Inside the Beltway

The first edition of this book was an indispensable guide to covering the Washington news beat and became a genuine classic in the political reporting arena. The new second edition of Inside the Beltway expands, revises and updates the original to make it an even more essential tool for Washington journalists as well as a timely textbook for college-level public affairs reporting courses.

New to this volume is a chapter that explores the press-government relationship, and how the Internet and cable television have altered this relationship. Chapters focusing on regional reporting and on the foreign correspondent in Washington are also new, along with a complete revision of the resource chapter, chock-full of Internet and website listings. Newly acquired interviews with dozens of practicing reporters and editors form the heart of the book. These interesting dialogues help the reader make sense of the political and bureaucratic maze of the nation’s capital.

D.C.-based journalists, reporters outside Washington interested in winning promotion to the Washington bureau, government public information officers, journalism students and professors everywhere– all will benefit from the insight, guidance, and step-by-step strategies of Inside the Beltway: A Guide to Washington Reporting, 2nd Edition

Don Campbell currently a lecturer and freelance writer, has over 35 years journalistic experience as a reporter, editor, political analyst, author, educator, researcher, syndicate manager and newsroom consultant. He served as Gannett News Service managing editor, as Washington editor of USA Today, and as Gannett’s White House correspondent, national political writer, political editor and congressional correspondent.

Wendell Cochran is an associate professor and journalism division director at American University in Washington, D.C. He has over 25 years in daily newspaper journalism, including experience as a Gannett regional and national correspondent based in Washington.