John Mercurio - FishbowlDC

Separated at Birth: Mercurio And Rudd

Betsy Rothstein — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:21:33 +0000

Former Executive Editor of NJ’s The Hotline John Mercurio, who now works at Burson-Marsteller, and actor Paul Rudd. Rudd stars with Steve Carell in the new film “Dinner for Schmucks.”

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Hotline to Host 2nd Annual “Political Pursuit”

Matt Dornic — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:07:48 +0000

On Thursday, April 29th, National Journal‘s Hotline will again host “Political Pursuit.” The ultimate political trivia face-off, “Political Pursuit” will feature Hotline Editors Amy Walter and John Mercurio as they attempt to stump broadcast journalists, Members of Congress and print reporters. Check out the teams below:

Broadcast News:
Dana Bash, CNN
Jonathan Karl, Senior Congressional Correspondent ABC News
Chuck Todd, NBC News
Judy Wooduff, The News Hour

Old School:
Chris Cillizza, Washington Post
Al Hunt, Bloomberg News
Stuart Rothenberg, Rothenberg Political Report
Karen Tumulty, Washington Post

Members Only:
Hon. Tom Davis (VA)
Hon. Sherrod Brown (OH)
TBD
TBD

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NJ Journos are Available — Like Brown’s Daughter

Betsy Rothstein — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:22:05 +0000

Atlantic Media Political Director Ron Brownstein (shown above) uttered profound words Thursday night at National Journal’s swank party at the Watergate Hotel’s University Room, where a host of NJ scribes convened to strut their stuff for bookers.

“The bar is open, the most important words in politics,” Brownstein announced. After speaking for a little while, he remarked, “I feel like sitting here I’ve already completed more consecutive words than on “Hardball” without interruption.”

The party was intended for bookers to see potential on-air talent, so the joke of the night was that NJ reporters were “available”, like Sen-elect Scott Brown’s daughters.

Sitting in a row on stools, several scribes had a chance to introduce themselves and talk briefly about what he or she does on a daily basis.

At one point talk turned to the state of the Democratic Party in Congress. CongressDaily’s Erin McPike said a “forensic examination” was going on. The Hotline’s Editor-in-Chief Amy Walter chimed in, “More like a colonoscopy.” And Brownstein: “More like an autopsy.”

The parade of introductions continued:

NJ finance reporter Bill Swindell: “I’m paid to follow Barney Frank around.”

CongressDaily health care reporter Anna Edney: “It does feel like the last year of my life has gone down the drain with this race in Massachusetts.”

In attendance besides NJ people? CNN’s Sam Feist, CBS News Bureau Chief Chris Isham, Christine Delargy, Early Show senior producer Kerri Forrest, Tammy Haddad, who helped organize the event, Hilary Rosen, and producers for CNN’s Larry King.

The party was swarming with NJ scribes from CongressDaily and The Hotline such as The Hotline’s TV Editor Abby Livingston and Wake Up Call’s Maura O’Brien. Additionally, there was Hotline Executive Editor John-Mercurio, U.S. House reporter Rich Cohen, Reid Wilson, Marilyn Werber Serafini, Dan Friedman, Darren Goode, Shane Harris, Margaret Kriz Hobson, John Maggs, Tim Sahd and David Wasserman. In addition, NJ’s Spokesman David Miller and executive assistant Meredith Nettles.

No one from FNC or MSNBC showed, which was noteworthy considering they book so many guests.

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Hotline Previews Gubernatorial Races

Christine — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:57:29 +0000

Check out Hotline editor-in-chief Amy Walter, Hotline executive editor John Mercurio, Democratic Governors Association executive director Nathan Daschle and Republican Governors Association executive director Nick Ayers at Hotline’s Road to 2010- gubernatorial races program at the Watergate this morning.

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Morning Reading List 09.15.09

Christine — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:02:36 +0000

Good morning FishbowlDC! Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

Happy Birthday to NYT‘s Ashley Parker and former DC-er turned NY-er Adam Aigner-Treworgy! What know and what we’re reading this Tuesday morning…

NEWSPAPERS

Two potential buyers of The Boston Globe visited the newspaper in the past couple of days, it reports.

New standards editor at NYT.

“Real World”-ers are heading out of DC, but the “Real Housewives” are moving in. Yeas & Nays reports that the Bravo show is set to begin filming in DC this Friday. The full cast has not yet been released by the Examiner‘s Jeff & Kiki hear McLean socialite/supermom Mary Amons and Lynda Erkiletian, owner of The Artist Agency, have signed on.

Katie Couric will be in DC this week to receive the Fordham University Club Brien McMahon Award for Public Service. The CBS “Evening News” anchor is being honored for her work with the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance to fund new medical research in the disease and to promote early detection.

“Early Show” anchor Harry Smith may have swine flu, he said on the CBS show yesterday morning.

ONLINE

Google released a new-reading service called Fast Flip, which is based on Google News.

NEWS NOTES

The health care debate, including the President’s address to a joint Congress and Rep. Joe Wilson’s “you lie” remark, remained at the top of news coverage last week September 7-13th, according to Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

Tomorrow at 9am, join Hotline editor-in-chief Amy Walter, Hotline executive editor John Mercurio, Democratic Governors Association executive director Nathan Daschle and Republican Governors Association executive director Nick Ayers for Hotline’s Road to 2010- gubernatorial races program at the Watergate. RSVP here.

WEST WING REPORTAGE

Is the rumored love affair between President Obama and the mainstream media fizzling? US News & World Report‘s Washington Whispers: According to a study by researchers at George Mason and Chapman universities, 59 percent of press coverage was positive during Obama’s first 100 days in office, but then it dipped to 43 percent from May through mid-August. Especially tough on Obama was Fox News.

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser, Daniel Lippman

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Morning Reading List 09.03.09

Christine — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:36:08 +0000

Good morning FishbowlDC! Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

Happy belated birthday to J.P. Freire, on-time birthday wishes to John Mercurio. What know and what we’re reading this Thursday morning…

NEWSPAPERS

Former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) penned an op-ed on health care in WSJ, invoking the late Senator Ted Kennedy, writing, “There is no doubt about the consequences of failure.” (h/t Wake-Up Call)

Peter Osnos asks “Do You Subscribe to Fox News?”

Did Rachel Maddow infect 30 Rock with swine flu?

And our favorite TVNewser post possibly ever.

ONLINE

Politics is still all the rage on the web- The Wrap breaks down top political sites’ traffic in 2009 (h/t Politico, who makes the cut).

A recent study found that primetime on the Internet is 11pm.

Examiner.com, owned now by Philip Anschutz‘s Clarity Media Group, is apparently about to purchase Citizen-J site NowPublic for a cool $25 million.

MAGAZINES

President Obama is taking his argument for a health care plan to a new place: Rodale magazines, where he or his wife appear on coming covers of Prevention, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, and the new publication Children’s Health (via NYT).

BOOKS

A preview, courtesy of NYT, of Senator Kennedy’s memoir “True Compass” due out this fall.

NEWS NOTES

More details, via TVNewser, on Walter Cronkite‘s Memorial Service at Lincoln Center in NY next Wednesday.

And if you haven’t already, a must-read… VF‘s Levi Johnson: “Me and Mrs. Palin.”

AWARDS

Congrats to TWT on the SPJ Award of Excellence in the Public Service Category for its multimedia investigative report, “Disposable Heroes” by Audrey Hudson, photographer Rod Lamkey and videographer Alex Wilson. TWT was presented this award at 2008 Sigma Delta Chi Awards event this past week in Indianapolis.

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser

JOBS after the jump…

continued…

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Hotline Already Looking Ahead to 2010

Christine — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:01:56 +0000

Qorvis hosted Hotline executive editor John Mercurio, DCCC’s Jon Vogel, NRSC’s Rob Jesmer, NRCC’s Guy Harrison and Hotline editor-in-chief Amy Walter

Looking ahead, Hotline held its first “Road to 2010″ event this week.

Moderated by Hotline’s editor-in-chief Amy Walter and executive editor John Mercurio and hosted by Qorvis, the panel discussion focused on Democrat and Republican strategies in the midterm elections and what seats are their top targets.

The event was held at NJ’s headquarters and included National Republican Congressional Committee’s Guy Harrison, National Republican Senatorial Committee’s Rob Jesmer, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s J.B. Poersch and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Jon Vogel.

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Morning Reading List, 09.08.08

Patrick — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:27:15 +0000

Good morning Washington.

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line or let us know in the tips box below.

We’ve got your morning mix of media Muesli after the jump…

continued…

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John Mercurio: The FishbowlDC Interview

Patrick — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:55:00 +0000

Say hello to Hotline’s John Mercurio.

What word do you routinely misspell? Misspell.

What’s the name of your cell phone ring? Silent. I recommend it, highly.

What time did you get up this morning? 5:15am

When did you last cry and why? Writing about Russert.

How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? Never counted. However many it takes to mean that I’m important and popular.

What’s your favorite letter? Huh?

What single person played the biggest role/had the biggest influence on your journalism career? My mom, who patiently taught me how to write.

When’s the last time you volunteered? Where? I voluntarily admit that I need to volunteer more often.

Read the rest when you click below…(and see previous FishbowlDC interviews: Julie Mason, David Shuster, Joe Curl, Alex Pareene, Peter Beinart, Jonah Goldberg, Megyn Kendall, Ana Marie Cox, Jim Brady, Howard Mortman, Amy Argetsinger, Jose Antonio Vargas, Chuck Todd, Tom Gottlieb, Kelly Ann Collins, David von Drehle, David Lat, Mark Leibovich, Zain Verjee, David Plotz, Paul Kane, Karen Travers, Mark Halperin, Hugo Gurdon, Greg Kelly,Ken Rudin, John Dickerson, Anne Schroeder, Spencer Ackerman, Bret Baier, Bob Sellers, Greta van Susteren, Danielle Jones, Jonathan Salant, John McCalla, Pam Hess, Ryan Grim, Marc Ambinder, Marty Kady, Jack Shafer, Annie Lou Bayly, Jerry Zremski, Charlie Cook, Dave Hughes, Howard Fineman, Katie Tarbox, Mark Segraves, Chris Cillizza, Tom Sietsema, Bill Triplett, Robin Givhan, David Brody, Norah O’Donnell, Carl Cannon, Jordan Lieberman, David Folkenflik, Molly Henneberg, Ernesto Londono, Brody Mullins, Aaron Blake, Martha Raddatz, Andrew Sullivan, Christina Bellantoni, Shane Harris, Nora McAlvanah, Adam Nagourney, Erin McPike, Mike Memoli, Ju-Don Marshall Roberts, Arthur Delaney, Chris Mincher, Rachel Sklar, Laura Sullivan, Jeff Kosseff, Matthew Cooper, Scott McCrary, Dan Reilly, Jennifer Griffin, Ari Shapiro, Jonathan Kaplan, Rick Klein, Mike Allen, Olivier Knox, Erik Wemple, Nathan Burchfiel, Andrea Mitchell, Mike DeBonis, Anne Kornblut, April Ryan, Amy Morris, Keith Koffler, Mark Silva, Ann Compton, Mark Knoller, Betsy Fischer, Katherine O’Hearn, Pamela Brown, Beverly Kirk, Wendell Goler, Glenn Kessler, Susan Page, Michael Crowley, Claudia Milne, Kelly Dinardo, Bruce Becker, Michael Rogers, Paul Schur, Diana West, Eric Nuzum, Bill Adair, Jonathan Ward, Jennifer Sergent, Jeffrey Goldberg, Ken Silverstein, Dana Milbank, Mark Murray, Katherine Lewis, Joe Mathieu, Chrystia Freeland, Sam Youngman, Christopher Dorobek, Greg Mitchell, Candy Crowley, Steve Chaggaris, James Pindell, Linda Kramer, Reid Wilson, Jay Newton-Small, Dan Steinberg Susan Ferrechio, Matt Labash, Gene Weingarten, Ron Allen, Kimberly Dozier, Perry Bacon, Jim Mills, Erin Hartigan, Lindsay Applebaum, Bob Madigan, Gene Gibbons, Nico Pitney)

Also, drop us a line to let us know who else you’d like FishbowlDC to interview. They must work in the Washington area and you must include their email address.

continued…

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Morning Reading List, 09.27.07

Patrick — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 09:57:57 +0000

Good morning Washington.

Vitamin Water wins out over Gatorade.

We looked into this, “missing? washington post’s technorati supplied ‘who’s blogging’” and discovered the Washington Post did not get rid of the feature. It just wasn’t ready for the new home page launch. The paper tells us the “what blogs are saying” feature will be back in a few weeks.

Fox News announced, “FOX News Channel’s Greta Van Susteren will conduct an interview Thursday with former President Bill Clinton. The interview will air on FOX News Channel’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren from 10-11PM/ET.”

Glynnis MacNicol and Rachel Sklar live blog the Dem debate (and “Dems debate Tim Russert’s giant noggin.”)

“During a panel discussion at the 2007 SPJ Convention & National Journalism Conference in Washington, D.C., former White House Press Secretaries Ron Nessen, Larry Speakes and Mike McCurry will join Dr. Martha Joynt Kumar, a professor in the Department of Political Science at Towson University, to discuss what their jobs were like and whether they would be harder in today’s climate. Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for NPR, will moderate the discussion. The event will take place at 11:30 a.m., Friday, Oct. 5 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Ave., NW in the Columbia B room.” For more info, click here.

New York Post reports that the witness list for today’s Senate hearing on Google’s proposed $3.1 billion purchase of ad firm DoubleClick “is more notable for who is not testifying than for who is. The five witnesses slated to appear before the panel, including company officials, analysts and consumer privacy experts, are divided between those for and against the deal. Google’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, will appear before the panel, along with his counterpart at rival Microsoft, General Counsel Brad Smith.”

Rumormonger reports, “There’s not much surprise left, given the drumbeat of rumors that AOL would be pursuing mass layoffs later this year. But we now hear that layoffs have started at the Internet giant, even earlier than expected, with a number of middle managers getting the chop Tuesday afternoon.”

Reuters reports, “The Justice Department is moving ‘as quickly as possible’ in its antitrust review of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc’s acquisition of XM Satellite Radio Inc, a senior department official said on Tuesday.”

B&C reports, “In a major reorganization that affects all of its top executives, ABC News president David Westin Tuesday appointed a single executive to oversee all programs. Dave Davis, formerly general manager of WABC in New York, was named executive vice president responsible for ABC News programs including Good Morning America, World News, 20/20, Primetime, Nightline, This Week with George Stephanopoulos and the overnight broadcasts. Davis will report to Westin.”

USA Today reports, “Arianna Huffington’s business plan: start an online news site, fueled by blog reports from her celebrity and influential friends. And have them all work for free, in exchange for using her bully pulpit. Nearly 2 1/2 years and $10 million later, the experiment has nearly paid off. The Huffington Post is the fifth-most-linked-to blog on the Internet, according to
measurement firm Technorati.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, “Consumers are in control, and advertisers should get used to it. That was a common theme as marketing industry leaders gathered in Manhattan on Monday to ponder how the Internet has turned their world upside down.”

Julie Mason, Houston Chronicle’s White House Correspondent, has been added to the regular rotation for Hardball.

B&C reports, “The Justice Department agreed to seek Supreme Court review of the Second Circuit court’s smackdown of the Federal Communications Commission’s crackdown on fleeting profanities.”

Poynter Online reports, “Poynter’s ongoing Eyetrack research project has taught us some important basics, such as: Online audiences focus heavily on headlines, and in some cases almost ignore pictures. But other research tools make me want to challenge — or at least supplement — this finding.”

A release announced, “National Journal Group, Washington’s leading publisher of political and policy news and analysis, today announced the lineup for the inaugural edition of National Journal On Air, its new weekly show on XM Satellite Radio’s P.O.T.U.S.’08 channel. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will headline National Journal’s first show in the featured newsmaker interview with host Linda Douglass. Also scheduled to appear on the show are National Journal political writer Jim Barnes, National Journal White House correspondent Carl Cannon, and Senior Editor of The Hotline, John Mercurio.”

The Hill reports, “It’s always preferable to conduct interviews face to face, but hey, if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) wants to visit via satellite from a barn in New York, who was Fox News to complain? That’s ‘Fox News Sunday’ host Chris Wallace’s take on Clinton’s appearance last weekend on his show.”

We have to ask, in light of the Washington Times hiring two new hires on the copy desk, does that mean the paper’s hiring freeze is off?

A reader tells us, “You should know that there is an error in the Michel du Cille internal memo from the Washington Post. Contrary to their statement, there is no ‘University of Indiana’. Rather, the appropriate institution to which they refer is ‘Indiana University’… a very important difference.”

Featured on Kudlow & Company, Brent Bozell revealed the results of the Business & Media Institute’s yearlong study analyzing how businessmen and women were characterized by ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN and Fox News’ evening newscasts. The results reveal how network news portrays our nation’s corporate leaders — as criminals, crooks, villains and filthy rich big-wigs. The full 18-page study — with audio and video — is available at www.businessandmedia.org.

Ad Week’s Mike Shields writes, “Political candidates from both parties are demonstrating a stubborn devotion to traditional media, along with a cautious streak that is holding them back from embracing the Web as an outlet for political ad dollars, according to a group of panelists speaking during a Mixx Conference session” held Tuesday.

B to B reports, “DoubleClick announced the launch of DoubleClick Mobile, a new service for mobile advertising. DoubleClick Mobile integrates operational processes for scheduling, targeting, selecting and delivering ads on mobile Web pages with publishersâ€™ existing digital channels.”

Multichannel reports, “TV Guide Broadband, the digital video entertainment programming service launched one year ago by TV Guide Network, has signed a new distribution deal with Comcastâ€™s portal site, officials said Tuesday.”

Reuters reports, “Steve Case, the founder of the AOL Internet service, is backing a new online payment company that promises to let users transfer funds for free and offer a credit card with sharply lower fees for merchants.”

Ad Week reports, “WPP Group joined in a $12 million round of funding for blog and social network tracking service Visible Technologies.”

New York Observer reports, “It’s still nearly two months until News Corp. officially closes on Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal’s parent. But there’s growing evidence that at The Journal, the Rupert Murdoch era has already begun. On September 17, the paper announced that it would launch Pursuits, a glossy magazine supplement covering the exploits of the superrich. The press release sent out by The Journal quoted publisher Gordon Crovitz and managing editor Marcus Brauchli — but according to one staffer, the prototype for the new venture had already passed through the hands of Mr. Murdoch, who gave it the green light.”

Bloomberg reports, “Time Warner Inc.’s Fortune and Money business magazines plan to contribute several hours of video news to the company’s CNN Money Web site each day to lure users and advertisers.”

Jobs

E&E Publishing/E&ETV is looking for a Video Producer.

Media General is looking for a Senior Multimedia Reporter.

The Center for Democracy & Technology is seeking Dynamic Communications Director.

The Society For Neuroscience is looking for a Staff Writer/Editor (Print).

Voice of America is looking for a News Division/writer.

Hat Tips: DCRTV, TVNewser, IWantMedia, Romenesko, MediaBistro, JournalismJobs, JournalismNext

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Amy Walter Is New Hotline Editor in Chief.

Patrick — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:13:28 +0000

Finally, John Mercurio and Danielle Jones can get some sleep.

From the release:

National Journal Group, Washington’s leading publisher of political and policy news and analysis, announced today that Amy Walter will be the new Editor-in-Chief of The Hotline, National Journal’s daily briefing on politics and elections. Walter, currently a Senior Editor of The Cook Political Report, will join the staff of The Hotline on June 4.

At The Hotline, Walter will serve as the chief political voice of the publication, charged with establishing its editorial direction and strategic vision as well as managing the staff of nearly twenty writers and editors.

“Amy is as good as it gets when you talk about analyzing and handicapping political races around the country, and we are thrilled she’s joining The Hotline team,” said John Fox Sullivan, National Journal’s Group Publisher and Chief Executive. “Danielle Jones and John Mercurio have done a great job running The Hotline since Chuck Todd’s departure, and Amy’s political knowledge and experience will add to what is already a top notch team.”

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to lead a publication that is the staple of political wisdom and information in Washington,” said Ms. Walter. “I have literally grown up reading The Hotline — first as a young intern who waited for it to be hand-delivered by messenger to its current incarnation on the web — and I’m excited to work with such a talented team to continue to innovate and enhance Washington’s daily political ‘must read.’”

Since 1997, Ms. Walter has been responsible for handicapping and analyzing U.S. House races at The Cook Political Report. She is also a contributor to two other National Journal Group publications, National Journal and CongressDaily. She is frequently called upon for comment as a congressional election expert by both print and broadcast media, and was awarded the Washington Post’s Crystal Ball award for her Election 2000 predictions.

Ms. Walter serves as a political contributor to CNN and provided Election Night commentary for the network in the 2002, 2004, and 2006 elections. Ms. Walter has also been a frequent guest on CBS’ Face the Nation and The Early Show, C-Span’s Washington Journal, and PBS’ The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.

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