Though The List is a kind of fictional tell-all about Tanabe’s tenure at Politico, several current staffers still showed up to offer congratulations. Former employees showed up as well, including Kendra Marr Chaikind, who was fired from the publication in 2011.

“I wrote it really fast in secrecy,” Tanabe said in a short speech to the room of 70-ish attendees. She started it in the summer of 2011 while still working at Politico. “I was terrified,” she said.

Tanabe acknowledged other Politico “survivors” in the room (some of whom could be heard trading jokes about Politico) and said her book is about “paying homage” to reporters working in today’s new media environment. Of new media, she said, “It’s easier to make your career but also break your career.”

At one point, what appeared to be the cast of D.C. Housewives swooped in and had their photo snapped by the photographer. Among the women (and wearing all sorts of furs and leathers) were… continued…

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Fishbowl sources inside Politico informed us that at least three reporters and one editor were spotted cruising job listings on Wednesday morning, with many whispering and worrying about the recent job cuts. “They don’t seem to understand how this method of firing people and letting the rumor mill flourish is making a lot of people unsettled,” a Politico insider told us strictly on condition of anonymity. “A lot of fear. What’s worse, there’s a sense that the bosses LIKE the fear. Strange way to motivate a staff that has helped make you rich.”

But a Politico source in a leadership role tells us their fears are unfounded, that 2013 will be a year of growth and job security. What’s more, as we’ve reported, 30 positions on both the news and business side, are expected to be filled. And Editor-in-Chief John Harris confirms the sentiment.

“Politico has very robust plans for growth ahead of us in the new year and we expect everyone who is currently on our staff to be participating in a number of new initiatives that we will be undertaking in the new year,” Harris told FishbowlDC in a phone interview.

So should reporters just take a chill pill? To put this in some context, Politico recently parted ways with a small number of employees — Photographer Jay Westcott and Politico Pro technology writer Jess Kamen and others.  As it was explained to us by the Politico source in a leadership role… continued…

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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

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