Journalistic Perks: Kagan Hearings and Russian Spies

This summer, I'm interning with the online news publication Main Justice (www.mainjustice.com), which focuses on the Department of Justice and federal courts. The outfit is small, but I'm learning there are a lot of perks to a small newsroom in the big city. While you don't get some of the more traditional corporate perks — free coffee in the office, for instance — I'm getting unparalleled experience and a chance to see really amazing things in Washington.

Case in point: This week I reported on the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. It was amazing to be in the center of such a consequential story. The photo below shows me at the press table in the back of the hearing room, taken by a coworker:


Covering the hearings themselves turned out to be brutal; I spent nearly the whole time glued to my computer screen, writing frantically in order to keep our live blogging updated. My coworker and I traded off duties: one listening/note-taking and the other writing quick posts for the website, the vice versa. Ensuring you correctly quote senators while trying to write fast racks the nerves. Luckily, I had recording software in my laptop that made it fairly simple to go back and double check a quote.

I also saw three potential Russian spies this week in a courtroom in Alexandria. Not much happened — it was a quick detention hearing to set bail and even that didn't happen because the attorneys were granted a continuance from the judge based on "new information from the government" — but it was just cool to see.

I'm racking up serious social cred over Facebook and through small talk. Not many people can answer with Russian spies and Supreme Court justices to the question of what you did today. Washington is definitely the best place to be a journalist.

life in the capitol

After being in New York City, living in DC is a bit like moving your bed from the closet to the backyard — everything is wider and luxuriously spread out. I love my apartment and the city, while not quite the same charm as New York, still feels immensely impressive.
I've been incredibly busy getting oriented, learning the overwhelming amount of projects I must complete this summer — at The Washington Center — and getting ready to start at The Post tomorrow. All the remaining time has been sight seeing. I've already seen most of the national monuments at night and toured two Smithsonian museums — the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of the American Indian.
I just did the Native American Museum today, and it was incredible. Not only was the history and story telling fascinating, but in particular, an art exhibit by the controversial Indian artist Fritz Scholder blew me away. It was great to learn about his work, mostly done in my home state, Arizona. I had no knowledge of his art or the steps he took to advance Native American culture.
Another definite highlight was the all-authentic, Native American food hall. It was delicious. My girlfriend practically demanded we eat there, and while not culinarily complex, the food was very flavorful. It is segregated according to its region of origin, and many of the ingredients are grown on-site using traditional native farming techniques.

Like I mentioned, tomorrow I start interning with The Washington Post. I expect it will be a lot of training and getting oriented — again — but most first days are.