Noshing With Steven L. Herman – May 16, 2024

Ira's Everything Bagel

Author, Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story of Covering the President—and Why It Matters

This week, Ira spoke with Steven L. Herman, author of Behind the White House Curtain: A Senior Journalist’s Story of Covering the President—and Why It Matters. In this presidential episode of “Ira’s Everything Bagel,” Steve talks about why he wrote the book, which explains the mechanics of covering the White House; working for the Voice of America (VOA) and what kind of organization it is; why VOA is the only news institution mandated to be objective; why the VOA is part of the press pool and what a press pool does; the vetting of White House journalists by the Secret Service; why there are 49 seats in the press briefing room and why the White House Correspondents Association determines seating; how White House reporting can be both a boring and thrilling job; why radio is his first love; the concept of accuracy over speed; his biggest challenge in the White House; “confirmation bias”; and the most surprising thing he discovered when writing the book.

Steven L Herman, chief national correspondent for the nonpartisan, government-funded Voice of America (VOA), weaves together memoir and history to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of the White House press corps, giving readers a rare glimpse into the historic and current relationship between the president and the press.

Steve traces the trajectory of his career as a journalist—from learning to be skeptical of government officials’ statements when he worked as a novice reporter covering nuclear testing in Nevada in the 1970s to understanding the power of on-the-ground social media coverage after the Fukushima disaster in 2011 and facing the challenges of covering the Trump administration.

Throughout Behind the White House Curtain…, Steve convincingly argues that public access to accurate, unbiased information is essential to a healthy and peaceful democracy, and that journalists can and should play a key role in pressing government officials to be truthful and transparent. At a time when misinformation is rampant and the need for unbiased coverage of current events is more urgent than ever, Herman reminds readers that freedom of the press is a foundational American right.

Steven L. Herman Website