Rules are rules and BuzzFeed‘s Senior Press Director Ashley McCollum isn’t one to mess with on that front. Some TV network employees now know that.

As has been documented, after failing to secure a table at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, BuzzFeed hosted its own highly-attended party Saturday just a couple blocks away at Jack Rose whiskey bar. It seemed that anyone who didn’t make it into the dinner was at the BF party and those who were late were stuck waiting in long lines to get in.

We were told that night that a gaggle of network employees tried jumping ahead of the lines to enter the party but were told by McCollum they’d have to wait. With a slight air of entitlement, they tried talking their way in but McCollum wasn’t having it. She stood firm. After all, the party had reached an uncomfortable level of fullness with party goers nearly on top of one another at the bar, sweating like Newt Gingrich at a Zumba class.

Sensing their defeat, they stormed off.

“When she’s on, she’s on,” McCollum’s colleague Evan McMorris-Santoro, BF‘s White House correspondent, would later tell FishbowlDC. McMorris-Santoro had also tried having some of his friends skip to the front of the line Friday. He told us that McCollum didn’t let that happen either.

By Eddie Scarry and Betsy Rothstein

National Journal‘s pre-White House Correspondents’ Dinner “Making News” party Friday could easily go down as one of this year’s nicest, most well-planned parties in the coolest warehouse space we’ve seen in awhile. And maybe it will if attendees forget that for a large portion of it, the restroom for hundreds of guests was out of order.

That’s right. There was one toilet available for the entire warehouse full of partygoers, and the top floor, which contained the toilet, was for V.I.P.’s only.

“That’s hood,” one attendee waiting outside the restroom remarked about the potty problem. “Poopgate, drink slowly,” said another, explaining that one employee advised him to pace himself. When Fox News’ Peter Doocy approached the first-floor restroom area, he was told he could not enter. “How long do you think?” he asked the woman standing guard. “Alright, I’ll let it go.” (We sincerely hope he held it in, not let it go.) Another partygoer cracked, “All these people are going to have to piss on themselves. This might be the shortest party ever.”

The attendant said she had people requesting buckets and cups.

The party took place at the two-story bar in Georgetown called The Powerhouse. It was on the bottom floor where they stationed event workers in front of the hall leading to the restroom, alerting guests from about 10 p.m., when the party started, to about 11:30, that the toilets weren’t working. Only that one VIP restroom upstairs was available. But without one of the exclusive red wristbands, how were most of the guests going to relieve themselves?

“If it gets too bad we’ll have to open up the VIP area,” said NJ Communications Director Ben Fishel at the time.

At one point a team of men carrying what looked like… Read more

The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi gave fellow comedian Conan O’Brien a big thumbs up today, insisting he had the best joke of the night.

“Yeah, I thought he was good,” said Mandvi. “It’s a tough gig talking to people while they’re eating and following President Obama. I thought he was very funny and had the best joke of the night — the Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow joke.”

The joke involved comparing Obama and House Speaker John Boehner getting together to CNN’s Anderson Cooper and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “Nothin’s gonna happen,” he cracked.

The highlight of Mandvi’s weekend? “I guess meeting Michelle from Downton Abbey. I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan.”

Mandvi’s impromptu review of O’Brien’s performance was told to FishbowlDC today at the Thomson-Reuters/Yahoo! News post prom night brunch at Hay Adams, where a variety of journalists were buzzing around the room.

Spotted in the mix: BuzzFeed‘s Evan McMorris-Santoro and publicist Ashley McCollum, who, while making fun of her own boat shoes, said it made her feel so good being at such a posh party. Also dotting the room was WaPo‘s Erik Wemple (from the ERIK WEMPLE BLOG) and Jack Shafer (where does he work again, Reuters?) as well as The Hill‘s Emily Goodin and Judy Kurtz (Howiella!) and Washingtonian‘s Carol Joynt. A journo who shall remain nameless and genderless somehow sneaked his or her way into the party without being on the list (yes, crashing a party, even at the opulent Hay Adams, can happen.)

Quotable: “If this wasn’t here I’d be shitting my pants.” — FBDC’s Eddie Scarry standing on the balcony of the Hay Adams, safely inside the wrought-iron railing.

Three weeks after moving into 529 9th St. in Chinatown, The New Republic officially celebrated its new office space on Friday.

“The convenience of the location played a big part,” Chief Operating Officer Sloan Eddleston told FishbowlDC. The office, which sits over the International Spy Museum, features a newsroom with some 30 computers, a library for reporters seeking a quiet respite and a spacious roof deck with a view of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (another selling point).

Eddleston said the space was renovated before the TNR crew could move in and that changes to the office were paid for by the owners of the building. He said TNR has signed a multi-year lease, but declined to say how many years.

Notably, most of the computers in the office are desktop PCs with only two or three Macs. Asked if any of the staffers gripe over who uses which computer, TNR Editor-in-Chief Franklin Foer said no. Actually, most of the computers go unused. “I think you find that most people have laptops,” Foer said, “and they’re working off Macs.”

Foer said it’s “very sweet to be in a place that is our home and will be our home for a long time.” Previously, TNR was taking up shelter in an office sublet by the American Grain Council.

The party featured two fully-stocked open bars and another bar where attendees could sample different liquors. WaPo‘s media reporter Erik Wemple was spotted taking a shot of something dark before heading out onto the deck. Catering included copious amounts of humus and cheese, veggie spreads and an assortment of chips.

Throughout the early evening, Chris Hughes, publisher of TNR, was seen… Read more

This afternoon we learn via Twitter that Rebecca Berg is leaving BuzzFeed. She broke the news herself.

Some bittersweet personal news: Today is my last day with BuzzFeed.

— Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) April 17, 2013

I’m grateful to @dcbigjohn and @buzzfeedben for tapping me to report on Capitol Hill. Stay tuned for details on what’s next.

— Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) April 17, 2013

Her relatively new colleague, Evan McMorris-Santoro, who replaced Zeke Miller, now at TIME, remarked on Twitter,  “Good luck and Godspeed.”

There are few things on the Internet that are as delightful as Marty Rudolf. The Twitter icon fishes for conversation with people from all walks of life, and every now and then, he gets a response. The more entertaining exchanges make it into our feature we like to call, “Marty’d.”

One recent example was when Marty asked Buzzfeed’s DC Bureau Chief, John Stanton, “Hello John, Describe what it’s like Being the DC Bureau Chief at Buzzfeed.com? I’m a Political News Junkie Online!” Stanton took the time to reply that it was “loads of fun,” even when he has to edit Evan McMorris-Santoro.

But it was a recent conversation with a Fishbowl Favorite that really caught our attention.  Read more

The Media Critic

“Tonight I will officially be able to tweet, “Awww, crap. Did Bikram Yoga thru All In with Chris Hayes!” – Brian Beutler

 The Traffic Cop

“If you’re looking to drive anywhere in our great city today, know that many traffic lights on constitution and independence aren’t working.” – Politico’s Jake Sherman

Speaking of Jam Bands

“Want to see a clip of John Fogerty jamming with Clarence Clemons, Jerry Garcia & B Weir?” – Politico’s Jonathan Martin, who linked to a video that we did not click.

The New Guy

“good idea: giving @dcbigjohn the job of catching it when ppl fuck up. bad idea: being the person that fucked up.” – Buzzfeed’s Evan McMorris-Santoro catches heat from Bureau Chief John Stanton.

One door closes, another bursts open.

As BuzzFeed‘s Zeke Miller departs, they’ve pulled in Evan McMorris-Santoro from Talking Points Memo. McMorris-Santoro, yet another in a long line of complex names at BuzzFeed, will be their White House reporter.

Miller and McMorris-Santoro behaved like utmost grownups on Twitter. “It’s a tough assignment to follow in @ZekeJMiller’s footsteps,” McSanta (we’ve shortened his obscenely long name) wrote. “Can’t wait to see what he does next.”

TPM recently promoted McSanta to national politics reporter.

Quotes of the Day

Burying the lead

“Magistrate in Pistorius case really knows how to bury the lead. He’s been reading back the case for more than 1/2 hr now w/o ruling on bail.” — Jon Belmont, AP Radio News.

Travel Bitches

“Nothing like starting off the day with a 4 am wake up for a 6 am flight.” — WaPo‘s Karen Tumulty.

“Instead of “quiet car” Amtrak should have one where everyone who screams on their phones all the way from DC to NY sits together.” — MSNBC “Daily Rundown” Executive Producer Brooke Brower.

“Longest Circulator ride of. My. Life.” — MetroWeekly‘s Justin Snow.

“Seatmate warns: ‘I didn’t sleep last night, so I may doze on your shoulder.’ #StrangerDanger” — Erica Elliot, the avid travel tweeter who is also the Communications Director for the Major Whip of the House, Kevin McCarthy.

Ouch and more ouch!

“@ErikWemple Looking forward to your next piece when you ask the Obama campaign which Politico and WaPo stories helped them the most.” — The Daily Caller‘s Alex Pappas to WaPo‘s Erik Wemple for this story, in which he takes Breitbart.com and The Daily Caller and lumps them together into a story on shoddy conservative media reporting. Shockingly (and yes, we’re being sarcastic), no one from either publication would speak to the Erik Wemple Blog for his story. Before he began writing for WaPo, Wemple indicated that he would not be covering WaPo. He has broken this declaration a few times, but has mostly stuck with it.

Politico Playbook Publish Time: 9:39 a.m.

New D.C. slang: “the metch” 

“Today in IMing: a friend refers to Metro as ‘the metch’ which is not shorter than ‘metro’ but is more fun to say I guess.” — TPM‘s Evan McMorris-Santoro.

Moving woes

“It was a huge mistake to think that I could install my internet by myself.” — BuzzFeed‘s Rosie Gray, who recently moved to Washington from New York.

Bon Voyage!

“Thank you so much everyone for your kind notes. Psyched to head to Beijing but sad to be leaving such amazing friends & colleagues in DC.” — WaPo‘s Felicia Sonmez. We inquired what Sonmez was up to in Bejing. She replied, “Today is my last day at the Post. I am planning to move to Beijing in the next few months and study Chinese, and then find a reporting job there.” All the best to Sonmez on her new adventure.

Self-Appointed Media Critics

• “Local news doing a fabulous job with storm coverage. Too bad they suck at covering most everything else.” — Conservative radio host and gun enthusiast Dana Loesch.

• “Every year National Journal’s ratings of conservatives and liberals come out I’m reminded of just how stupid National Journal can be.” — FNC and RedState‘s Erick Erickson.

Senate gets new rail to protect clock from reporters chasing senators (a joke, sort of, of course)…

Read more

Asked to describe the idea behind “BuzzFeed Brews,” John Stanton says, “It’s like a first date. Get them a little drunk and relaxed so they can talk about things people don’t normally hear them talk about.”

Stanton is the Washington Bureau Chief for BuzzFeed and last night was the launch of the website’s new series wherein newsmakers are invited to sit before an audience and answer questions. And there’s free beer.

It’s essentially the same thing as Politico‘s Playbook Breakfast, “minus the stale bagels, plus the beer,” cracked BuzzFeed‘s Politics Editor McKay Coppins to FishbowlDC. (The site’s publicist Ashley McCollum boasts that she came up with that description.)

The first guest: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). For roughly 45 minutes Rubio answered questions from BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith about immigration, gay marriage and the future of the Republican Party. Of course, lengthy segments here and there were spent on why Rubio prefers Tupac over Biggie Smalls (“His lyrics are more insightful in my opinion.”) and whether he had to “think long and hard” before letting his son play recreational football. Stanton said that’s another thing distinguishing the Brews series from Playbook Breakfast, whose audience may not be interested in those things. Read more