BU Washington Center Director Linda Killian, left, moderated a panel discussion at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., on the Obama administration's first 100 days. BU College of Communications Dean Tom Fiedler, right, and Michael Kazin, center, were two of the panelists. (Photo by Caroline Bridges -- Boston University Washington News Service)

A report card on first 100 days

of the Obama administration

Leading journalists and academics gave a candid overview of the first 100 days of the Obama administration at an event organized by Linda Killian, the director of the Boston University Washington Center. The panel discussion, held at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., on April 16, was moderated by Killian, who is a senior scholar at the Wilson Center. Tom Fiedler, dean of the Boston University College of Communication, was one of the panelists. The others were Micahel Kazin, professor of history at Georgetown University; Gerald Seib, assistant managing editor and executive Washington editor of the Wall Street Journal; and Ken Walsh, chief White House correspondent for U.S. News & World Report.

Link to video of panel discussion.

Welcome to Washington, D.C.!

Tait Militana, left, interviews Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., for the

Norwalk Hour.  (Photo by Caroline Bridges -- Boston University

Washington News Service )

Boston University's Washington Journalism Center offers students the chance to spend a semester in Washington, D.C., meeting news makers, working in the bureaus of national news organizations, reporting on Congress and the federal government for New England news outlets and studying political reporting in the best political city in the world. ... More

To those who know him,

Gregg still being Gregg

WASHINGTON, April 23 —There are few senators with a high enough profile to be household names throughout the country. Sen. Judd Gregg has never been, and still is not, one of them. But since last fall, the New Hampshire Republican has been getting more attention from his party and the media. (By Jillian Jorgensen) 

Colleges rethink private lenders’ role

in financing education 

WASHINGTON, April 23 – In the midst of rising tuition, dried-up consumer credit and a grim job market, the University of Connecticut has begun a campaign this spring to let students know that at least one aspect of their finances is secure: their federal student loans. (By Katie Koch) 

Lobbying for federal dollars

paying off for Norwalk

WASHINGTON, April 22 – Over the past year, Norwalk has done pretty well compared with bigger Connecticut cities when lobbying for federal dollars, but experts say that good fortune may not last. (By Tait Militana)

Immigration reform faces

an uncertain future

WASHINGTON, April 22—Roger Hugo is leaving the literacy program in Schuyler County that he has coordinated for the past two years, and the foreign-born dairy workers who participate in the program are upset.  They are among the 1.9 million non-English-proficient people five and older in New York and the 19.7 million nationwide who are enrolled in a federally financed literacy program like Hugo’s, according to the Migration Policy Institute’s latest figures for 2007. (By Lindasy Perna) 

Offshore wind farms

closer to becoming a reality

WASHINGTON, April 22 —Change is blowing in the wind as hundreds of thousands of people living on the coast of Massachusetts transform the way they power their homes and businesses.  Offshore wind farms are no longer breezy talk in Massachusetts. Developers and experts agree that offshore wind will become a reality in the next five years. There are two major projects at different stages of development, and one of them, Cape Wind, could begin spreading 130 turbines across Nantucket Sound as early as next year – making it the first offshore wind farm in the United States. Eventually, the project could produce 420 megawatts of energy. (By Cristian Hernandez) 

Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe joins President Barack Obama and Medal of Honor recipients in laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemeter.   (Photo by Caroline Bridges -- Boston University Washington News Service)

Worcester native leaves mark on Washington as major general

WASHINGTON, April 10 – The president and the general shared a brief exchange moments after laying a wreath with two elderly Medal of Honor recipients at the foot of the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery. But that was not the highlight of the day for Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe Jr. (By Sarah Gantz)

Recovery director keeps watchful eye

on stimulus expenditures

WASHINGTON, April 10 – Tracking the expenditure of $300 million in the Recovery and Reinvestment Act for your state is a demanding job. Try planning a wedding at the same time. That gives you a sense of the craziness that surrounds the life of Lisa Levine, newly appointed recovery director in the office of Rep. Paul Hodes (D-N.H.). (By Aoife Connors)

Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, left, and Karen Gordon Mills,  the new head of the Small Business Administartion. (Photo by Caroline Bridges -- Boston University Washington News Service)

Senate committee confirms Mainer

to head Small Business Administration  

WASHINGTON, April 1 – Brunswick resident Karen Gordon Mills was poised to become administrator of the nation’s Small Business Administration Wednesday after she pledged to free up credit for struggling firms and fund programs to stimulate innovation at this time of economic crisis. (By Drew FitzGerald)

Covering the Inauguration

Looking toward the Lincoln Memorial from the Washington Monument during the inauguration of Barack Obama.  (Photo by Caroline Bridges -- Boston University Washington News Service)

Students from the Boston University Washington Journalism Program covered the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama for newspapers throughout New England and for television stations in Pennsylvania and New York. See the work of the Boston University Washington News Service reporters and read about their experiences here.

Last updated 01-Jun-2009
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Reporting Live From the Nation's Capital

Bostonia, the Alumni Quarterly Magazine of Boston University, did a feature article on our Washington D.C. Journalism program.

Guest Speakers

& Special Events

Les Kretman

Les Kretman, a White House producer for NBC News, spoke to the Boston University Washington News Service reporters April 3.

Peter Canellos

Boston Globe Washington Bureau Chief Peter Canellos spoke at the BU Washington Center March 26 about the book a team of Globe reporters wrote about Ted Kennedy. "Last Lion:The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy" was edited by Canellos.

Richard Wolf

USA Today White House reporter Richard Wolf spoke to the Poltical Reporting class Feb. 27.

Matt Lehrich

Matt Lehrich, a Boston University graduate, is now the deputy director of response in the White House Office of Media Affairs. On April 3 he spoke to the Poltical Reporting class.

Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson knows a thing or two about enterprise reporting.  A reporter in Washington since 1979, who currently writes for Time Magazine, he has covered the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina, post-9/11 vulnerability, domestic violence in military families, and a fatal design flaw in Army helicopters—a series which won him a Pulitzer Prize. more