Legal lawbreakers, supreme tradition and a birds-eye view of that “lonely bill on Capitol Hill”: Friday with the National Press Foundation.
The NPF contacts around Washington came through Friday as the group toured the Capitol press galleries and peeked in on a Senate vote in progress. The senators were in and out to get back to their districts for the weekend, but we managed to catch Hillary Clinton, Joe Lieberman and Ted Kennedy chatting on the floor.
See a full slideshow of the Washington sites.
From the press galleries we moved on to the Supreme Court, where we met with the public information officer and learned about reporting on the court, how to obtain information and how the court has begun to accept some modern advancements, like transcripts posted immediately to the web and expedited audio availability. From there we met with the resident docent in the main chamber to learn a little more about the history of the court.
Internships were the hot topic over lunch at the Cox News Bureau. Larry Lipman, reporter for Cox News, and internship coordinator Catherine Reynolds spoke about student internships and the importance of taking the initiative and enterprising.
By early afternoon we were busing to the Government Accountability Office, where we were met by Gregory Kutz, managing director of forensic audits and special investigations. The GAO is mandated by Congress to keep tabs on all government departments and agencies, as well as break the law to identify security and defense failures. Kutz regularly testifies before Congress and gave a real eye-opening look into the inner workings of the GAO.
The name of the game in Washington is security, and the Pentagon was a shining star. Highlight of the Department of Defense tour was meeting in the press briefing room with Commander Greg Hicks, office of the Secretary of Defense, and John Hendren of ABC News. Hicks explained the DOD’s approach to disseminating information to the public, and Hendren spoke about working with DOD Public Affairs and the pros and cons of the system.
The day ended with an off-the-record dinner at the National Press Club. A less mobile lineup is planned for Saturday, which will feature an impressive lineup of seminars.