on-the-job moment? (Or as embarrassing as you’d like to reveal?)

I tripped in a reporter scrum and fell into the arms of the Illinois governor.

…

If you could have any other job besides the one you have now, what would it be?

Reclusive novelist.

…

What’s your favorite political book and why

“Boss,” by Mike Royko, one of the best true stories ever put on the shelves.

Read the rest here.