The Information Agency

The past two weeks have been a grind, I think that is the best way to put it. I have learned a lot though, and had some fun along the way.

I'm going to go in chronological order as best as possible.  Off the top, I'll go through non-internship related activities first then backtrack to what I did in the office.

I am a lover of broadcast news, I do not try and hide that or downplay it. To emphasize that point, I spent an entire day at the Newseum, a museum in D.C. that is dedicated to the history and trade of journalism. There were some incredible exhibits there, from pieces of the Berlin Wall to the broadcast tower from atop of one of the World Trade Center Buildings from 9/11. There were a wide array of "artifacts," from very old books to the very door the Watergate burglars broke through to bug the Democratic Party Headquarters. At least on the weekends, the Newseum hosts conversations with members of the press or authors and visitors to the Newseum. The say I went NBC White House Correspondent Peter Alexander and his wife, an anchor for the D.C. ABC affiliate, joined a curator from the museum in the Knight Studio. The Newseum has at least 2 television studios for an array of broadcasts. I think there is another one on the roof ABC uses on a routine basis, I did not get to see that one. This insider conversation was in the larger television studio, so there was plenty of room for a studio audience.

Before you even go inside to see the exhibits, the impressive facade provides a preview of your visit.

This is the atrium once you enter.

Segment of the Berlin Wall. NBC's Tom Brokaw got very lucky, being the only network anchor to report the fall of the Wall live. He was in Berlin for another story entirely.

A guard tower from the East Berlin.

Entrance to the Tower.

In four different languages, a reproduction of the signs that bordered the American zone of West Germany.

The Unabomber was captured because his manifesto was published in the newspapers; a family member recognized the handwriting and turned him in. This is the inside of the cabin he worked out of in Montana

Outside of the Cabin.

9/11 was a very powerful day for journalism, the two pieces hanging from the ceiling are airplane engines. The piece in the right foreground is landing gear. There was a box of tissues book-ending this exhibit.

The Newseum's location is incredible. The Canadian Embassy is right to the left and the Capitol is right down Pennsylvania Avenue.  The smaller Knight TV Studio is several floors below this, also with a prefect view of the Capital. During the inauguration, several major news outlets used the Newseum as a base for their coverage.

The National Gallery.

The Smithsonian Castle.

Front pages from almost 100 different newspapers are fixed to this wall each day.

UConn's hometown paper!

Along the left there you can see paper under glass panes; different newspaper front pages have been preserved over the years, covering everything from the Stamp Act, to the Civil War, to Watergate, to 9/11 and beyond.

Newpapers were not the only thing, magazines were also included.

From the Blitz.

Media was a major part of the O.J. Simpson Trail. Judge Lance Ito used this "kill switch" to halt broadcast of courtroom audio and evidence photos when graphic images might otherwise make it to live television.

Don Bolles was  not the first - nor will he be the last - journalist to be killed in the line of work. Bolles was mortally wounded when a car bomb exploded under his seat after Bolles was supposed to meet an informant.

He survived the initial blast, eventually losing 3 limbs before finally succumbing.

This is the top of the broadcast tower that was atop One World Trade through 9/11/2001.

One journalist was killed on 9/11, a photographer, but the day inevitably effected the profession in a permanent way.

A wall of newspaper headlines from 9/12/2001.

Tim Russert was a titan of political broadcasting; he had a heart attack and passed away in 2008. His legacy lives on through his incredibly capable son, Luke, who reports for NBC from Washington today. Portions of his office were moved from WRC-4 - the Washington NBC Affiliate - to the Newseum.

Russert was famous for his white boards, he was never a fan of that kind of technology.

Before Russert moved into journalism, he worked for several famous politicians, such as Mario Cuomo who is pictured above.

I think this is incredible, that the Newseum is home to a living collection to such a degree they are able to make additions such as the one above. In December of 2012, an NBC News crew was kidnapped in Syria. Most news agencies agreed to embargo the story to prevent the kidnappers from knowing the true value of their hostages. Thankfully they were safely released. Richard Engel - pictured in the middle - is back on assignment in Israel for President Obama's visit this week.

Often times journalists are on the front lines of stories, as seen right here.

This armored pickup truck was used by photographers in a war zone.

This map divides the world up based on freedom of the press. Green mean free, yellow means partly free and red means not free.

This wall shows pictures of every known journalist killed on the job over the past several decades.

Inside the Knight Studio. This thing was a complete surprise to me, I had no idea this was happening.

Alison Starling and Peter Alexander.

The Newseum was a ton of fun. It was a great way to spend a Saturday. I think I took about 200 or so pictures, and I understand that it may seem with the above selection I was only there for a couple hours, but there was so much detail involved in every exhibit it is impossible to enjoy the whole place without spending at least a day there (tickets are good for 2 days). That night I walked around the District to see the monuments all lit-up at night. What a site, let me tell you.

The WWII Memorial. Since the lighting was so low, 2 massive flood lights were added to increase visibility. I understand why they did it, but it messes up any cool pictures.

This is quite possibly my favorite picture taken yet.

I was surprised at first just how many people were out and about at 9:30PM on a Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial.

Old Executive Office Building; many White House employee's work here.

Air and Space Museum.

Jefferson Memorial.

This is what the Vietnam War Memorial looks like with no flash...the lighting is very subtle.

With the flash.

The next day, Sunday, was a quiet day. It was the warmest day yet in D.C., so I went down to the National Mall for a little while to throw the football around with some housemates. It was fun to get out and have fun. Gun violence prevention has been an oft-discussed issue over the past few months, and the office I work for in the Senate is certainly on the front lines of the efforts. On Tuesday - almost a week ago now - 26 bike riders from Newtown, CT arrived in Washington as part of their efforts to raise awareness for stricter gun laws. My bosses were gracious enough to allow me to witness their press conference. It was tough not to shed a tear.

Congresswoman Esty, a freshman Democrat, was elected directly before Newtown.

Senators Murphy and Blumenthal.

Monte Frank, a Newtown parent who lost a child last December.

Congressman John Larson. During his speech his passion reminded me of Teddy Kennedy. Behind him from left to right are Senator Murphy, Congressman Jim Himes and Senator Blumenthal.

The bikes used for the 400+ mile trip down the east coast.

The media swarming Team 26.

This past weekend I traveled north to UConn to visit with friends and professors. It was a great deal of fun to stretch my legs outside the District. My former roommate - my best friend and confidant - invited me to his place for the beginning of Spring Break. I had the chance to see his family again and meet some others from his extended family. As always, it was a ton of fun. I hated to leave.

In terms of work, well I have been spending almost as much time outside the office job-hunting as I have working in the office. I've been continuing with mail sorting, press clipping, errand-running and phone answering responsibilities on a regular basis. There is never a dull day, I can say that with confidence. The interns had a chance to meet with the Chief of Staff to hear her story and tips she has. I am hoping to work on the Hill, but I'm not naive enough to not apply elsewhere off the Hill. It is a nerve-wracking and stressful process, and I can't wait to start interviews and just get a job frankly. It's getting increasingly difficult to enjoy anything else, as if I'm waiting to get that job before anything else. That certainly isn't outside the realm of possibilities for me.

As for the title of this blog, the United States Information Agency was created in effect for new legend Edward R. Murrow when CBS would not renew his contract. It organized and propagated organizations such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. They ran the propaganda wing of the State Department during the Cold War. I'm a big fan of Murrow, and I think this was a cool way for him to gradually retire. Murrow is known for calling out Senator McCarthy during the Red Scare, when everyone was afraid their next door neighbor was a Soviet Spy.

"Never in the history of mankind has there been a medium with the impact of television, it...literally has brought the world home in a box."
~Walter Cronkite

Cronkite was a successor to Murrow at CBS, and has been sited as a major source of influence for a host of current broadcast journalists. He is certainly a influence on me.