A jumbotron screen at the U.S. Capitol prior to the start of the 56th presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20. 2009. (DoD photo by Spc. Daniel J. Herrera, U.S. Army/Released)

W

ashington hosts a variety of bureaus for major American and international newspapers and magazines such as Newsweek , The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. Radio outlets span not only domestic (most notably local news radio WTOP) and national (National Public Radio is headquartered here), but international news services such as Voice of America. Even XM Satellite Radio is located in the district. Television outlets include the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) located in suburban Virginia, traditional network affiliates, and one 24 hour local news channel as well as a ring of national network bureaus and affiliate news services. The nation’s prominent Sunday political talk shows also hail from Washington, including CBS’s Face the Nation, ABC’s This Week, Fox News Sunday and NBC’s Meet the Press. Of course, don’t forget C-SPAN, the ultimate democratic medium. The network provides unfiltered coverage of government events. In recent years, coverage of business news has exploded with more coverage of the Federal Reserve and Treasury. In 2002, Bloomberg News Service expanded. In 2007, Rupert Murdoch launched the Fox Business Network, after buying The Wall Street Journal. Two correspondents now cover the political impact on business and the economy from a bureau on Capitol Hill. With its diverse ethnic make-up as well as its position as a capital city, Washington is also home to media catering specifically to the city’s well-established African-American population and its growing Hispanic population. This is where Radio One was born and where BET has been nurtured. Various broadcast networks such as Reuters, al-Jazeera, and the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) also have bureaus here. Washington news outlets are not immune to the downsizing of American media. They have slashed their staffing levels and in some cases closed their bureaus altogether. Networks such as NBC, ABC, and CBS have offered buy-outs to longtime employees, particularly producers and photojournalists. But there is an upside for freelance journalists. A combination of the wide variety of outlets and shrinking media budgets creates an ideal market for this brand of reporter. Freelancers save companies money in health benefits and over-time but can make a comfortable living by pitching a variety of stories to a variety of media outlets. As the rest of the American economy adjusts to the ability of advertisers and consumers to pay for products, so the nation’s media reinvents itself. In Washington, media companies are uniquely positioned to provide a wide variety of information and publication on the workings of the national political and business scene… a dream for every working journalist.

Best of DC

Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Commander in Chief’s Ball in Washington (DoD photo by James Bowman, U.S. Air Force/Released)

229