Something old:  Peter Cherukuri

Huffington Post’s Peter Cherukuri will celebrate his birthday tonight at Hudson Restaurant.  The aging VP and General Manager of HuffPo’s DC bureau will wave goodbye to his youth while taking in the tunes of the resto-lounges “Sinatra Night.”  The music begins at 7pm and ends at midnight.  But we wouldn’t recommend showing up late – given the birthday boy’s age, we anticipate an early end time.

Something new:  Story Partners’ New Hire Happy Hour

Tomorrow evening Amos Snead and the crew from Story Partners will toast to the new members of their team: Anne Brady, Mary Elizabeth Margolis, Mollie O’Dell and Steven Place.  The happy hour will be held from 6:00-8:00 PM at Bobby Vans Grill on New York Avenue.

Kathy Griffin?  The kooky comic was spotted  at L2 on Friday night.  Griffin, who had just wrapped a performance at the Kennedy Center,  made a surprise appearance at the Georgetown club to wish CNN’s Jessica Yellin a happy 40th birthday and hang with her pals and parents-to-be, CNN’s John King and Dana Bash.  Other guests at Yellin’s birthday bash included NYT’s Jeff Zeleny, TIME’s Jay Newton-Small, Doug Heye, NRSC’s Brian Walsh, Jack and Susanna Quinn, Mark Cuban, Kimball Stroud, Treasury spokesman Mark Paustenbach, CNN’s Brianna Keilar, NYT’s Carl Hulse, HuffPo’s Peter Cherukuri and SKDK’s Emily Lenzner, NBC’s Savannah Guthrie and GPG’s Mike Feldman, NYT’s Mark Leibovich, NBC’s Betsy Fischer and Politico’s Jonathan Martin, W.H. Dep. Social Secretary Ebs Burnough and Wolf Blitzer who graciously posed for pictures with a posse of L2 cocktails waitresses.

A big turnout at Panache last night to send off ABC’s Polson Kanneth. He’s moving from “GMA” in DC to “World News” in NYC!  

Guests at the bash joked that Polson must have promised people Diane Sawyer would attend to get them to turn out - truth is, Qorvis’ Kelley McCormick just knows how to throw a great party!

Spotted at Panache: ABC’s Rick Klein and Amy Walter, Dewey Square’s Courtney Cohen, SKDKnickerbocker’s Emily Lenzner, Kevin Madden, Alex Conant, Michael Steel, Tim Burger, Politico’s Kiki Ryan, CBS’ Christine Delargy and Huffington Post’s Peter Cherukuri.

Congrats to Polson on his new gig.  We’ll miss you!

National Journal’s Matt Cooper hides from the paparazzi behind one of Arianna’s book-themed pillows. 

Arianna Huffington made a splash last night at the home of Tammy Haddad.  Guests such as actress Geena Davis, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Rep. Dennis Kucnich and wife Elizabeth, Richard Wolffe, Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski, White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, Hilary Rosen and  MSNBC’s Dylan Ratigan flooded Haddad’s Foxhall backyard to toast Huffington’s new book, “Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning The Middle Class and Betraying The American Dream.” 

The event, which Huffington joked was like an “Obama backyard party” played host to hundreds of the city’s political and media set who mingled over cocktails in the brisk fall weather.  One of the most popular topics of conversation was Howie Kurtz‘s recent announcement that he will leave the Washington Post for a new gig at the Daily Beast.  Several guests agreed that Yahoo’s Michael Calderone seemed like the only viable option to replace WaPo’s longtime media beat writer. 

We caught up with Calderone who admitted that he wouldn’t spill to Fishbowl if he was in talks with the Post but joked that, “Marcus [Brauchli] hasn’t even returned my calls about Kurtz leaving so it’s safe to assume that he hasn’t pursued me to replace him.” 

Also spotted at the backyard book bash were HuffPost’s Peter Cherukuri, Sam Stein and Mario Ruiz, Qorvis’ Kelley McCormick, SKDKnickerbocker’s Emily Lenzner, National Journal’s Matt Cooper and Taylor West, Janet Donovan, Tim Burger, Bloomberg’s Ha Chan, Politico’s Kiki Ryan, NYT’s Jeff Zeleny, Daily Beast’s Kirsten Powers and Dr. Marty Makary, Pamela’s Punch blogger Pamela Sorensen, ABC’sPolson Kanneth, Jim Courtovich, CBS’s Christine Delargy and The Hill’s Emily Goodin.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Arianna Huffington. 

Geena Davis, Michael Calderone and more after the jump. 

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On May 6, PoliTwitch! brings you scribes discussing the journalism profession in the age of social media.

The Panel
Peter Cherukuri, DC Bureau Manager, HuffPost
Patrick Gavin, Politico
Mark Preston, Political Editor, CNN
Jackie Kucinich, Staff Writer, Roll Call
Rachna Choudhry, Policy Manager, National Partnership for Women & Families

Talking Points:
•how social media has transformed the way political news is reported
•how issues and causes make it to the top of the news heap
•how organizations are using online tools to set themselves and their issues apart from those of their competitors, and ultimately garner news coverage

The Organizer
Amanda Miller Littlejohn, Mopwater PR + Media Notes

Register here.

Where: Busboys and Poets Langston Room
2021 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Cost: $35

Last night, Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute and Fiscal Times Founder Peter G. Peterson feted the launch of The Fiscal Times with a cocktail soiree at the Newseum.

Joining Fiscal Times EIC Jackie Leo and DC editor Eric Pianin were media power players like NBC News Washington Bureau Chief Mark Whitaker, Examiner’s J.P. Freire, HuffPo’s Peter Cherukuri, ABC’s Emily Lenzner and Rick Klein, The Hill’s Christina Wilkie, Bloomberg’s Margaret Carlson and Al Hunt, Politics Daily & Chicago Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet and Norah McAlvanah.

Also spotted mingling and partaking in the open bar were Dan and Meg Reilly, Amos Snead, Ron Bonjean, Michael Steel and media party circuit fixtures Politico’s Kiki Ryan, Tim Burger and CBS News’ Christine Delargy.

Check out the Fiscal Times here.

Fiscal Times’ Eric Pianin.

“Peter’s passion and experience make him absolutely perfect to lead our continued expansion in D.C.,” gushed Arianna Huffington about Huff Post’s new Washington Bureau General Manager Peter Cherukuri.

Cherukuri, former publisher of Roll Call, is one of several new executives recently hired by HuffPo Chief Revenue Officer Greg Coleman to focus on expansion in markets like D.C., New York and Los Angeles. Huffington says the new GM role was established to increase the site’s presence through “events, advertising and advocacy.”

“The Huffington Post has done a great job with technology and editorial,” Greg Coleman told FishbowlDC. “With five years and 17.7 million unique visitors/monthly to our credit, we’re now focusing more attention on business development in key cities. Peter’s role is critical to our growth and recognition in the D.C. market,” added Coleman.

In his new role, Cherukuri joins eighteen Washington bureau staffers in HuffPo’s downtown office.

VandeHei, Stoddard, Allen, Quinn and kiddies.

Last night was a big night for holiday parties – the Brunswick Group held court at L2, Scene Bisnow celebrated at Public Bar but the evening’s big ticket event was hosted by Quinn, Gillespie & Associates on the roof of the new W Hotel.

Complete with ice sculptures, a snow machine, a snow globe bar, DJ Chris Burns and a jazz quartet, the party drew big names from the political and media worlds, including Rep. Steny Hoyer and Fox News’ Brit Hume.

Clinton White House counsel and QGA Chairman Jack Quinn welcomed to his scenic bash, a glam bipartisan guest list — Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC) mingled with former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) and former Sen. John Warner (R-VA). And hostess with the most-ess Susanna Quinn dazzled in a gold cocktail dress.

Media noteables: Fox News’ Bret Baier and Amy Baier, CNN’s Ed Henry, NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, Libby Leist and Betsy Fischer, Tammy Haddad, Politico in full-force- Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Kim Kingsley, Jonathan Martin, Anne Schroeder Mullins, Patrick Gavin and Kiki Ryan, John McCaslin, Google’s Craig Walker, Peter Cherukuri, ABC’s Emily Lenzner, Polson Kanneth and Courtney Cohen, WaPo‘s Amy Argetsinger, Roll Call‘s Jackie Kucinich, The Hill‘s A.B. Stoddard, Jared Allen and Christina Wilkie, CongressDaily‘s Erin McPike, Chris Brown, Mix 107.3′s Tommy McFly, Politics Daily’s Emily Miller, Yeas and Nays’ Tara Palmeri, Elizabeth Thorp, Jayne Sandman, UrbanDaddy’s Jeff Dufour, Tim Burger, Kimball Stroud and Todd Flournoy.

Quinn does an interview with WashingtonPost.com.

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Fashion icons and power players, the very GQ Seth Pietras of Qorvis, Politico’s Patrick Gavin and CNN’s Ed Henry.

Newlyweds Jayne Sandman and Jeff Dufour wore matching power suits…unplanned – in case you were wondering.

ABC’s Emily Lenzner and power publisher Peter Cherukuri.

Calderone, J-Do, Graff, Yellin and others after the jump.

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First on FishbowlDC: The ink is still drying on the Roll Call/Congressional Quarterly deal and new management changes are already being announced — one of which involves Peter Cherukuri‘s position as publisher.

Cherukuri, the boy-wonder publisher of Roll Call will be stepping aside because his position “is redundant.” Cherukuri will aid in the transition for the next 30 days.

From Laurie Battaglia‘s memo (obtained by FishbowlDC) this morning:

The changes

Editorial Mike Mills joined Roll Call as editorial director in February of this year. Mike spent more than 11 years at CQ and will now serve as senior vice president and editorial director for CQ-Roll Call Group, overseeing all products and publications. Under Mike, Susan Benkelman (CQ executive editor) becomes executive editor of news for CQ and John Dineen (managing editor, CQ.com) becomes executive editor of publications for CQ. Both Susan and John are veterans of CQ. Charlie Mitchell will continue in his role as editor of Roll Call.

Information Services Keith White, formerly CQ publisher and senior vice president, will head up Information Services as senior vice president and associate director of CQ-Roll Call Group. Keith has been with CQ since 2001 after serving in executive positions at LexisNexis and AOL. Because Information Services include all subscription-based products, Barkley Kern (senior vice president, Capitol Advantage) will report to Keith. Additionally, Jim Gale (vice president of circulation sales, CQ), Greg Hamilton (chief marketing officer, CQ) and Ron Hogan (general manager, State Track) will continue to report to Keith.

Advertising Victoria Lion Monroe, formerly CQ associate publisher and vice president of advertising, will lead the Group’s advertising team as senior vice president. Victoria has been with CQ since July 2008 and brings more than 20 years of advertising experience, including extensive agency experience. Karen Whitman (vice president of advertising) and Cliff McKinney (director of advertising) will now report to Victoria.

Technology Dennis Arndt, who joined Roll Call Group as chief technology officer this past April, will serve as senior vice president and chief technology officer across the CQ-Roll Call Group. Dennis has more than 20 years of technology experience including senior-level positions with JumpTap, Monster Worldwide and Omgeo. Larry Tunks (chief information officer, CQ) will report to Dennis.

Finance Chip Wallen, Roll Call Group’s director of finance since February 2008, will become senior vice president and chief financial officer, responsible for overseeing all finance functions across the businesses. Chip brings a wealth of experience after serving in senior capacities at CQ and more recently, Legal Times.

Strategy and Development Neil Maslansky, formerly CQ chief financial officer, becomes senior vice president for strategy and development. Neil has been with CQ for seven years. Before that, he held management positions with LexisNexis and Congressional Information Service. Neil’s department will play a vital part in our success by continuing to innovate to ensure we stay ahead of the market.

Client Relationships Arnie Thomas, Roll Call Group senior vice president of client relationships will continue in his role across the new CQ-Roll Call Group. Arnie brings vast experience in our market, having held senior positions at LegiSlate. He was also instrumental in the launch of GalleryWatch Federal, which was acquired by Roll Call Group in 2006.

Battaglia’s full memo after the jump.

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