I’m sitting at a Cafe, transcribing more of the Helen Thomas tapes. When I met Helen in 2007, I asked her if it would be OK to film some of our conversations about life, journalism, politics and the intersection of each. Now it’s 2010, and it’s time for me to sit down and transcribe them all, show her what I’ve got, and see what step is next. Why? I suppose I feel the conversations and lessons that came out of our talks shouldn’t be kept just between us. So many people are passionate about reconstructing fact-first journalism.

She told me during one of our first meetings this was the most difficult time she has ever seen for a young person to enter journalism. Really? I was skeptical. Even during WWII, when she got her start? Even when women weren’t anything but coffee brewers and secretaries in newsrooms? Now? Yes, she told me. In a moment of self defeat, I told her about the advice of some Washington media who told me: if I wanted to get in, I should leave, work at a small news outlet in some small town, and try to make my way back. I loathed such advice. Why would I do that? Even in 2007, I felt a rising tide of change that I wanted to be around for. Helen agreed. “Start at the top. Stay in Washington,” she told me on a park bench outside the White House. And I did. Stay in Washington, that is. And in the years that followed, I would find my own way for education and experience, talking to Helen Thomas about it along the way.

Over the years our poignant conversations produced moments of intensity and real time lessons for me. It has been a remarkable privilege to have these talks with Helen. But truth be told, this isn’t about us. It’s about a significant shift in American journalism – and how two bookends of the industry viewed it. Analyzed it. Consoled each other over it. Found hope from each other in it. Learned from the others experiences with it. And at the end of the day, ended on a note that left each of us feeling optimistic about it.

Here is one quote from this batch, filmed in her cubicle on February 19, 2009:

EA: Two columns ago, you wrote about the stimulus, and about how Obama was courting (Republican) votes. And it didn’t work. Only three Republican Senators voted for the package. What is it really going to take to change the way Washington works, which is what he says he wants to do.

HT: I don’t think he’s going to change the way Washington works. That is, he ought to do what is right for the American people. And if he does, he’ll win.

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I guess this is part of the stimulus ripple effect? People are working, goods are being exchanged and the businesses around stand to also benefit. What D.C. neighborhood will be next? My hope is somewhere in the Ward 8, Anacostia region. It is by far the poorest population in D.C. A stark contrast to these city blocks below.

Erica Anderson
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For more facts on American Presidents, check out the Smothsonian’s National Portrait Gallery! Geek on!!

Erica Anderson
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I had a great time last night at the Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA) and FD official White House Correspondents Dinner “toast” to the Press Corps last night. On my way, I did a quick Wikipedia search to find out the history of the WHCD, as it is a pretty big deal in Washington. Turns out, the WHCD began in 1920 just six years after the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) organized to protect journalists covering the White House. Today, the WHCD has become a sort of “Prom” for D.C., an annual event where some of the most prominent members of the media come out and mingle.

Thanks so much to the wonderful Pat McMurray of QGA for inviting me to the event. While my main WH squeeze (well..my friend and mentor) Helen Thomas, wasn’t there, I felt right at home in the company of talented media professionals like Tim Burger, Matt Dornic, Chris Brown and Brendan Kownacki.

Check out the write up from the Scene Bisnow here and Kiki Ryan’s post at Politico Click here.

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Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton (affectionately known as HRC for short) announced today a new @StateDept initiative called the International Fund for Women and Girls. To summarize, the mission is to help the State Department get “high impact” grants to NGOs faster – NGOs that help advance the rights of women and girls across the globe. HRC (referred to as #SecClinton on Twitter) has made it a priority to support private/public partnerships to see this happen.

Check out the Fund’s topic areas here:

• Climate Change
• Combating Violence
• Economic Empowerment
• Education
• Political Participation
• Health 

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Erica Anderson
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Erica Anderson
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The White House Blog made the President and Vice President’s taxes public today. 

The President and the First Lady paid about $1.7M in federal income taxes and reported about $330K in donations to 40 charities.  The President also donated his $1.4M Nobel Peace Prize to 10 charities. In Illinois, the Obamas paid about $163K in state income taxes.

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At the National Press Club Panel I spoke on last week, moderator Alex Treadway of the Daily Caller posed a question to the panel of women: Do you think this new wave of journalism will open up the doors to more women and help break up the “old boys club?”

While the esteemed journalists who I shared the stage with (Donna Leinwand/USA Today, Kim Hart/The Hill, Cindy Boren/Washington Post) made their remarks, I thought it through and went with my MO: without agreeing or disagreeing, I offered a fact and an observation from experience.

First, according to the 2009 Social Media Study by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners, social media skews women. 79 million women actively particiate in some type of social media weekly – 12 million posted to blogs and 8 million published their own. So the potential here is great for women to increase their share of voice and influence. However the true test will be if they, if we, can transition from hobbyists bloggers to paid professionals, a real time story that is playing out right here, right now, by yours truly, and so many other young women.

Second, from what I’ve seen across industries – specifically where I have experience (health care and media), the bigger the company – the more difficult the adaptation to the digital economy has been. On the flip side, the more agile an organization is, which typically means smaller in size, the more seamless digital integration has been amongst staff, in processes and services.  If it’s true that the old boys club is having trouble adapting, it might be an ironic indication that they are victims of their own success.

Finally, to tie it all together – Salon.com blogger, Sara Libby, wrote a reaction post to Michael Calderone of Politico’s article, “New Pundits: Prodigies or Pipsqeaks,” which I found to be an insightful piece about the rising class of young pundits. But Libby is right – his examples, with the exception of one, were young, white men:

What bothered me about Calderone’s ranting wasn’t so much whether any of these young men deserved to break into these famously stodgy, old-school institutions — I find all their work refreshing and valuable; Cillzza, especially, is an incredibly tenacious reporter — but that they were simply younger versions of what has long been an old boys club. Is it really that much of a surprise that pages typically populated with old, white men are now also occasionally featuring young, white men?

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