CQ Roll Call‘s Rebecca Gale celebrated the official launch of her new novel Trying at The Science Club last night. Though the venue was a bit cozy and broiling (i.e. perfect for a hot yoga class), plenty of Gale’s newsroom colleagues and friends showed up to offer support.

Asked if there was one journalist Gale would want to read her book, she named co-worker Neda Semnani. “She gives great book reviews,” Gale said, adding that Semnani, who co-writes the Heard on the Hill gossip column, would offer an “honest assessment” of the book.

Gale also named her former boss Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va) as someone who should read it. “He would love it,” she said. (That’s somewhat intriguing, considering the book is a love story involving government secrets. Hmm…)

There were plenty of finger foods and bevys at the soiree, much of which was unidentifiable at first glance. But the best part was the tiny cupcakes, decorated with little edible versions of Gale’s book.

The cupcakes, we’re told, were enjoyed by CQ Roll Call Publisher Peter Anthony‘s two young boys, who were told upon entering by Anthony to “stand right here” against a wall… Read more

As Roll Call searches high and low for a new editor, we bring you the prospects and tell you why each candidate will get the job offer and why he or she will not. CQ Roll Call has faced a lot of changes, layoffs and departures this year and more tweaks are on the way with the official merging of CQ Today and Roll Call in November. But first things first — with the recent departure of Editor Scott Montgomery to NPR, they need a new leader, a strong hand who needs authority and freedom to revamp the publication. In the interim they’ve placed CQ Roll Call Deputy Executive Editor Randy Wynn in charge. There’s a great nostalgia and affection for Roll Call among the alums around town. People want to see it succeed. But where is management going with it? In the words of a source long familiar with the inner workings of the publication, searching for a new editor is like asking someone to be captain of a team. The worry is, no one knows what sport they’re playing. The hopefuls are in no significant order. Nor have all of these folks been formally approached by management. CQ Roll Call Publicist Rebecca Gale declined to comment on the list of hopefuls. We wrote all the potential editors, most of whom either declined to comment or didn’t respond to a request for comment.

1. Emily Pierce: Roll Call Senate Editor

Why she’ll get it: A great editor and well-liked by reporters. She came up through the ranks and has been in the newsroom for about a decade. Can anyone remember Roll Call having a female at the helm? Would be a nice touch.

Why she won’t: She lacks experience as a upper level manager. “Although she’s fantastic I doubt they’d go for her,” one spy remarked.

2. Jason Dick: Roll Call House Editor; he has formally applied for the job.

3. David Hawkings: Editor of the CQ Roll Call Daily Briefing

4. Paul Singer:”I wish Roll Call nothing but the best of luck and I’m not talking to anybody about a job there,” Singer said, when we posed questions on the matter.

This just in from CQ Roll Call‘s Susan Benkelman:

 ”In light of Scott’s departure, I’ve asked Randy Wynn to sit in the Roll Call editor’s chair on an interim basis. The Roll Call editor job has been posted, and candidates will be interviewed in the next couple weeks. We’ll close the posting on Oct. 5, and we want to have the editor in place well in advance of the launch of the redesigned paper on Nov. 13.”

Scott Montgomery recently resigned to go to work for NPR. Wynn is presently Deputy Executive Editor for News, CQ Roll Call.

And they are dropping like flies.

Earlier today we reported that Roll Call Editor Scott Montgomery is leaving the publication to go to work for NPR. This afternoon we learn that Charlie Southwell, an editor on the CQ Copy Desk, is retiring. His last day is on Sept. 21. He worked there a whopping 27 years.

See the memo…

Read more

As we reported just over an hour ago, Roll Call is losing its Editor, Scott Montgomery, who’s going to work for NPR.

He’ll be joining the public radio network as a supervising editor for Digital News. He joins their Digital News management team, where he’ll help lead the newsroom and develop coverage plans.

Roll Call Editor Scott Montgomery is leaving for a senior staff position at NPR. This is no doubt a big loss for the Roll Call newsroom where he was thought to be a morale center and curator of young talent. As of late, there have been a slew of layoffs at CQ Roll Call among sales personnel. He is said to be leaving on good terms. The position at NPR is significant and hard for him to pass up. Sources say he was not nudged out or laid off.

Montgomery first came to CQ in 2000 as an editor for CQ Weekly, then moved to CQ‘s parent company, the St. Petersburg Times, before returning to CQ Roll Call in 2009. In the fall of 2010 Scott was named Editor of Roll Call on the heels of Charlie Mitchell, who, to the dismay of the newsroom, was pushed out.

A newsroom employee who formerly worked with Mitchell in Editorial gave him a glowing review, but only agreed to speak about him anonymously: “Scott Montgomery is a fantastic editor. When Charlie Mitchell left, there was chaos, but Scott stepped in keep the newspaper moving forward. He kept Roll Call true to its mission and his improvements were felt in every corner of the newsroom. Roll Callers, old and new, are going to miss him. NPR is getting a first rate editor.”

Susan Benkelman will lead CQ/Roll Call during the interim period until a permanent head is named.

We reached out to CQ Roll Call PR. They had no additional comment.

UPDATE: See the memo…

Read more

With changes at the bottom, middle and everywhere in between, come changes at the top. CQ Roll Call Editorial Director Mike Mills is out, which should make a slew of current and former journalists there ecstatic as he has been described to us as “the devil” and other similar descriptions by multiple sources. To put it mildly, the newsroom wasn’t pleased when Editor Charlie Mitchell was forced out in September of 2011 and Mills was viewed as largely to blame.

Mills has a new job lined up and, at least surfacely, is leaving on good terms. They’re saying he’ll be missed by newsroom, where he did some “fantastic things” in bringing the company together.

Who’s on their way in? A new CFO, and new head of sales. The CFO is an Economist guy.
The new head of sales is an internal promotion for Rick Rockelli.

Until Mills’ replacement is found, Susan Benkelman and Scott Montgomery will head up the newsroom, which should undoubtedly please reporters living in unpredictable times. The company laid off some 30 employees on the business end of the publication earlier in the week in addition to a small number of editorial employees. Benkelman and Montgomery are well-liked and respected editors. Keith White is confident they will do a good job as the company hunts for a new editorial director.

Things are looking up for Niels Lesniewski. Thought to be among the smartest minds on Congress, he has even been referred to as a “young David Hawkings.” Lesniewski (pronounced Neels Les-new-ski) is joining Roll Call‘s leadership team as a Senate reporter. He moves from CQ Roll Call, where he has been covering the Senate for their Legislative Action operation.

See the internal memo…in which Roll Call Editor Scott Montgomery begins with a phrase that is an absolute no-no to news reporters: “I know this note isn’t breaking any news…” WHAT?!

Thursday night is the 51st Annual CQ Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game. This is when members of Congress take the field, dressed in their favorite hometown uniforms. Democrats have the advantage of last year’s MVP Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) though Republicans lead the series 38 to 35, with one tie game.

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Weinerville) was always known to be a star player for the Dems. Last year (for obvious reasons) he didn’t play. In 2010 an apparently stunning catch he made landed him on ESPN.

From WSJ:

“After Rep. Kevin Brady hit a ball to deep left field, the wiry Queens congressman raced toward the warning track to make the Willie Mays-style catch. After throwing the ball in, Weiner pointed his index finger like a gun and blew the proverbial smoke off the tip.”

First pitch is at 7:05PM at Nationals Park. For those who get there early, Roll Call editor Scott Montgomery will induct Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) into the CQ Roll Call Baseball Hall of Fame.

To purchase tickets, go here.

Correction: Rep. Richmond represents New Orleans and not a town in Virginia. Go figure where our minds went on that one. Apologies to the congressman and his staff.