If you’re like me – a history nerd with a penchant for historical buildings and monuments, particularly the Lincoln Memorial – then you are going to love Washington.
I still can’t get over the fact that I can see the Capitol from the end of my street, and I love walking through the National Mall, popping in and out of the all the Smithsonian museums (excellent environment for history nerds) at my leisure.
But as a reporter, you get to do more than just admire all of these wonderful buildings and places of historical significance – you get to go inside them, attend events in them, film stand-ups in them and become a little starstruck by the important political figures you see walking their halls. Having Capitol Hill credentials is pretty great.
Just to give you an idea of the cool places you may visit during your reporting time, here are a few of my favorite experiences:
- Interviewing Democratic Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota at his Senate office about legislation he sponsored for more defibrillators and CPR training in schools.
- Covering the groundbreaking of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial and interviewing some amazing veterans, as well as Gary Sinise (spokesperson for the memorial) and standing two feet from Nancy Pelosi.
And Tuesday, I experienced the Holy Grail of reporting in Washington – the president giving a press conference at the White House.
I wasn’t actually reporting on the conference, which was about the Bush-era tax cuts/unemployment extension deal. Our professors here advised us to go to things even if you don’t happen to be doing a story on them and so on my second to last day of grad school, I got the opportunity to join a alumnus, who is my “Medill Mentor” here in Washington, at the event.
As I stepped on the grounds of the White House after clearing security, I was bubbling with excitement. I was soon going to enter the press room – the place you see during speech coverage on CNN (and on “West Wing”) and dream one day you’ll have a reason to be there.
It was much smaller than expected and crammed with reporters – many of them who had their own assigned seats. I was told to try and grab a spot on the left side of the room. The talented journalists whose stories are front-page news or aired on major stations were surrounding me. Chuck Todd from NBC News/MSNBC was staged for his live-shot about five feet away.
Not having to report on the event myself, I got to soak in all that was happening around me, which was a great experience for a young journalist. It was so interesting to see reporters prep. Many of the print reporters were making notes in handwriting even a doctor couldn’t read, while four television correspondents stood shoulder to shoulder at the front, simultaneously beginning their live-shots as the two-minute warning was announced.
In grad school you don’t get a ton of live-shot experience, so it was awesome and also completely intimidating to witness this. I don’t know how they do it so smoothly especially with so many other voices in earshot.
Finally, President Barack Obama made a swift entrance and approached the podium. He was 10-15 feet away from me, and I couldn’t believe it. I have never seen him or any other president in person before, and it was an amazing feeling to know I was witnessing something so important.
I had to sneak in a few pictures on my phone for proof. Although I didn’t need much because I was standing in direct camera shot for the audience cutaways and my classmates saw me on CNN back in the newsroom. So there, I made my CNN debut.
On the news you see very brief clips, but the conference actually lasted about 40 minutes and he gave a lot of time to address each of the questions he was asked. Because the topic was a controversial one, many of the reporters posed difficult, almost accusation-type questions and it was interesting to see how they phrased those when addressing the man in our country’s highest office.
The president answered each question with intensity and spoke candidly about his struggles with the deal before him. Every time he gestured, the room erupted in camera clicks. It must be strange to address the American people through a room of people waiting for sound bytes and photo-ops.
After taking about five or six questions, the president exited as swiftly as he entered and it was over. We all started making our way to the doors while trying not to be in the way of the TV correspondents’ live-shot follow-ups.
As staff members switched the Kevlar-covered presidential podium back to the normal one, reporters flooded past to their desks in the press gallery to file stories. But I was glad I didn’t have to file a story because I got to take in the whole experience with a fresh perspective.
I got to witness history taking place, by a president who made history, in the most-famous house in the world. What more could a history nerd and blossoming journalist ask for?