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Kornacki cites '90s political wars as start of America’s deep political divide
On the day before the Senate voted largely along party lines to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, MSNBC host and NBS News national political correspondent Steve Kornacki told a National Press Club audience that America's deep political divide began to form more than 20 years ago. The political wars of the 1990s and Newt Gingrich’s redefinition of the Republican strategy fostered a party-versus-party mentality that fully crystalized in the stark contrast of red and blue states in the 2000 election, Kornacki asserted. “I’m not saying there was no turmoil, or chaos and wide-scale…
Type: News
Al Jazeera chief calls for global effort to protect journalists
Acknowledging the pressures facing both his network as well as reporters across the globe, Mostefa Souag, the acting director general of Al Jazeera, said Tuesday that media organizations need to cooperate in order to ensure journalists’ safety. “I am not talking about just the [Middle East] region,” Souag said during a National Press Club Headliners luncheon. “I am talking about worldwide media institutions. We need to work together.” Souag suggested that this effort could begin with a conference to develop a comprehensive strategy. Eventually, he said, that could be followed with outreach to…
Type: News
Task force proposes reforms to government ethics, rule of law
A nonpartisan task force unveiled 11 proposals to strength and codify government ethics and the rule of law at a Tuesday morning press conference at the National Press Club. The National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy unveiled its report, "Proposals for Reform," which includes calls for Congress to enact legislation obligating presidential and vice presidential candidates to release their tax returns; strengthening the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution; preventing presidents from self-pardoning or from pardoning their closest associates; and better enforcement of federal…
Type: News
Kalb Report: Dealing with the Trump reality show
Is Trump good for ratings while being bad for journalism? Nearly two years into the Trump administration, journalists are still struggling to determine how to cover this president who has broken all of the rules of communicating with the people and who is fighting to undercut the legitimacy of any news organization that dares to criticize him. Joining Marvin Kalb at the National Press Club for Monday night’s edition of “The Kalb Report,” legendary ABC anchor Ted Koppel and three media reporters, Brian Stelter of CNN, David Folkenflik of NPR and WBUR, and Emily Rooney of WGBH Television in…
Type: News
New book depicts National Press Building as hotbed of espionage
Since it was built in 1927, the National Press Building has been a hotbed of espionage, housing some professional spies pretending to be journalists as well as some journalists who dabbled in espionage by cooperating with intelligence services, author Steven Usdin said at a Sept. 28 National Press Club Headliners book event. The Press Building has been the home of many foreign newspapers, many of whom employed intelligence officers, Usdin said during a discussion of his new book, Bureau of Spies: The Secret Connections Between Espionage and Journalism in Washington. In 1940 and 1941, the…
Type: News
Press triumphs in NPC 'Press vs Politicians' Spelling Bee
It was a W-I-N for journalists: The Washington press corps secured its third consecutive victory against lawmakers at the National Press Club's annual Press vs Politicians Spelling Bee Sept. 27, with Alexandra Petri of The Washington Post clinching the championship title. Members of the press and a team of lawmakers squared off in an evening filled with humor and light-hearted jabs toward each other. The Scripps National Spelling Bee’s official pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailly also kept the audience and contestants laughing with comical examples of the words in question. Former Club President…
Type: News
Air Force Secretary Wilson highlights plans to expand the air force at Club luncheon
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson reiterated Trump Administration plans to expand the Air Force to counter growing military challenges from Russia and China during a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon address on Wednesday, Sept. 26. Wilson, a former National Security Council staffer and Congresswoman from New Mexico, commended Congress for being on track to pass a budget likely to include significant increases in defense spending that will help her department improve readiness, increase the number of air squadrons and build air power cooperation with allies. The Air Force Academy…
Type: News
The box had a yellow ribbon and bow around it: What led to Dan Abrams' new book
Speaking at the National Press Club on Sept. 24 about his new thriller, Dan Abrams explained that what prompted him to write “Lincoln’s Last Trial” was the discovery of a box, with a yellow ribbon and bow around it, in a garage. The box contained transcripts of a murder trial in 1859 with Abraham Lincoln as the defense lawyer, Abrams said. According to him, this is the only transcript of a Lincoln trial. He said transcripts did not become a regular part of trials until the 1880s. This trial had a transcript because the defense paid Robert Hitt do that. Lincoln had previously hired Hitt to do…
Type: News
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark: Investigative reporting is 'immune system of democracy'
Investigative reporting is critical to protecting democracy, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said at a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon Sept. 24. Newmark spoke just a day after announcing he would be investing $20 million in a new investigative journalism nonprofit called The Markup, a collaboration with former reporters from ProPublica. He said that work from what was traditionally print publications is vital given the rise of deception and misinformation that often comes from the highest levels of government. "For what's done in print journalism, that's specifically and most of all…
Type: News
New quotas undermine independence of immigration judges, union head says
The independence of immigration judges is being threatened by new quotas and deadlines being implemented Oct. 1 by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Judge Ashley Tabaddor, a federal immigration judge in Los Angeles, told a National Press Club Headliners news conference Sept. 21. Speaking in her role as president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, a union representing more than 300 immigration judges throughout the country, Tabaddor said judges will be required to complete a quota of 700 cases per year or risk being fired. In addition, judges will be expected to complete 95…
Type: News