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Clinton's use of personal email violated public record rules, panel says
The use of a personal email account by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, while “stunning,” is just one example of high-level public officials violating public record rules, Patrice McDermott, director of OpenTheGovernment.org said Thursday at National Press Club Newsmaker. McDermott, one of four panelists who discussed issues arising from Clinton's use of a private server for email communications during her tenure as Secretary of State, said such practices extended to every post-Internet administration and encompassed electronic records as well as email. Clinton's use of the private…
Type: News
Embassies tap social media, traditional media to get their messages out
Embassies in the United States are tapping social media as well as traditional media to get their messages to policy makers in the United States and across the globe, a panel of press attaches from Austria, Mexico, Sweden and Ecuador said Wednesday at the National Press Club. For the Embassy of Ecuador in Washington, a 30-second advertisement during the Super Bowl and a strong social media campaign proved to be a successful way to communicate with folks in Washington and across the globe. The embassy has multiple social media accounts dedicated to different areas, including commerce and trade…
Type: News
Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali calls for Muslim reformation
Political upheaval and terrorist violence in the Middle East and Africa signals the need for “reformation” of the Islamic faith, Somali-born author and Islam critic Ayaan Hirsi Ali said Tuesday at a National Press Club Speakers Luncheon. Ali, a former Muslim who once urged Muslims to abandon their faith, said she now believes such an "exodus from Islam" is no longer viable. Instead, her latest book, "Heretic," describes how the religion’s teachings promote warfare, sectarianism, and oppression, and outlines a five-point plan to amend Islam. Muslims must change their attitudes toward the…
Type: News
Budget cuts crimp IRS ability to respond to taxpayer calls, commissioner reports
As if his listeners didn’t know, IRS Commissioner John A. Koskinen reminded a March 31 National Press Club luncheon audience that Tax Day – April 15 – will soon be here and it’s time to get their taxes done. But, he said, “if you can’t make the deadline, you can file for a six-month extension.” Unfortunately, though, they may have trouble getting help from IRS in completing their returns. Funding cuts, he said, has cut the agency’s response rate to telephone calls from taxpayers. "This year we were forced to substantially to reduce hiring of extra seasonal help,” he said. “As a result, our…
Type: News
Outgoing FDA commissioner: Regulation, when done right, 'not a roadblock'
U.S. Food & Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg forcefully defended food and drug regulations at a National Press Club luncheon March 27, in her last formal public remarks before her April 3 retirement as the head of the federal agency that oversees products accounting for one-fourth of all U.S. consumer spending. “Regulation, when it’s done right, is not a roadblock,” she said. “Smart, science-based regulation instills consumer confidence in products and treatments, it levels the playing field for businesses, it decreases the threat of litigation and it prevents recalls…
Type: News
Class on how to use Facebook draws big crowd
Did you know that 30% of Americans get their news from Facebook these days? Are you using the social media giant to its full potential? About 50 people, young and old, attended a lively 90-minute session in the National Press Club's First Amendment Lounge March 24 on the best ways to use Facebook to engage readers. Don Seymour, Facebook's political and government outreach manager, explained that, in using Facebook, it pays to be authentic, to post frequently and to include video or large, unique images that tell about the story behind the story. Seymour also covered some of the tools and…
Type: News
Kalb Report: Journalism integrity not killed by digital technology
Digital journalism is maturing and reverting to the standards that have guided the profession since the days when Edward R. Murrow invented broadcast news, four top journalists told a skeptical host Marvin Kalb March 23. “Gone are the days when you could get a job because you knew a social media platform that your editors thought was completely magic,” said Evan McMorris-Santoro, the White House correspondent for BuzzFeed. “We are back to the era, now, where it’s professionalizing again. Good reporting and good content are what they want.” The latest edition of The Kalb Report focused on…
Type: News
Stronger military action may be needed against ISIS, Book Rap audience hears
The United States and allies can slow down the rise of ISIS, but the current level of military pressure on ISIS is likely not enough to destroy the Islamic terrorist organization, Jessica Stern, co-author of the new book,“ISIS: The State of Terror,” said at a National Press Club Book Rap March 24. Appearing at the event with co-author J.M. Berger, Stern said financial and current military actions against the Islamic terrorist organization may not be enough eliminate it because the group is “self-reliant.” ISIS is “so good,” she said, “at raising money through criminal actions like black-…
Type: News
Lack of dedicated funding is major cause of Metro’s woes, says stakeholder panel
Major stakeholders of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, or Metro) agreed at a March 23 National Press Club Newsmaker that dedicated funding for the transit system is critical in light of its ongoing operational, budgetary and governance problems. The panelists — representing labor unions, the Metro board, media and the public — also weighed in on other issues affecting the nation’s second-busiest system by daily passengers, notably safety and leadership succession. Jackie Jeter, president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 689, a labor union of Metro employees,…
Type: News
Author tells Club's Legion Post inside story of Predator drone's development
A little known agency in the Department of Defense, acting like the high-tech gadget shop in a James Bond movie, helped rush into operation the armed Predator drone that has revolutionized warfare, author Richard Whittle told a packed meeting of National Press Club's American Legion Post 20 and guests March 23. Whittle, a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center, said the story of the Predator's development "is as odd as the aircraft itself." He tells the story in detail in his latest book, "Predator, The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution." Although a Baghdad-born engineering whiz…
Type: News