The list of the area's 50 best and most influential journalists is biased toward reporters who report. So in a city beset by reporters, who in journalism holds power and influence? Who are the top unelected movers and shakers who write about the elected movers and shakers? That first roundup also contained gripes about the intransigence of White House press secretary Ron Ziegler–a complaint that rings true to anyone who has watched Scott McClellan's verbal judo with today's press corps. ![]() The first Washingtonian look at the journalism establishment in 1973 contained a discussion about the need for a federal shield law, which has been hotly debated this year as the New York Times's Judy Miller and Time's Matthew Cooper faced jail time for refusing to divulge their sources. Some aspects of the journalism world haven't changed much. Budget cuts have gutted the once-powerful bureaus of major regional papers, such as the Baltimore Sun, where Paul West presides over a bureau constantly doing more with less. The Washington Post now has an assistant managing editor for continuous news to coordinate its Web coverage. Television lures many print reporters some have complicated relationships as part-time television analysts, while others make the jump to TV reporting, sacrificing depth and nuance for fame and money. Washington reporting has been affected by all this. Journalism at nearly all levels is facing competition and pressures like never before. The Internet has altered the daily news cycle–turning what was once a morning and afternoon deadline into a minute-by-minute battle for scoops. Since then, cable television arrived, bringing with it 24-hour news networks and hours upon hours of daily talk. If you look back to that first year you'll see how much–and how little–has changed. The Washingtonian has looked at the journalism establishment in Washington, including the list of top reporters, every four years since 1973–always the year after a presidential election, when there's traditionally turnover in beats. It is as firmly entrenched as any power structure in Washington. Journalism is so firmly intertwined with government and politics and everything else that it's nearly impossible to separate them. Throughout the day, BlackBerries hum with breaking-news alerts. ![]() Residents across the region scan the day's headlines before leaving their homes, then turn on WTOP or NPR for the commute until they reach the office, where TVs on desks provide running commentary on unfolding events. Johnson once lamented, "If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River, the headline that afternoon would read PRESIDENT CAN'T SWIM."ĭespite the complaints, each morning Washington awakes to another day of news: The city runs on gossip, speculation, and–last but not least–hard facts. From local city halls to the White House, Washington teems with thousands of journalists–probably more than any other city in the world–and the power structures of Washington have always had a love-hate relationship with the press: can't live with it, can't live without it.Īs Lyndon B.
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