Craig Gordon - FishbowlDC

Politico Announces Changes in Gargantuan Memo

Betsy Rothstein — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:04:16 +0000

Politico‘s Editor-in-Chief John Harris sent a vast memo to staff this afternoon saluting them on their successes and detailing changes to come.

The takeaways: Politico Pro Managing Editor Tim Grieve (the one with a bit of a hilarious temper issue) will now be dealing mainly with platforms not people. (If you hear screams of Halleluja coming from Rosslyn this afternoon, this is why). Like Grieve, Craig Gordon also has the title of Politico Managing Editor. Looks like he’ll be manning the daily operation because he will be “managing content” (i.e. TALKING with people, so hopefully he’s a human being.). Both men will report to Danielle Jones who has been promoted to Deputy Editor-in-Chief. We love this line: “As is obvious from these descriptions, Craig and Tim will work together hand-in-glove, since there is no platform without great content, and no content without a great platform.” (Craig, we hope your self-esteem is intact.) The other big whopper is that beloved Bill Nichols will move into an “editor-at-large” role in which he will serve as the publication’s ombudsman. VandeHarris, for their part, will continue to do what they do — they will fearlesly lead the team and write whenever possible. But read between the lines: “John will continue to dedicate most of his time to directing editorial coverage; Jim will continue to dedicate most of his time to the broader strategic direction of the company; and both of us will continue to write as often as we can.” We’re hearing strong murmurings that the pair is beginning the process of moving off strict day-to-day editorial management.

See the full memo. It’s a long one. Get some popcorn… continued…

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Caption This

Betsy Rothstein — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:30:37 +0000

Last night during what is fast becoming our favorite new reality TV show outside of “Hoarders” and the “Bad Girls Club,” Politico‘s livestream show featured these two characters, Playbook’s Mike Allen and Chief Deputy Managing Editor Craig Gordon.

Write up your best captions for the above photograph and we’ll print them! Have fun and keep it relatively clean. Cussing is allowed within reason. Send to Betsy@mediabistro.com or to FishbowlDC@mediabistro.com. Your name will not be attached to the caption unless you explicitly say you want it that way.

Mike: “Craig, I have good news and bad news. Craig: What is it Mikey, your scaring me. Mike: The good news? I’m taking over the livestream show when [Jim] VandeHei leasts expects it. The bad news? You will have to hide the body.”

Mike: “Do you have my helmet-cam? It’s MobileMikey time.” Craig: “Oh. Em. Gee.”

Mike: “Craig, we know you ate all the Girl Scout cookies.”

Mike: “Have you stolen my Steadicam?”

“Craig Gordon looks like he’s about to receive his ass-whipping du jour.”

Mike: “I wish I knew how to quit you.”

“What the hell is that smell coming from Ben Smith’s old desk?”

“Great, now turn your head and cough.”

Mike: “Smells like teen spirit.”

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Politico Reporters/Editors: The Chosen Ones

Betsy Rothstein — Mon, 02 May 2011 10:25:07 +0000

We’ve learned specifics on which Politico reporters received the exclusive invite to the boss’s house on Sunday. As many know by now, Politico‘s Robert Allbritton and wife, Elena, held a post WHCD brunch at their Georgetown home, but only a small select group of journalists of the approximately 200 they employ were invited.

The List: Editor-in-Chief John Harris and Executive Editor Jim Vandehei, Bill Nichols, Danielle Jones, Kim Kingsley, Sara Olson, Bill Hamilton, Julie Mason, Jonathan Martin, Craig Gordon, Katherine Lehrer, Manu Raju, Tim Grieve and Mike Allen. Photographer John Shinkle and reporter Amie Parnes were there to cover the event. It’s unclear but doubtful that they would have been invited otherwise.

To the masses who didn’t get to eat fried mushroom puffs and caviar this weekend, don’t worry. They’re sure to send out a praiseworthy internal memo soon or offer catered lunch in the conference room.

UPDATE: We missed Politico’s chief political columnist Roger Simon, who also got to enjoy those mouthwatering mushroom puffs at the brunch. He attended with his wife, Marcia Kramer. “The food, which was catered by Wolfgang Puck, was terrific,” Simon remarked to FishbowlDC.

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Politico Behind the Scenes

Betsy Rothstein — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:48:10 +0000

Howard Kurtz got a rare behind-the-scenes look at how Politico operates for Sunday’s “Reliable Sources” on CNN. Cameras were allowed into the conference room as Politico planned its health care coverage.

Those at the filmed meeting included: John Harris; Jim VandeHei wanted everything tightly focused on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.): “If we can really rope it around her and around the final 72 hours…” he said, noting that WaPo would be thinking much more broadly on coverage; Craig Gordon, the editor in charge of White House coverage, weighed in; Jonathan Martin suggested a story on “Dead Men Walking,” those lawmakers who would effectively be signing death papers by voting for the bill; Eamon Javers appeared to be amused by others remarks, but never spoke during the segment.

Something viewers may not know: Participants in the brainstorming meeting change from meeting to meeting. The meeting happens every few weeks and is a mix of top editors and selected reporters.

Something else viewers may not know: CNN chose not to show the other side of the table or any of the comments that came from that side of the room. Those journos included: Danielle Jones, Managing Editor, Online; Erika Compart, Deputy Managing Editor; Pia Catton, Features Editor; and Carol Lee, White House Correspondent.

“Some of those stories were very solid,” assessed Kurtz after the meeting. “But they also offered an embarrassment” this week. Kurtz explained that Politico posted a leaked memo on health care and didn’t say it came from Republican sources. They took it down. He scolded, “A better rule of thumb would have been to verify it first before publishing.”

An armchair suggestion: Story meeting participants may want to get all itches and scratches out before they go on film. While some slouched (perfectly fitting for such a meeting) some scratched too much as cameras rolled up close.

Next week: More Politico as Kurtz interviews VandeHarris.

Come to your own conclusions. Watch CNN’s video here. Please note, the picture (above) is a depiction and not the actual room where the Politico meeting transpired.

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Nia-Malika Henderson: The FishbowlDC Interview

Christine — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:06:33 +0000

Say hello to Politico’s Nia-Malika Henderson, a White House reporter, focusing on First Lady Michelle Obama and other issues.

What does your morning reading list include? Mikey’s Playbook and Politico, HuffPost, The Page, The Note, First Read, NY TIMES, WashPost, WSJ, RCP, and Drudge. Try to read a few pages of whatever book I’m reading, but rarely have time and catch Morning Joe when I can.

What single person has played the biggest role or has had the biggest influence on your career? Norm Gomlak, my buro chief at the Baltimore Sun and Craig Gordon, my editor at Newsday and now Politico. Both great editors, conceptually and organizationally and both understand how a story should sound in terms of rhythm and pacing. And my mom, was a rock and roll broadcast journalist and had her own show on public television back in the 1970s.

How many suits do you own? 3

What is the name of your cell phone ring? Classic, old school ring.

How many emails do you receive a day? How many do you answer? 150 or so, 40ish

Where do you power-lunch? Cosi. It’s quick, cheap, and close to the White House.

What’s your favorite or go-to drink? I’m a Southerner so I’m always asking for sweet tea no matter where I am in relation to the Mason-Dixon line.

Who is your favorite active journalist? Gwen Ifill.

What subject line in an email grabs your attention? “Read this quickly and send it back to me”

What section of the Sunday Washington Post do you read first? A section then Date Lab in the mag.

If you ran a doctor’s office or a bank, what cable station would you have on in your waiting room or lobby? No TV. Just mags and Aretha Franklin on a constant loop.

What kind of dog should the Obamas get and what should they name their new pet? They should get a long-haired cat and name it Gladys.

Who would you most enjoy seeing parodied on SNL? Bring back Dave Chappelle and let Dave and Charlie Murphy have at it.

Leno or Letterman? Stewart or Colbert? Letterman, Colbert

Taking a cue from The Chris Matthews Show here, tell us something we don’t know… I got my start in this town working as a page for Sen. Strom Thurmond.

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Gordon, Raju To Politico

Patrick — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:12:19 +0000

Manu Raju becomes the fourth reporter from The Hill to join the Politico (others: Josephine Hearn, Patrick O’Connor, Andy Barr). Raju will cover the Senate.

Newsday’s Craig Gordon becomes the Politico’s editor of White House coverage. (Newsday’s Nia Malika-Henderson recently joined the Politico and she’ll likely focus on Michelle Obama for the paper.)

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This Week In Pool Reports

Patrick — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:53:01 +0000

It seems sometimes, there really is nothing exciting to report from the pool, except when POTUS and a Prime Minister dress alike.

“You might think that being leader of the free world means never having to sit in traffic but you would be wrong. A short construction-related traffic delay on New York Avenue briefly slowed what was an otherwise uneventful trip to the Secret Service training facility in Beltsville, for what we’re told was some bike riding by President George W. Bush.” — Craig Gordon, Newsday

“Unfortunately, your pooler has nothing terribly interesting to report. The room had been well prepared for a brief, 30-second tour by a group of reporters. A text display near the ceiling had been set to read ‘unclassified.’ The huge video monitors displayed the public Web sites of the NSA, DHS and other agencies. Digital clocks showed time for Hawaii, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Kabul, Zulu, Local and…I can’t read my notes for the last one. It might have said Baghdad. Cameras were allowed in, but, for some reason, no sound recording equipment.” — Sean Musseden, Media General News Service

“Standard drill: President in arm chair; PM to his right in similar arm char. Both in dark blue/gray suits; white shirts, nearly identical blue ties.” — Jim Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times

“During flight, the VP, sometimes aka senior administration official, completely missed an oportunity to yuk it up with the pool, But we did eat light salads — avocado, ham, turkey and blue cheese chunks served on a bed of lettuce with hard-boiled egg slices — and garlic rolls en route.” — Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune

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