CNN

CNN 

White House Correspondent: Ed Henry

Ed Henry took time out of his busy schedule to speak to our journalism class at the

National Press Club this week.

Mr. Ed Henry started his journalism career as a Washington Semester Program student interning for the infamous Jack Anderson.(He even had Gil Klein as a professor...which shows you how long Gil has been around.)

After his internship, Mr. Anderson offered Ed a job, even though he was only a junior in college. Against the advice of his professors, Ed accepted the job and moved to Washington. It took Ed a while longer to graduate from college due to complications with transferring credits, but he finally graduated.

Ed worked for Mr. Anderson for five-years before switching to Roll Call. He worked at Roll Call for eight-years and eventually made his way to CNN.

Ed is an extremely likable and comical guy. If he wasn't a successful journalist, I would suggest stand up comedy. Ed gave us a lot of useful advice.

"Nothing is going to be handed to you. You have to bust your butt."

He mentioned that a lot of students think that just because you have had an internship that you will be hired. That's not always the case, especially in a competitive field. It's important to work hard. There isn't one single way to succeed in journalism.

This had me thinking of other ways to impress employers...

It was inspiring.

Stay tuned.

The Kalb Report

The Kalb Report

Location: The National Press Club

Date: March 21, 2011

Guest: Diane Sawyer

The Kalb Report  never fails to attract a large crowd: students, professors and fellow journalists gather to watch the veteran reporter, Marvin Kalb. The Kalb Report is aired live on CSPAN and focuses on significant interviews and news forums, as opposed to the "info-tainment" many news outlets use to attract viewers.

I was even texting my mom during the taping of the show and she was able to watch it live. It was pretty exciting.

The guest this week was infamous news reporter and anchor, Diane Sawyer. She is such an inspirational person. She told us we could all change the world, every one of us. She even spoke about how long she has been reporting and the things she has learned along the way. Did you know she started off as a weather girl? (If you ask me, it seems like weather wasn't quite her calling.)

I think that everyone, not just journalist, should view a live taping of The Kalb Report or atleast watch it on cspan. Our class has been so lucky to experience the numerous opportunities that it has, which I'm almost positive never would have been done had it not been for the Washington Semester Program.



The White House

The most infamous and prestigious house known in US history: The White House.

132 Rooms


32 Bathrooms


Blue room, green room, yellow room, red room...


Our class took a tour of the East Wing in the White House, which is actually the wing that the First Lady gets.


The security at the White House is intense... and not intense like the obvious no weapons. But I mean no lipstick. Literally the bare minimum is allowed in the White House and much like the Supreme Court they dictate your dress code, which is acceptable.


It is something I will never forget. And absolutely NO pictures are allowed to be taken in the White House... I'm not sure why.


I realized today that I wish being the First Daughter was a job because I would apply for it... those little girls are so lucky.

Verizon Center Private Tour

Behind the Scenes at the Verizon Center

Not a lot of people can say they have had a private tour of the Verizon Center, let alone of the Washington Wizards locker room, but I can...

Thanks to our awesome, and well connected, professor, Iris Krasnow, we were able to get a private, one-on-one tour of the Verizon Center. We walk across the court where the games are televised and we got to see the players' practice court, as well as many other things. 

Among our visit of the Verizon Center, we spoke with the communications director of the Washington sports teams and learned about his job. He told us about the significance of the communication director, his role with the players and the press in order to promote events, games, and schedule interviews to discuss the sports world. 

It seemed like a pretty awesome job. I've really enjoyed seeing the public relations side of journalism and the different career opportunities that are available with a journalism degree. 

Did I mention we go to see some of the players too?

His shoes are HUGE.

I'm sure our class looked like a bunch of kids in a candy store as we took pictures and bombarded the speaker with a million and one questions.

From the Midwest back to the East Coast

My Springbreak wasn't as typical as most college students. Instead of flying to the warm weather and beaches, I flew back to the Midwest, where I worked for my mother and hung out with the family. No complaints though, I missed them so much!

My springbreak adventure didn't start until I started my trip back to DC. My first flight was delayed, and I missed my connecting flight and best of all, my luggage has currently been 'misplaced.'

Although my trip back didn't go as planned, it has been getting better ever since (knock on wood).

Our class took a trip to the Bloomberg news organization which was really informational. I realize that while Chicago is beautiful and amazing all on its own, DC has more to offer on for a future journalism career.

I have started looking into graduate schools in DC. I was surprised to find out that American offers a  program for journalism grad students. It starts in the summer and continues for 11-months. It is something I will be looking into. AND it's not terribly expensive. (YAY!) It is pretty competitive and only allows 200 students in each year.

I'm pretty excited. Only one more year until I apply!

Capitol Hill

United States Supreme Court

Our class took a truly historic and once in a life time field trip to the United States Supreme Court. I instantly recognized the infamous building from previous government and American History courses I have been taking since middle school.

It's one thing to see the pictures from text books and an entirely different experience to see it in person.

Not only did we tour the building, but we also witnessed an oral argument that was being held before the legendary Supreme Court Justices.

Justice Thomas: Special Anniversary

The week we visited the Supreme Court was literally a historic event: It marked the 5th year of silence during a trial for Justice Clearance Thomas. While Justice Breyer and Alito questioned each defense without hesitation, Justice Clearance sat there in complete silence. He believes his fellow justices ask enough questions and since the lawyers only have such a short time to make their point, he shouldn't interrupt them with questions. 

Although Justice Thomas doesn't speak during trials, he does pass notes. In fact the justices have aides sitting behind them at all times during the trials and the aides, among many other things, will pass notes from justice to justice. 

Courtroom Etiquette 

One thing that is to be noted are the strict rules of the court room. They were much more extreme than the typical 'no cellphones' rule. The rules regulated your posture, your attention, and clothing.

• One boy was slouching in his chair--he was told to sit up.

• You can't wear a fashion scarf into the courtroom.

• And if you don't look like your paying attention or your eyes even appeared to be closed--you will be asked to leave.