Congratulations, you’re a White House correspondent. You’ve reached the top of your professional pyramid, the most glorified post in political journalism. Did you ever think it could be this tedious?
Well, that’s what being a reporter is like inside the confines of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: a combination of stress, unpredictability and just lengthy boredom -- a place where you find yourself covering debt ceiling negotiations one day and monkeypox (yes, Monkey. Pox.) the next.
To understand this quirky, exhilarating and often frustrating job, The Huffington Post’s Drinking & Talking brought together Olivier Knox, the White House correspondent for Yahoo News, Eric Schultz, the deputy press secretary at the White House, Jen Bendery, the White House correspondent for HuffPost, and April Ryan, the White House correspondent for American Urban Radio Network.
When not succumbing to laughing fits (ahem, April), we discussed a quintessential day in the life of a White House reporter, the craziest questions ever asked at the briefing, just how aggressive the foreign press corps can be (they will pinch your ass in order to get your seat) and the purpose of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.
Enjoy.
Watch the video above. Here's an index of key moments in the discussion:
0:00 -- The Star Wars Cantina
0:35 -- White House Reporters Share Their Craziest Moments
5:05 -- A Typical Day At The White House Briefing Room
9:58 -- A "Friendly/Adversarial" Relationship
12:30 -- GloZell Green Comes To The White House
14:49 -- Living With The Foreign Press
17:22 -- The Legend Of Les Kinsolving
18:55 -- Defending The Correspondents' Dinner
Listen to the audio of the FULL show below:
"Drinking & Talking" is produced and edited by Adriana Usero, Christine Conetta and Ibrahim Balkhy. Technical direction is provided by Brad Shannon. Special thanks, as always, goes to Jason Linkins.
Before You Go
