Events

Covering the White House

Sarah Huckabee Sanders giving press briefing in 2017

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders takes questions from reporters at the White House, Friday, October 27, 2017

Covering the White House

Friday, October 20, 2023
5:00PM - 6:15PM (EDT)
Event Details

Members of the media play a critical role in holding presidents accountable. A panel of esteemed journalists—moderated by PBS correspondent Judy Woodruff—offers insights on what it takes to report on the inner workings of the White House, especially in times of crisis.

This panel discussion is part of Democracy360, a vibrant exploration of democracy from every angle from the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy. Democracy360 is hosted by the Karsh Institute and produced in partnership with UVA’s Center for Politics, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, and Miller Center of Public Affairs. The Atlantic is the official media partner of Democracy360.


This event is hosted and produced by the University of Virginia's Karsh Institute of Democracy and the Miller Center of Public Affairs

When
Friday, October 20, 2023
5:00PM - 6:15PM (EDT)
Where
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
Speakers
Laura Barrón-López headshot

Laura Barrón-López

Laura Barrón-López is the White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour, where she covers the Biden administration for the nightly news broadcast. She is also a CNN political analyst. Previously, Barrón-López was a White House reporter for POLITICO, where she focused on the power dynamics between the White House and Capitol Hill and provided coverage of the 2020 presidential election as a national political reporter. Before that, Barrón-López led the 2018 coverage of the Democratic party for the Washington Examiner, covered Congress for HuffPost, and covered energy and environment policy for The Hill. Barrón-López earned a BA from California State University, Fullerton.

Elaina Plott Calabro headshot

Elaina Plott Calabro

Elaina Plott Calabro is a staff writer at The Atlantic. Previously, she covered politics and the 2020 election for The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine and was a staff writer at Washingtonian. Calabro is the author of the forthcoming book In the Dead Fire’s Ashes (Penguin Press), chronicling the relationship between Alabama Governor George Wallace and Frank Johnson, the federal judge who regularly upended Wallace’s segregationist agenda in the 1960s. Calabro is a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Mike Emanuel headshot

Mike Emanuel

Mike Emanuel is chief Washington correspondent for FOX News Channel and coanchor of FOX News Live. He has provided live coverage of numerous critical national and international events, including the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capital; presidential elections; both impeachments of President Donald Trump; and the execution of Iraq’s former president Saddam Hussein. He has interviewed top political figures including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, former Vice President Dick Cheney, then-President George W. Bush, then–Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and then–Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. Emanuel received his BA in communications from Rutgers University.

Judy Woodruff headshot

Judy Woodruff (moderator)

Judy Woodruff is a senior correspondent and the former anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour. She covered politics and other news for five decades at NBC, CNN, and PBS. She was White House correspondent for NBC from 1977 to 1982 and chief Washington correspondent for NBC’s Today Show through 1983. From 1984 to 1993 she was chief Washington correspondent for the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour on PBS and anchored Frontline with Judy Woodruff from 1984 to 1990. In 2013, she and the late Gwen Ifill became the first two women to coanchor a national news broadcast. After Ifill’s death, Woodruff was named sole anchor in 2018. Woodruff is a founding co-chair of the International Women’s Media Foundation and a recipient of more than 25 honorary degrees and numerous awards, including an Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award. She is a graduate of Duke University, where she is a trustee emerita.

Bill Antholis headshot

William Antholis (introduction)

William J. Antholis has served as director and CEO of UVA's Miller Center of Public Affairs since January 2015. In that time, the Miller Center has strengthened its position as the leading nonpartisan research institution on the American presidency and worked with scholars across the University of Virginia to deliver vital research to policymakers and the public. Before coming to the Miller Center, Antholis served as managing director at the Brookings Institution from 2004 to 2014, working directly with Brookings's president and vice presidents. Antholis is the author of Inside Out India and China: Local Politics Go Global (2013) and co-author (with Strobe Talbott) of Fast Forward: Ethics and Politics in the Age of Global Warming (2010). He has published articles, book chapters, and opinion pieces on U.S. politics, U.S. foreign policy, international organizations, the G8, climate change, and trade.

Democracy360

The Miller Center's Conference on the American Presidency is part of the UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy's Democracy360 festival

Conference on the American Presidency

Leading up to the Miller Center’s 50th anniversary in 2025, this conference launches a multi-year initiative to share new ideas and best practices to support a more responsible and effective presidency