MediaWatch: January 1995

Vol. Nine No. 1
Published: 1/1/1995 2:54 PM ET
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Revolving Door Spins More for Clinton Administration that Bush's

A Very Comfortable Relationship

As Bill Clinton's nomination became secure in 1992, former Newsweek reporter Mickey Kaus predicted reporters would be rewarded. In the May 11 New Republic he wrote: "Many pro-Clinton journalists can reasonably hope for something more than glamorous candlelight dinners in the Clinton White House. They can hope for jobs in the Clinton White House."

A MediaWatch study of this "revolving door" has proven Kaus prophetic. In just two years, more than twice as many members of the media have joined the Clinton administration (33) as jumped to the Bush team in four years (15). The study counted those with influence over news coverage at a national media outlet who left to take a politically appointed slot with the administrations. Those who decided to join Clinton's team held higher profile or more influential media slots than did those whom Bush attracted:

While no on-air network TV reporter joined the Bush team, so far six have taken Clinton jobs.

Ten network producers, executives, and researchers have made the jump to Clinton's staff, compared to just three during the Bush years.

Another 13 major newspaper and magazine reporters hopped aboard the Clinton team while just eight put in a stint for Bush. In alphabetical order, here are the revolvers listed with their administration title and dates of service, followed by their media position.

Clinton Administration:

  1. Kevin Anderson: Health care spokes-man, White House public affairs office, 1993USA Today Money section reporter

  2. Kenneth Bacon: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, 1994-Wall Street Journal Washington bureau reporter, 1969-1994

  3. Donald Baer: Director of White House speechwriting and research, 1994- U.S. News & World Report Asst. Managing Editor, 1991-94; Senior Ed.,1988-91

  4. Daniel Benjamin: White House speechwriter on foreign policy, 1994-Wall Street Journal Berlin reporter, 1992-94; Time reporter, 1988-92

  5. Douglas Bennet: Assistant Secretary of State for intergovernmental orgs., 1993-President of National Public Radio (NPR) , 1983-93

  6. William Blacklow: Dep. Asst. to the Sec. of Defense for public affairs, 1994-ABC News D.C. producer, 1969-72

  7. Bob Boorstin: foreign affairs speechwriter, 1994- ; Special Asst. to the President for Policy Coordination, 1993-; media adviser for health care, 1993 New York Times metropolitan reporter,mid-'80s -1988

  8. Carolyn Curiel: White House speechwriter, 1993-Nightline producer, 1992; New York Times editor, 1988-92; WashingtonPost editor, 1986-88

  9. Kathleen deLaski: Chief Public Affairs officer, Department of Defense, 1993-94ABC News D.C. reporter, 1988-93

  10. Tom Donilon: Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs; 1993-CBS News consultant for '88 campaign

  11. Anne Edwards: Director of White House press advance, 1993- NPR Senior Editor, 1985-91; CBS NewsWashington assignment editor, 1980-84

  12. David French: Deputy Director for Communications, CIA, 1993-CNN weekend Washington anchorand reporter, early 1980s-1993

  13. Chris Georges: speechwriter to Dep. Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, 1994Wall Street Journal Washington bureaureporter, 1994- ; Washington Post Outlooksection staffer, '93; producer, CNN in-vestigative unit in D.C., 1990-91

  14. David Gergen: Counselor to the Sec. of State, 1994; Counselor to the President, '93-94Editor-at-Large, U.S. News & WorldReport, 1988-93; Editor, 1985-88

  15. Vernon Guidry: policy assistant to the Dep. Secretary of Defense, 1994-; policy asst. to the Sec. of Defense, 1993-94Washington bureau defense reporterfor the Baltimore Sun, 1980-87

  16. Rick Inderfurth: Deputy to UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright, 1993-ABC News reporter, 1981-1991 (Pen-tagon, national security, Moscow)

  17. Kathryn Kahler: Director of Communications, Dept. of Education, 1993-Newhouse News Service Washingtonbureau reporter

  18. Susan King, Exec. Director of the Commission on the Family Medical Leave Act, 1994-ABC News D.C. bureau reporter, 1981-82;weekend reporter in D.C. for CNN, 1994

  19. Alison Muscatine: White House speechwriter, 1993-Washington Post sports and Metro re-porter, 1981-93

  20. Dianna Pierce: Special Asst. to the Counselor to the President, 1993-94Producer, ABC News Nightline inWashington, 1994- ; Special Asst. tothe Editor-at-Large, U.S. News, 1990-93

  21. Marla Romash: Communications Dir. to VP Al Gore, 1993; health care spokesman for White House, 1993 Associate Producer, ABC's Good MorningAmerica, 1984-85

  22. Thomas Ross: Special Asst. to the President and Senior Director for Public Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC), 1994-Senior Vice President, NBC News, 1986-89

  23. Sydney Rubin: Director of Media Relations, Overseas Private Investment Corp., 1994-Associated Press correspondent inEurope, 1987-93; in New York 1985-87

  24. Lois Schiffer: Asst. Attorney General, Environment & Natural Resources division, 1993-General counsel, NPR, 1984-90

  25. Heidi Schulman: US Information Agency programming consultant, 1993-94; Hollywood celebrity coordinator for Hillary Rodham during 1992 campaign NBC News reporter, 1973-90

  26. Cherie Simon: Dir. of Public Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, 1994-Operations and broadcast producerin Washington, ABC World News Tonight,1982-89

  27. Tara Sonenshine: Special Asst. to the President and Dep. Director for communications, National Security Council, 1994Editorial Producer, ABC News Night-line, 1991-94; D.C. bureau producer, '82-89

  28. Jonathan Spalter: public affairs assistant, National Security Council, 1994-; Special Asst. to the principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for policy, 1993-94PBS MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour off-air reporter

  29. Miranda Spivack: public affairs specialist, Department of Defense, 1993-94Washington bureau reporter, HartfordCourant, early 1980s-1993

  30. Carl Stern: Director of Public Affairs, Justice Dept, 1993-NBC News Washington reporter,1967-93 (legal affairs and Supreme Court)

  31. Strobe Talbott: Deputy Secretary of State, 1994-; Ambassador-at-Large to the former Soviet Republics, 1993-94Time Editor-at-Large 1989-92; Time Washington Bureau Chief 1985-89

  32. Ginny Terzano: Dep. White House Press Sec., 1993- ; Dir. of Public Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts, 1993researcher, CBS News election unit, 1988

  33. Victor Zonana: Deputy Asst. Secretary for Public Affairs, HHS, 1993-Los Angeles Times reporter (New Yorkbureau), 1990-93

Bush Administration:

  1. Jean Becker: Deputy Press Secretary to the First LadyUSA Today reporter, 1985-88

  2. David Beckwith: Press Secretary to Vice President Dan Quayle, 1989-93Washington bureau reporter, Time, 1980-88

  3. Robert Bork Jr.: Sp. Asst. for Communications, Office of U.S. Trade Rep., 1990-91Associate Editor, U.S. News, 1987

  4. Richard Burt: Chief Negotiator for START talks, 1989-90; Ambassador to Federal Republic of Germany, 1985-89New York Times national security corre-spondent, 1977-81

  5. Richard Capen: Ambassador to SpainVice Chairman, Knight-Ridder cable tele-vision operations, 1989-92; Publisher ofthe Miami Herald, 1983-89

  6. Ed Dale: Director of External Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) New York Times reporter, 1970s

  7. Kimberly Timmons Gibson: Deputy Director for External Affairs, OMB, 1989-92Associate Producer in Washington, Good Morning America, 1986-88

  8. Henry Grunwald: Ambassador to Austria, 1987-89Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc., 1979-87

  9. Smith Hempstone: Amb. to Kenya, '90-91Editor of The Washington Times, 1984-85;reporter, Assoc. Editor, ed. page editorWashington Star, 1967-75

  10. Loye Miller: Director of Public Affairs, Department of Justice, 1988-89 Newhouse D.C. bureau reporter, 1979-85

  11. Peggy Noonan: White House speechwriter, 1992; for George Bush, 1988-89writer of Dan Rather commentaries forCBS Radio, 1981-84

  12. Andy Plattner: Director of Communications for the Office of Educational Research, Department of Education, 1990-91 Associate Editor, U.S. News, 1985-90

  13. Sherrie Rollins: Asst. to the President for Public Liaison and Intergovern. Affairs, 1992; Asst. Secretary for Public Affairs, HUD, 1989-90 Dir. of News Info.., ABC News, 1990-92

  14. Dorrance Smith: Assistant to the President for Media Affairs, 1991-93 Executive Producer, ABC News Nightline, 1989-91; Exec. Producer of This Week with David Brinkley, 1981-89

  15. Kristin Clark Taylor: Director of Media Relations, the White House, 1989-90 USA Today reporter, editorial writer, '82-88.

Reagan Administration:

  1. David Gergen

  2. Joanna Bistany

  3. Richard Burt

  4. Patrick Butler -- Executive Editor of communications (1987), was VP of Times Mirror Washington office. In 1991 became VP of Newsweek and Legi-Slate

  5. Ed Dale

  6. Sid Davis

  7. Bernard Kalb

reverse:

  1. Bob McConnell

Number of On Air Network Reporters:

Bush: 0 Clinton: 5

Clinton Administration:

  1. Marla Romash -- was Communications Dir to VP Gore, was GMA Associate Producer

  2. Strobe Talbott -- Dep Sec of State, was Time magazine

  3. Tom Donilon -- Asst Sec of State for PA, was 1988 CBS News consultant

  4. Samuel Popkin -- member of Clinton pollster Stanley Greenberg's team during 1992 campaign, was CBS News election unit consultant

  5. Rick Inderfurth -- Dep to UN Ambassador, was ABC News reporter

  6. Carolyn Curiel -- WH speechwriter, was Nightline producer and Wash Post and NYTimes editor

  7. Douglas Bennet -- Asst Sec of State for intergovernmental organizations, was NPR President

  8. Carl Stern -- Dir PA for Justice Dept, was NBC News reporter

  9. Anne Edwards -- Dir of WH press advance and advance director for Clinton-Gore in 1992, was NPR Senior Producer and in 1980-84 CBS News DC assignment editor

  10. David Gergen -- was Republican

  11. Victor Zonana -- Dep Asst Sec for PA at HHS, was LA Times reporter

  12. David French -- CIA Dep Dir for communications, was CNN anchor

  13. Kathryn Kahler -- Dir of communications at Education Dept, was Washington Newhouse News Service reporter

  14. Ginny Terzano -- Dep WH Pres Sec, was CBS News election unit researcher

  15. Alison Muscatine -- WH speechwriter, was Wash Post sports and Metro reporter

  16. Roger Kennedy -- Park Service Director, was NBC News reporter in 1950s

  17. Kathleen deLaski -- Chief PA officer at DOD, was ABC News reporter

  18. Kevin Anderson -- was health spokesman in WH communications office, was USA Today "Money" reporter

  19. Miranda Spivack -- DOD public affairs specialist, was Hartford Courant Washington reporter

  20. Vernon Guidry -- policy asst to Sec of Defense Aspin, was Baltimore Sun reporter

  21. Jonathan Spalter -- Special Assist to the principal Dep Undersec of Defense for policy, was MacNeil-Lehrer reporter

  22. Heidi Schulman -- USIA programming consultant and Hollywood celebrity coordinator for Hillary Rodham during '92 campaign, was NBC News LA reporter

  23. Joyce Kravitz -- USIA Senior Adviser, was Dir of Information for ABC News

  24. Lois Schiffer -- Asst AG for envir and natural resources, was NPR general counsel

  25. Karen Kay Christensen -- NEA general counsel, was Asst general counsel at NPR

  26. William Blacklow -- Dep Asst to the Sec of Defense for PA, was ABC News Washington producer in early 1970s

  27. Tara Sonenshine -- Dep Dir of Communications for NSC, was Nightline producer

  28. Cherie Simon -- NEA Dir of PA, was ABC World News Tonight Washington producer

  29. Sydney Rubin -- Dir of media relations for the Overseas Private Investment Corp, was AP reporter in Europe

  30. Donald Baer -- Dir of WH speechwriting, was USN&WR Asst Managing Editor, Senior Ed and Associate Ed.

  31. Thomas Ross -- Spec asst to the President and Senior Dir for PA at the NSC; was NBC News Senior VP

  32. Kenneth Bacon -- Assistant Secretary of Defense for public affairs, 1994- ; was Wall Street Journal Washington bureau reporter for 25 years

  33. Chris Georges -- speechwriter to Deputy Treasury Secretary Roger Altman, 1994; joined Wall Street Journal Washington bureau in 1994 to cover budget and economics beats, was Washington Post Outlook section staffer, producer with CNN investigative unit in D.C. 1990-91

  34. Bob Boorstin -- Special Assistant to the President for policy coordination and as of mid-1994 a foreign affairs speechwriter, media adviser for health care proposal in 1993; was New York Times metropolitan reporters from mid-'80s to 1988

  35. Martin Schram -- co-author of PPI's Mandate for Change, was Newsday and Washington Post reporter

  36. Robert Shapiro -- VP of PPI and Clinton campaign adviser, was Associate Editor at USN&WR

  37. Anne Reingold -- Dir of media relations and of 50 person video production team for DNC's 1992 convention, was CBS News producer

  38. Elaine Kamarck -- VP Gore's office, was Newsday special correspondent

  39. George Stephanopoulos, was Associate Producer of two 1985 CBS News specials on the famine in Sudan

Reverse revolver:

  1. Tad Devine -- consultant to CBS News during Democratic National Convention, was 1998 Dukakis and 1992 Kerrey adviser

Bush Administration:

  1. Dorrance Smith -- Asst to the President for media affairs, was Exec Producer of weekend Washington-based ABC News shows and EP of Nightline (1989-91)

  2. David Beckwith -- Press Sec to VP Quayle, was Time magazine reporter

  3. Sherrie Rollins -- Asst to the President for public liaison, was Dir of News Information for ABC News in Washington and previously Asst Sec for PA at HUD

  4. Andy Plattner -- Dir of communications for the Office of Educational Research at the Dept of Ed, was Associate Ed of USN&WR

  5. Peggy Noonan -- WH speechwriter, was writer of Dan Rather commentaries

  6. Richard Capen -- Ambassador to Spain, was Vice Chairman of Knight Ridder and Miami Herald Publisher

  7. Chase Untermeyer -- Director of VOA and previously Dir of Personnel, was a local Houston Chronicle reporter

  8. Tony Snow -- Chief speechwriter, was Detroit News and Washington Times editorial writer

  9. Kristin Clark Taylor -- WH Dir of media relations, was USA Today reporter and editorial writer

  10. Jean Becker -- Dep Press Sec to the First Lady, was USA Today reporter

  11. Robert Bork Jr. -- Spec Asst for communications at the Office of the U.S. Trade Rep., was Associate Ed of USN&WR

  12. Kimberly Timmons Gibson -- Dep Dir of External Relations for OMB, was GMA Associate Producer

  13. Ed Dale -- Dir of External Affairs at OMB and from '81-87 Asst Dir of PA at OMB, was NYTimes reporter

  14. Smith Hempstone -- Ambassador to Kenya, was Editor of Washington Times

  15. Loye Miller -- Dir of PA at Justice Dept., Press Sec to Education Sec Bennett in Reagan Admin, was Newhouse and Knight Ridder Washington reporter

  16. David Runkel -- Dir of PA at Dept of Justice, was Philadelphia Inquirer Washington reporter

  17. Henry Grunwald -- Ambassador to Austria, was Editor in Chief of Time Inc.

  18. Richard Burt -- Chief negotiator for START, previously Ambassador to Fed Repub of Germany (1985-89), was NYTimes national security reporter

Reverse revolvers:

  1. Ceci Cole McInturf -- VP of CBS Inc for federal policy, was Dir of voter outreach for Bush/Quayle '88 campaign; Spec Asst to the President for political affairs 1985-87

  2. Daphne Polatty -- Manager of News Information for ABC News, was RNC staffer in conventions and meetings office

    Reagan Administration:

    1. David Gergen

    2. Joanna Bistany

    3. Richard Burt

    4. Patrick Butler -- Executive Editor of communications (1987), was VP of Times Mirror Washington office. In 1991 became VP of Newsweek and Legi-Slate

    5. Ed Dale

    6. Sid Davis

    7. Bernard Kalb

    reverse:

    1. Bob McConnell

    Number of On Air Network Reporters:

    Bush: 0
    Clinton: 5

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