White House reporter describes covering campaign and mentoring during pandemic
Francesca Chambers, White House reporter for the McClatchy newspaper chain, is worried about this year's crop of aspiring journalists "doing their internships from home" because of COVID-19 restrictions. She's concerned that new graduates won't have opportunities to make contacts among seasoned pros.
Chambers, who chairs the White House Correspondents' Association scholarship committee, is also concerned about raising tuition money usually gathered from the group's annual awards dinner ticket sales and related donations.
If you can call the White House press facilities a cottage, then know that a cottage industry selling branded face masks and other press-related paraphernalia has begun with some of the profits going to the scholarship fund.
Chambers spoke via Zoom to members of the National Press Club's Broadcast and Podcast Team and the Young Members Team on Thursday. She urged Club members to make themselves virtually available to journalists who are just starting out, as she was 10 years ago when she arrived in Washington.
Describing her job, she noted a side benefit to current travel restrictions, saying she finds herself more rested this election cycle than when she was flying around the country with presidential candidates in 2016. "Now, I can really set a schedule" rather than having to be ready when it's time to check in for the press plane. Acknowledging that travelling with a candidate is reporting from inside "a bubble," she mostly misses not being able to talk to voters in the field. This cycle, we're even more "inside the bubble.," she said, referencing the Beltway.
Asked about diversity of sources, she reminded that it's not just racial diversity that reporters should seek in reporting a story, but gender, political, geographic and economic diversity. She said she tries to make sure her reports quote men and women, Republicans and Democrats, from many parts of the country, citing her own understanding of the American Midwest from having grown up in Kansas City.
Chambers said she wished she had learned in J-school or earlier in her career to keep better track of folks she's met along the way. She sees reporters who are more senior tapping sources they have cultivated over the years when both the reporter and the sources were lower-ranking. "Always be pleasant with everyone," she advises, and record email addresses and cell phone numbers of everyone you encounter.
Separately, Club President Michael Freedman reported to the Broadcast and Podcast group that room is being made on the Club homepage for a direct link to the Team's latest podcast, making it easier for visitors to find the current offering.
The Broadcast and Podcast Team meets monthly for an hour on the first Thursday at noon, virtually for now, but during non-lockdown times for lunch in the Reliable Source dining rooms. Membership is open to all Club members by contacting Chair Mark Hamrick at [email protected]