Allyson Bird - Internship Diary

Sept. 27

Friday I went to a press breakfast with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. She didn't say anything too noteworthy or unexpected, but the breakfast was a good exercise in note-taking while chowing down on scrambled eggs and cheese Danish.

What is noteworthy is the breakfast tradition itself. Since 1966 Godfrey "Budge" Sperling of the Christian Science Monitor has been hosting the Sperling breakfast for print reporters. Budge is around 90 years old but spry and quick to ask a question. He threw Pelosi for a loop when he asked her about Kerry's wet-noodle personality.

The breakfast starts at 8 a.m. when about 20 reporters hungrily greet a political guest at a long white table in the Chandelier Room of the St. Regis Hotel. My first Sperling breakfast was with Ralph Nader. The guest delivers a prepared speech before taking a limited number of questions, and it's all over in about an hour.

Generally nothing earth-shattering happens at the Sperling breakfasts, but Jimmy Carter did tell a gathering in 1973 that he would run for president three years later.

The speaker faces a row of tiny gray tape recorders on the white tablecloth, like little missiles. But the tone is conversational, like a meal should be. The guest doesn't get to enjoy too much of the food, though, because it's served right when he starts speaking and is likely pretty cold by the time he finishes.

The Sperling breakfasts are a Washington institution, but only for print media. An AP writer describes his own experience in this American Journalism Review Article: http://www.ajr.org/Article.asp?id=3234. I'll keep you updated on mine throughout the semester.

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