jaketapper

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a Speaking Event - May 26, 2021

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public.

I just did one and as always 100% of my fee will go to the following two groups:

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them.

This morning in D.C.I spoke to Media City, a leading international hub for media and technology innovation in Norway. I spoke about the challenges and responsibilities of being a journalist during this era, and I answered some questions posed by the moderator. I cannot imagine a circumstance in which my speaking would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Participating was an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less. But, as always, I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements.

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a Speaking Event - October 29, 2019

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. 

I just did one and as always 100% of my fee will go to the following two groups:

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them. 

This morning in D.C.I spoke at the  Equipment Leasing & Finance Association Annual Meeting. I discussed my view of the news of the day and the state of politics and policy, and took some questions from the audience.

I cannot imagine a circumstance in which my speaking tonight would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Participating was an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less. But, as always, I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements.

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a Speaking Event - September 6, 2018

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. I just did one and 100% of the proceeds will go to the following two groups:

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them.

Tonight at the Willard InterContinental Hotel I spoke at the federal policy conference for the Employee-Owned S Corporations of America. I discussed my view of the news of the day and the state of politics and policy, and took some questions from the audience.

I cannot imagine a circumstance in which my speaking tonight would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Participating was an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less. But, as always, I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements. 

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a speaking event - May 8, 2018

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. I just did one and 100% of the proceeds will go to the following two groups:

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them.

I spoke at the American Hospital Association this morning alongside Bob Schieffer and Frank Sesno. We discussed “fake news” and the current media environment. 

The AHA says its mission is to “advance the health of individuals and communities. The AHA leads, represents and serves hospitals, health systems and other related organizations that are accountable to the community and committed to health improvement.”

I cannot imagine a circumstance in which participating on this panel would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Participating in this panel was an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less. But I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements, 

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a speaking event

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. I’m doing one this month, and 100% of the proceeds will go to the following two groups: 

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them.

I will be speaking at the rEVOLUTION Symposium 2018 talking about the national political scene and taking questions from the audience.

The symposium describes itself this way: “Now in its fifteenth year, the rEVOLUTION Symposium has become the place to discuss the most important strategic problems facing pharma and biotech CSOs. We will examine the organization and management of R&D to uncover new disruptive discovery and development models and assess the continued impact of pricing, reimbursement, regulation and globalization on our industry.

“Since our last rEVOLUTION meeting, a lot has happened across our environment– robust financial markets, passage of health care reform, and continued scrutiny on cost containment. R&D has already begun to change – and that change will become transformational between now and 2020. The 2018 rEVOLUTION meeting thus comes at a pivotal time. Topics developed with our Steering Committee will illuminate new paths, models, and ways of thinking to enhance the industry’s research productivity and economics.”

I cannot imagine a circumstance in which giving these remarks would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Giving the speech to me is an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less.

But I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements, which will be me sharing thoughts about the current political world along with some q&a. 

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a speaking event

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. I’m doing one this month, and 100% of the proceeds will go to the following two groups:

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives.

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them.

I will be speaking to the Association of Community College Trustees’ 2018 Community College National Legislative Summit, talking about the national political scene and taking questions from the audience. 

I cannot imagine a circumstance in which giving these remarks would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Giving the speech to me is an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less.

But I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements, which will be me sharing thoughts about the current political world along with some q&a,

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Remarks to RTDNA, September 8, 2017

(Following are my prepared remarks yesterday afternoon at the RTDNA Convention in Anaheim; I deviated a bit from the text.)

Thank you for that kind reception, thank you to the RTDNA for the John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award, and most importantly thanks to everyone at CNN, from my newest intern on my amazing staff to the incredible team of journalists we have at CNN all the way up to Jeff Zucker, John Martin, and Jeff Bewkes.

As everyone in this room knows, journalism is a team effort and those of us with the rare honor to sit behind the anchor desks are nothing without the photojournalists and producers and writers and directors and publicists and editors and the guys and gals who drive the sat trucks. All of whom are very busy right now in Florida and Texas covering these horrific storms, saving lives by informing the public and in some cases saving lives by actually pulling people out of the water and harm’s way.

And speaking of team effort, I could do not do what i do without my incredibly supportive wife Jennifer and our amazing children. Our families and their understanding of the importance of our mission are vital.

On this very day 77 years ago, one day after Nazi aircraft began the first of 57 days in a row of their vicious attacks on London, Edward R Murrow told the American people what was happening.

“Before eight, the sirens sounded again. ...The fires up the river had turned the moon blood red; the smoke had drifted down until it formed a canopy over the Thames. The guns were working all around us, the bursts looking like fireflies in a Southern summer night. The Germans were sending in 2 or 3 planes at a time. They would pass overhead. The guns and lights would follow them and in about five minutes we could hear the hollow grunt of the bombs. Huge pear shaped bursts of flames would rise up into the smoke and disappear. The world was upside down."

That is what we do. We tell the public what is going on. Even -- or especially -- when the world is upside down.

Earlier this week, the emir of Kuwait joked about the troubles he was having with the press and President Trump in an apparent attempt at bonding joked that he was happy to hear that the emir had problems with the media as well. In Kuwait those in the media who criticize the government can be and have been jailed and exiled.

The leaders of the United States need to shine our great American beacon of freedom and liberty, not give comfort to those who oppress and repress those values.

And likewise as we experience this challenging moment in journalism, and as we stand up for facts and truth and decency, we in the media now more than ever need to make sure we are excelling and that we are not choosing partisan sides, that we are asking tough questions of Democrats and Republicans and independents, that we are equal opportunity skeptics, that we have crossed every T and dotted every I to make sure our facts are correct.

Being under assault by lying twitter trolls and hostile foreign governments and juvenile officials in our own country does not mean we lower our standards. It means we raise them.

This is potentially a golden age of journalism -- we see it in Florida right now, we see it every day on TV and radio and in the newspaper and magazines and online -- let us work hard to earn back the trust of the American people as I know each and every person in this room aspires to achieve every single day.

Thank you so much for this honor.

[jaketapper]

Why You Should Love the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by an editor at the New York Times and asked to submit an essay for a special issue on the Constitution. My piece did not make the cut, but I thought you might enjoy it. I first learned about this story on NPR, but the below reporting is my own.

 By JAKE TAPPER

James Madison’s amendment mandating that no pay raise for members of the U.S. Congress can take effect until after the election passed the House and Senate in 1789 and essentially went nowhere until nearly two centuries later, when a college student writing a paper about the amendment got, in his view, chintzed out of a decent grade.

In March 1982, University of Texas-Austin sophomore Gregory Watson, working on a paper for American Government 310, learned of Madison’s amendment. He recalls thinking at the time, “My goodness, this amendment is still very much needed today in March 1982 as it was when Congress first proposed it in 1789.” With Congress having voted to give itself a raise in 1978, and a special tax break in 1981, Watson saw possibilities.

Deadlines for constitutional amendments were only added to legislation in 1917, so there was no reason why this one, as long as it secured the needed ratification from 3/4s of the states, could not actually become part of the august document. Watson was excited; his professor less so. 

 He got a C.  

Photo of Gregory Watson by Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon/KUT

Knowing the grade came from the Teaching Assistant, he appealed the grade to Professor Sharon Waite. “She reviewed the paper and physically tossed it at me and said, ‘No change,’” he recalls.

 No change in the grade, perhaps, but the change in Watson was clear. His first batch of letters to legislators hit the mailbox days later. In 1982, the amendment was ratified by the Maine House and Senate. “Boom, that was my first success story,” Watson remembers. 

Colorado came next. South Dakota, New Hampshire, Arizona -- Watson focused on GOP-leaning states, where he thought the amendment would resonate. The Michigan legislature’s ratification in May 7, 1992, marked the final hurdle, prompting Archivist of the United States Don Wilson to proclaim the amendment ratified.

That night, Watson allowed himself to celebrate with a meal at Steak & Ale. (Fastidious to a fault, Watson later learned that Kentucky had ratified the amendment in 1792, so he notes that Alabama’s ratification on May 5, 1992, was technically the final vote of significance, though he didn’t know that at the time.)

“The biggest lesson,” says Watson, who currently works as Legislative Director for a GOP Texas state representative, “if people would just become active and civically involved they can move mountains.”

In March of this year, the University of Texas-Austin officially upgraded Watson’s grade from a C to an A. 

Asked if he remains annoyed with Professor Waite, Watson says, “A little bit. I’m more annoyed with her T.A.”

God bless America,

Jake

[jaketapper]

LA Press Club Remarks

Last night I was honored with the Los Angeles Press Club's President's Award, introduced by Conan O'Brien. Here are my written remarks; I deviated from the text a bit. Thank you Conan. I know for you one of the perks of your job is getting to know and befriend legends who inspired you such as David Letterman. For me, every now and then I get to meet and befriend someone like you. So it means a lot to me for you to be here tonight. I want to thank the LA Press Club for this honor, coming as I am on the footsteps of previous winners for whom I have such reverence such as Charlie Rose, Gayle King, Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and Lesley Stahl, as well as friends Norah O’Donnell and Anderson Cooper and a columnist whom you all know well now, Steve Lopez, whose columns I read regularly in the Philadelphia Inquirer growing up. I also want to take a moment to thank the people without whom I could not do my job and without whom none of this would be possible. First and foremost my wife Jennifer. Also Jeff Zucker, who first hired me and whose support has been unrelenting. And of course my incredible staffs at the Lead and State of the Union, hardworking smart industrious and lovely people who make me better every day. On this day in 1903, a future journalist named Eric Blair was born, better known as George Orwell. Reading Garrison Keillor’s sublime Writers Almanac today I was reminded of the quote “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” What a fantastic quote and how appropriate for this evening, and this era. Except then I did some research to prepare for this speech and I learned that according to Quote Investigator, Orwell never actually said this. And I thought how even more appropriate for this evening and this era. And that’s because this is obviously a trying time in journalism, with the president declaring us the enemies of the American people, and entire industries of social media gremlins and defamatory websites springing up to try to discredit the 4th estate. And amidst all these lies and half truths and mistruths and disinformation we in the Fourth Estate are serving as something of the guardians of truth. We are trying to, anyway. We are trying to be, as the quote would have it, revolutionaries. But as the facts about the quote would have it -- the fact that it seems likely that Orwell did not actually ever say that -- we also need to make sure that we rise to this moment. And that means our facts need to be squeaky clean and uncorrupted. We are not the resistance, we are not the opposition, and we are here to tell the truth and report the facts regardless of whom those facts might benefit. I know it is difficult to not get swept away into a stance of opposition when a politician declares war not only on journalism but also when he declares war on the very concept of truth. And sadly, sometimes, on the very idea of decency. Make no mistake: we need to fight for truth and decency. To preserve them so that when this era is over, when our children in two decades time ask us how we handled this period we can look them in the eyes. But part of that service is to preserve the foundation on which journalists stand. And that foundation is built on concepts such as fairness, and non-partisanship, and doing our jobs without fear or favor. When we tweet every emotion we have every moment we have them, we undermine that foundation. When we publish or broadcast shoddy journalism we undermine it. When we do not rise to the moment, we undermine it. And that undermines what we are fighting for. So yes let us be revolutionaries by telling the truth at this time of deceit. But let us also make sure that we get our facts right. Orwell in fact could be quite critical of journalists, referring in his famous essay “In front of your nose” about our failings along with those of politicians. He criticized quote “the all-prevailing schizophrenia of democratic societies, the lies that have to be told for vote catching purposes” and “the distortions of the press.” But it was a cautionary tale -- noting that the Axis powers in World War II “lost the war quite largely because their rulers were unable to see facts which were plain to any dispassionate eye. To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” Let us continue that struggle. People are depending upon us. Thank you so much for this humbling honor.

[jaketapper]

Dartmouth Commencement 2017

President Hanlon, Board of Trustees, distinguished faculty, fellow honorees; Magnificent alumni including and especially my dad, Class of 1961; My wife, Jennifer ... and with her in mind ... Members of the admissions committee for the Dartmouth Classes of 2029 and 2032, who are right now for the first time hearing the names Alice Tapper, age 9, and Jack Tapper, age 7; Friends of mine from the Class of 1991—Hillman, Scully, Haber, Kessler, Miller, Groq, Barts, Edison—most of whom I met 30 years ago this fall in the Choates, which I’m still not convinced is not a psychological experiment by Dartmouth Housing. They are here today, because if you want it to happen, friendships formed here can last for the rest of your lives; Rejoicing families; And most importantly, you—glorious, brilliant, ambitious, determined members of the Dartmouth College Class of 2017. A proud member of the class of 1925 once wrote: “The more that you read The more things you will know The more that you learn The more places you’ll go.” This is from a book that probably all of you have received as a gift this week. And it’s true that the more that you read and the more that you learn, the more places you may very well go. But while I revere Dr. Seuss, by necessity he left a few things out. He didn’t tell you that there are a lot of unread and uninquisitive – but well-connected – heathen going very far and doing very well. In the real world, not only is the Lorax still battling the Once-ler—he also has to deal with the Once-ler's Super PAC. And his nasty, nasty tweets. Dr. Seuss often depicted the world as he wished it, with endings that were just and lessons that were learned. But that is not the world you are about to enter. The world outside of Hanover can be cold. Not “walking from the River Cluster to Dartmouth Hall in February to make a 7:45 a.m. language drill” cold, but cold. It has been said, “He who stays the longest learns the most.” Actually, that wasn’t actually said by anyone; it was once carved on the wall in the basement bathroom of Alpha Chi. But it is true! Though no doubt some of you after all are way smarter than I am – many of you, probably – especially you with the glasses in the third row—I have picked up a few things along the way. “He who stays the longest learns the most.” Wise words from someone who probably had his pants down. I wonder if whoever took that little knife and carved that into the Alpha Chi basement bathroom wall ever imagined that one day it would be invoked in a commencement address? Whatever the case, it has truth. It speaks to the wisdom one accrues merely by continuing to exist and paying a modicum of attention. So, what tangible advice do I have to share, having departed from this campus 26 years ago? First, let me offer the quick and easy stuff. OK? Always write thank-you notes. Be a big tipper. Always split Aces and Eights. Floss. Call your folks. Invest in a good mattress. Shine your shoes. Don’t tweet, post, Instagram, or email anything you wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing on the front page of The New York Times. Be nice to seniors. Be nice to children. Remember birthdays. Never miss an opportunity to charge an electronic device. Use two-step verification. Shake it off. Shake it off. Stretch before exercising. Stretch after exercising. Exercise. Never play keno. Never drink airplane coffee. Never pay $200 for a pair of jeans. Never wear jean shorts; and No one has ever had fun on a paddleboat. You can get that from YouTube later. Those are the easy ones. But there are a few harder-fought lessons into which I would like to delve a bit further. The first one is about you, right now. For you, my dearest Class of 2017. Even if you have jobs or grad school lined up, you are no doubt stressing a bit about the question: What are you going to do with the rest of your life? And my first serious bit of advice to you is: Do not worry if you do not know what you want to do with the rest of your life; it is OK if you take years to figure it out. Wall Street, Silicon Valley, law school—they ain’t going anywhere. I did not become a full-time journalist until I was almost 29. It took me a little time to figure out where my particular qualities of annoying persistence, uncomfortable observations, and curiously rooted self-regard might best be suited. Now, our society worships the prodigies. The Mozarts. To paraphrase Tom Lehrer, it is a sobering thought to consider that when Mozart was my age he had been dead for twelve years. But to measure success by how old you are when you achieve it is silly. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer wasn’t published until Mark Twain was 41. Do not stress if you have no idea what you want to do with the rest of your life. View these years, where your responsibilities are relatively few, as a journey, as an adventure. Adventures are not seamless trips from point A to point B; they have ups and downs and obstacles. And every crappy internship, every rude boss, every remedial chore that makes you wonder, “Why did I bother working so hard to get into Dartmouth and graduate from Dartmouth?”—it is all part of this voyage. Every step of my trip to this stage today taught me something and guided me to here. The fall after graduation, I went to film school. I could not have been more unhappy. Flash forward a few years, more misery in Washington, DC, as the worst public relations flunky in the history of relating to the public. These were periods of ennui, angst, sturm undt drang, and many other words only the Europeans could have come up with. I felt like a complete and utter failure. All part of the adventure. Do not take these moments that you will someday soon experience as failings or even as wrong turns. Public relations and my ineptitude in it steered me away from the world of spin, but it also showed me how PR executives spin, which gave me insight into how to cut through it. And, more importantly, it was while supporting myself as a PR flunky that I began writing freelance newspaper stories. And that led me to my first full-time job as a reporter at Washington City Paper, a tiny free weekly newspaper, with an editor who was like a one-man journalism school, who saw in me a young man who did not take mistakes and errors seriously enough and browbeat that attitude out of me. If I had not worked under that man at that free weekly newspaper, I would not be on this stage right now. At the risk of sounding like Oprah, embrace this adventure. Throw yourself into it. Now. How to get started? You know how your parents used say when you were younger that the world doesn’t revolve around you? You’re about to find out what they meant. Because, believe it or not, until now, crudely speaking, the academic worlds in which you’ve been safely ensconced have been all about you—your teachers and your coaches, professors and advisers, from UGAs to President Hanlon—they have been focused on not only your education but your experience and your personal growth. You are about to leave a warm and nutritious womb. Freshman trips, freshman groups, sophomore summer, tea at Sanborn, the Phys Ed requirement, all the rest... this incredible support system, these teams of people whose job it has been to turn you into an adult with skills and smarts and tools – caring about your mixers, about your happiness, about your comfort, about your birth control needs, about whether or not you drink responsibly, whether you’re doing okay, making sure you go to the dentist. I'm sorry to say, that ends tomorrow. You now have to do that for yourselves, and for each other. Now, my little baby birds, you are expected to fly. Coach. Last row, middle seat. There will be no UGA down the hall in your first apartment, and if there is one, that's not really a UGA; that's just a creepy dude trying to get on your Wi-Fi. Now I’m not saying you should be scared about what tomorrow might bring. The real world's a cool place. There are plenty of nice and kind people. There's live music, fresh juices, hotels that don’t charge for the minibar. But the real world, unlike what you've experienced here, is a place of transaction. What does that mean? Practically speaking, it means you can no longer rely on people in positions of power to do things for you because they care about you. The people you’re going to meet whom you need to help you get a job, or an apartment, or a loan, or advice—the people to whom later you will point to and say, “Hey, she gave me my first break!”—those people are looking for something in return. What is that something? It can be tricky to figure out. It might be your loyalty, your respectability, that you have a diploma from Dartmouth, your brains, your cleverness, or your politeness. Different people are going to want you for different reasons, but your first boss and every boss you ever will have will want something very simple: your hard work and your good attitude. Now, the transactional nature of the world might sound harsh but it isn’t necessarily. Put it this way: A screenwriter sells her idea to a studio. The studio wants to make her movie. They start conducting screen tests. In this parable you're, say, Vin Diesel. You audition. You have to. No one is going to give you that job out of the kindness of their hearts. They need to have confidence that you will be Fast and Furious. So they can sell $380 million worth of movie tickets. But here is the exquisite bit of good news, for those of you paying attention: Now you know this; now you know that it all comes down to you figuring out what you can offer them. It's a lesson it took me several years to learn—maybe even more than that, maybe a decade or two—but once I did it was invaluable. I joined ABC News in 2003. In the 2004 presidential race, I was not assigned a candidate to cover. I can still list the reporters who were, by the way. I remember every one of them. I got nothing. So I did the only thing I could do. Complain? No. I worked so hard in those intervening years to establish myself as a good and tireless political reporter, so hard they HAD to assign me a candidate in 2008, for their own good. It worked, and in 2008 I was finally assigned a candidate. My goal then became to be the White House correspondent. And I knew, again, there was only one way I would get that job. I had to be so skilled and tough and industrious and vigilant that, if my bosses at ABC News made anyone else the White House correspondent, they would look like idiots. I had to force them to give it to me out of their own best interests. Now, I've come up with a lot of bad strategies and made a lot of bad decisions in my life. I’ve made enough bad decisions to fill five other commencement addresses. But this was a good one. Have something that they want. And show it to them—over and over, every day. Make them need you. Work twice as hard as the job requires. Make sure they know that you will show up and act like a professional, that you don't feel entitled to anything. Make them hire you for their own good, not yours. Now, a word on the inevitable rejections that may soon shower upon you like a monsoon. Dr. Seuss’s first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before he found a publisher. As a young man, Robert Frost, class of 1896, received a rejection letter from the poetry editor of the Atlantic Monthly with the note: “Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse.” In other words: Not every expert is expert. Quite a few of them are going to be wrong about you. Some of them will be downright idiots. When my classmate Shonda Rhimes first pitched Grey’s Anatomy to a room full of older men, they told her that nobody was going to watch a show about a woman who has casual sex and threw a guy out the night before her first day of work—that that was completely unrealistic and that nobody wanted to know that woman. Shonda sat in that pitch meeting and thought, “Wow they don’t know anything about what’s going on in the world right now.” Forgetting the critical, financial, and popular success of the show for a moment, Shonda can't even keep track of how many young women have told her that they were inspired to become doctors because of Grey’s Anatomy. Keep going. There might be a lot of rejection. Most of it you should not take personally. People making decisions are often wrong. Even the faculty of Dartmouth can get it wrong! Connie Britton, Class of ‘89, perhaps the best known and most critically acclaimed actress to have ever graduated from Dartmouth College, was not able to convince the Drama Department here to sponsor her to send to the League Auditions. David Benioff, Class of ‘92, acclaimed novelist and screenwriter and co-creator of HBO’s Game of Thrones, he didn't get into English 80—three times. But some of the rejection you should take personally. Some of it will be because of things you could be doing better. Try to figure out what those things are. Because you always can be doing something better. To be honest, this never ends. The best and most successful people are constantly striving to be better. If you think that at 48 I think I’ve got it all figured out, kindly allow me to disabuse you of that notion. And I can provide multiple sources for that scoop. And I can do that because I know it's important to surround yourself with people who love you and respect you enough to tell you the truth. And it is important to listen to them. Many people you will see rise to a level of success on which it becomes difficult to find people to challenge them and their ideas. And whether politicians or generals, news anchors, or CEOs, that inevitably leads to their downfall. Look at what's going on in Washington, DC, right now. Tell me there aren’t people you can think of whose own careers would not be improved if they heeded the suggestions of a tough but loving staff of critics willing to share hard truths. At my job at CNN, I am lucky enough to be surrounded by people who challenge me every day. From the top, to the side, to the bottom of the ladder. They make me better by sanding away my worst impulses. Class of 2017, get people like that around you. No matter how high you rise, do not get rid of them. You're going to have friends who are willing to criticize you, and maybe you don’t want to hear it, and your impulse may be to show them the door; but if you spend the rest of your twenties amidst only the sycophantic and the shallow, you will wake up at 30 with a friendship hangover worse than a month of Jägermeister shots. You know, it’s funny what sticks to your brain. I haven’t looked at the autographs in my high school yearbook since they were written in 1987, but I know that there’s one in there from a girl named Kate. She praised me for my cutting wit, but she also cautioned me to be careful about how I wielded that particular blade. And though I spent much of the next 20 years ignoring that lesson, much to my own detriment, I still remember that advice 30 years later because she was right. Advice can sting. Ted Koppel once pulled me into his office after seeing an embarrassing TV pilot I was part of and told me that it was OK to tell my bosses “No.” Charlie Gibson once told me to stop sending such pointed emails, that I would get a lot farther if I didn’t share every critical thought I had every moment I had it. These were not easy criticisms to hear. But they were right. These were important people investing their time to try to make me better. These kinds of lessons aren’t fun. No one enjoys hearing about how much of a jerk they are. So let me also say while I prepare you for those moments: Absorb the lessons. Adapt accordingly. But do not be too hard on yourself. And listen to yourself, follow the better angel we all have in us steering us toward ways to be our best selves. On October 3, 2009, I was sitting in my wife’s recovery room at a hospital in Washington, DC, holding our newborn son. On TV I saw a news story: That day, an outpost containing just fifty-odd US troops had been attacked by up to 400 insurgents. Combat Outpost Keating was built at the bottom of three steep mountains, the reporter said, in a particularly rough corner of Afghanistan just 14 miles from the Pakistan border. It was an ugly and brutal battle. The deadliest for the US that year. Eight American soldiers were killed. And as I sat in the room that day holding my son, hearing about these eight other sons taken from their parents, from their wives, I wanted to know why. Why would anyone put an outpost in a such a dangerous place? And more importantly, who were these people that were risking so much and sacrificing everything – people to whom I really didn't pay all that much attention, to be honest. Sure, I covered debates over troop levels—ten thousand, forty thousand—but those were statistics; those weren't people. So, against the advice of a lot of people I knew, I decided to write a book about the men who fought and suffered and prevailed and died in that battle, about Combat Outpost Keating. Writing that book was a long slog. Many doubters; many skeptics. And yet I felt compelled to tell the story of these troops and their families, people part of a world unfamiliar to me at the time, the world of the US military, of duty and sacrifice. In some cases, the ultimate sacrifice. Hearing the stories firsthand of these men and women made me realize how little I had accomplished in the service of anyone other than myself. “My God,” I told my wife one afternoon after I had been visiting with two Cavalry officers, Dave and Alex. “My God, these guys are amazing, and I am nothing. I have risked nothing and sacrificed nothing compared with these men.” “But honey,” she said, “you can tell their stories. You can tell their stories.” The book I wrote, The Outpost, remains the professional work I am proudest of. It is not what has resulted in the most Twitter memes, but it is the most meaningful. It was the one least about me; and it may be one professional achievement, maybe, perhaps, that has a chance of outlasting me. That which you end up doing in the service of something greater than you – even if it means that you feel lesser, humbler, even worthless by comparison – by honoring the humanity of others, that will allow you to get in closer touch with your own. And this is the most important thing I can tell you today, Class of 2017. Don’t just work hard at your job; work hard at everything. Work hard at being a friend. Work hard at being a partner, at being a son or a daughter, at being a grandchild, at being a steward in your community, at caring about people who have never had a day like the one you’re having today. At being the best YOU that you can be, Class of 2017, all of you, A to Z, from the best Alexander Abate to the best Jonathan Zuttah. There are going to be moments like this one – a celebration of hard work well done, surrounded by family and friends. And then there are going to be moments when you feel alone and adrift, misunderstood, and hopeless. Maybe right now it looks to you like someone like me effortlessly went from your seat to this stage. Let me assure you, there was effort. There was effort and there was pain and embarrassment and rejection and humiliation. False starts and false turns and mistake after mistake after mistake. But that's OK. That's all part of the adventure, and yours starts now. Members of the Dartmouth College class of 2017 – you are already great. Now it’s up to you to become even greater. Be bold. Be smart. Be brave. Be true. Go forth and rock. God bless you; God bless your families; God bless Dartmouth College of Hanover, New Hampshire; God bless the memory of EBA’s; and God bless the United States of America. Thank you for the honor of a lifetime.

[jaketapper]

Remarks to the Canadian Journalism Foundation

Last night I was honored with the Tribute at the Canadian Journalism Foundation awards in Toronto, Canada. Below are my prepared remarks; I deviated from the text slightly and tried to make edits below to better reflect what I said.

I want to thank the CJF and more specifically the Gala Committee - David Walmsley, Maureen Shaughnessy Kitts and Natalie Turvey - for selecting me for this tribute.

I would also like to thank Peter Mansbridge for those lovely remarks and more importantly for his decades at the CBC, serving as a beacon for anchors across the continent, speaking truth to power, and calm to panic. I know this nation has come to depend on you to guide it through times of difficulty and joy, and I know she will miss your nightly presence.

It is such an honor to receive this award, especially as someone who isn’t Canadian, someone born in New York and raised in Philadelphia. I was seven during the American Bicentennial in Philadelphia, the heart of American democracy, so it was interesting when a few years ago i began doing some genealogical research and discovered that many of my ancestors, the Huffs, fought in the Revolutionary War. The surprise was that they fought for the British and then fled to Canada. They continued to fight on your side in the war of 1812. This was of course something of a rude awakening for a Philly boy.

Of course i knew of my Canadian roots -- My mother was born in Ottawa, and came to the U.S. with her family when she was 7. My grandfather Everett Palmatier fought with the Royal Canadian Navy during World War II serving on the HMCS Cobalt, a Flower-class corvette that participated in escorting convoys in the Atlantic. My grandmother Helen worked as a confidential secretary for the Canadian government. My great uncle Edwin Palmatier, a tailgunner, was shot down and killed by the Luftwaffe in that war. There is a lake named after him in this country. In January 1917, one hundred years ago, my great great grandfather David Dyson, a pickle and vinegar merchant was the mayor of Winnipeg -- for four days. He lost the recount.

Now, if I were Tom I would make a joke about how Peter Mansbridge covered that recount. But I am not so I will not.

Grammie and Grampie and Uncle Edwin and David Dyson are no longer with us, but i brought my mother here tonight and I want to take a moment to honor her for not only having been a loving and selfless mother but for having instilled in me concepts of compassion and decency that i hope have shaped the way i live and also how i perceive my responsibility as a journalist. Thank you, Mom. I love you.

I would also be remiss if i did not take a moment to thank another great son of Canada, a mentor to so many of us who had the pleasure of working with him, my former boss at ABC news, the late great Peter Jennings. Peter was a tireless and fearless and obstinate boss. And he taught me so much and the world, and the world of journalism, is lesser for his passing.

As for this award...just looking at the list of prior honorees -- Tina Brown and Sir Harold Evans, Malcolm Gladwell, Robert MacNeill, Morley Safer and Graydon Carter -- that is pretty august company. Though the ones who mean the most to me are the 2012 posthumous tribute to Jennings and the man who did more to make me a journalist than anyone else, the late great David Carr, honored in 2013. I like to think somewhere David and Peter are watching this presentation, frustrated that they can’t break through and criticize me and make sure that i’m not letting anything go to my head. Don’t worry guys, I got the lesson. You taught me well.

And of course as well all know, people like Peter and myself get the attention, but journalism is truly a team effort. From the lowest level intern to the highest executive, I couldn’t do what I do without everyone at CNN. Everyone in this room knows what a team effort journalism is. Three from my team are here -- Jessica Stanton, John Robinson, and Lauren Pratapas -- and without them and without the leadership of my boss Jeff Zucker, as well as John Martin and Jeff Bewkes, none of this would be possible.

In three days I’ll be giving my first commencement address ever, at my alma mater, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and Ive been thinking a lot about what then President Eisenhower told students in the 1953 commencement:

He said: “Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. … How will we defeat communism unless we know what it is, and what it teaches, and why does it have such an appeal for men, why are so many people swearing allegiance to it?...And we have got to fight it with something better, not try to conceal the thinking of our own people. They are part of America. And even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they are accessible to others is unquestioned, or it isn't America.”

This was Eisenhower talking about communism during the Cold War and the Red Scare -- and he was arguing that the Communists should come out and engage in the battle place of ideas and we should welcome them

That battleplace of ideas is something I think about a lot

Especially when liberals tell me not to put Republicans or Trump supporters on my shows. Using Ike’s words, I ask them, How will you win an election against Trump and Trumpism unless you know what it is, and what it teaches, to paraphrase Ike, and why does it have such an appeal for men, why are so many people swearing allegiance to it?

And for those in journalism who do not understand the appeal of President Trump to 62,979,636 Americans, it is also important to try to understand the phenomenon so many of us failed to see coming. If you strip away the falsehoods and the bigotry and the occasional indecencies -- more on them later -- but if you strip those away there are propositions that are completely legitimate -- fixing a broken system in Washington, making sure the elites and the government do more to protect American jobs and lives and livelihoods. We in the media need to rise to the moment and allow these disrupting debates to happen, and let the best ideas win.

But all that said, I am concerned about the weapons being deployed by the president and forces allegiant to him in this battlefield. I am concerned about the lies and smears, I am concerned about the moments of indecency, and for this audience especially I am referring of course to his calling stories he doesn’t like -- ones that are entirely 100% accurate -- “fake news,” and thus successfully undermining the 4th estate with a large segment of the population.

On January 12, a team of reporters including me, Jim Sciutto, Evan Perez, and Carl Bernstein reported the following: “Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN. The allegations were presented in a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.” It went on from there.

There is not one word of this story that is not accurate. And yet this is the story President Trump used to first attack CNN as “fake news.” A term that used to refer to actual fake stories -- The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or more recently the such as the nonsense that there was a Satanic pedophilia ring linked to a pizzeria in Washington, D.C. with ties to the Hillary Clinton campaign. Now it stands for stories the president does not like.

And he does not like a lot of them. And while yes there have been some minor media missteps almost all of the stories he’s called fake news have been proven to be true.

Every politician lies. Hillary Clinton falsely claimed FBI “Director Comey said my answers were truthful.” Barack Obama claimed if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.

But the sheer number of falsehoods and factual flip-flops coming from this White House is staggering. NATO is obsolete, now it isn’t. Jobless numbers are bogus, now they’re real.

And what’s worse we have a situation now where prevarications are not only supported by the administration and its allies in the media but by an entire dark Army of twitter trolls and meme creators here and abroad who work to undermine the work and reputations of those who either oppose the president and his policies within the party or Congress or those of us in the media who are attempting to provide basic non partisan guidance on what is going on while trying to uphold basic facts and decency.

The great discomfort here for Americans is we want our leaders to be credible. The great discomfort for journalists is that if a president declares war on truth, those who try to stand by truth and defend her are then labeled partisans, or biased.

We are not supposed to be fighters on the battlefield. We are not the opposition to President Trump, we are not the resistance.

We all are trying to figure out the way to cover this new world where fact and decency often seems to mean so little. And I do think that we as journalists need to defend truth and decency.

But I also think that too many journalists sometimes allow themselves to get swept up and we cannot have that, we cannot have a world where we act like the opposition. We in the 4th estate must rise to the occasion of this challenge. And by that I don’t only mean that we work harder than ever to avoid the kinds of mistakes that undermine our profession by avoiding stories that get key facts wrong, but that we also refrain from sharing every emotion the moment we experience it on twitter. And that we consider the low regard many members of the public have for us, and that we work hard to be fair to all points of view -- even the side whose members are attacking us and attempting to undermine us -- the policies they advocate, not the attacks.

And let me say a word about those attempts to undermine. Tom Friedman writes in his new book Thank You For Being Late about the advances of technology compared to the human ability to adapt to these changes. The chart of technology looks like this…..the chart of our ability to adapt to technology looks like this. We are way behind as a society where technology is -- i recently read that the average smartphone is millions of times more powerful than all of NASA’s combined computing in 1969

So what does that mean? It means that when your Uncle shared a website called the Denver Guardian -- and a story headlined “FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead” -- and spreads the story using on Facebook -- he has no idea what’s going on. His sophistication is here on the chart. The technology is here.

I have seen US Senators and US Members of the House -- and I know no one would do this in your Parliament -- but members of the U.S. House and Senate have invoked websites I do not consider to be credible -- not just on the right but on the left. Recently after Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah announced he would be leaving Congress, Congresswoman Maxine Waters -- a Democrat of California recently lionized by the left -- went on MSNBC and said of him “There are those who think that he in some ways, have some connections to what is going on in the...Ukraine and perhaps in Russia itself, and knows something about all of this. I don’t really know. I can’t say, but he’s strange in the way that he’s conducting himself...Maybe [Chaffetz] thinks that if he rolls out and points to the fact that something is going on with Flynn ... that somehow this will raise [Chaffetz] above maybe what connections he may have with the Kremlin, we need to keep an eye on him.”

This is crazy; it’s madness. And to point out that this is going on on the Left is not to promote a false equivalence with the fact that it is going on at a much greater scale from a much larger platform on the right. 

But lies are lies. Irresponsible fact-free speculation does not become less irresponsible because of a conspiracy peddler’s political affiliation or gender or anything else.

I did not become a journalist to be a fact-checker or a truth-squadder, i became a journalist to hold people in power accountable, to try to tell stories other journalists weren’t telling, and to try to have serious discussions about the way policies impact people’s lives. Probably why a lot of people in this room became journalists.

I did not become a journalist to become a meme or to watch a younger far better looking man portray me on Saturday Night Live, although thanks for that.  But there is a lot of attention on us today as the fourth estate finds itself trying to stand up for basic standards of decency and truth.

And while it is important that we not take the bait and become the opposition that Trump and Bannon would like to cast us as -- thus de-legitimizing ourselves -- it is also important that we not sway the other direction. We cannot pretend that lies don’t need to be called out. We cannot shrug and talk about how a politician’s supporters don’t care about behavior that empirically is offensive. We cannot lower the standards that we as a society hold just for access to big name interviews. We have to be able to look our children in the eyes. We cannot not lower our standards because of attrition and exhaustion or because colleagues are making other decisions, or because Fox, Breitbart and online trolls will lie about us otherwise. 

This is a time for all of us in the 4th estate and indeed all of us in North America s to stand up for what we know is right. Objectivity. Truth. Decency. Facts.

My late grandmother, Helen McDowell Palmatier, born 101 years ago in Winnipeg, was an expert on Sir Winston Churchill, so with your permission I would like to end these remarks by quoting him.

Churchill once said: “A free press is the unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men prize; it is the most dangerous foe of tyranny… Under dictatorship the press is bound to languish…But where free institutions are indigenous to the soil and men have the habit of liberty, the press will continue to be the Fourth Estate, the vigilant guardian of the rights of the ordinary citizen.”

Thank you for this honor.

[jaketapper]

Disclosing 2 Speaking Events

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. I’m doing two speaking events this month, and all of the proceeds will go to the following two groups:

1) Horton’s Kids, a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives. 

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them.

The groups I will be speaking to this month will be:

1) The Footwear Distributors and Retailers of American Conference

The group was founded in 1944, to represent “the full breadth of the footwear industry, supporting more than 100 companies and over 200 brands, from research, design and development, to manufacturing and distribution, to retailers selling to consumers all over the globe. What FDRA does is simple: It advocates for lower costs for consumers, allowing its members to sell more shoes and create jobs.” The group says it cares about the following issues: Border Adjustment Tax, Footwear Customs, Footwear Retail, Product Safety, Sourcing and Compliance, and Tariff Reduction Initiatives.

2) American Boating Congress, part of the National Marine Manufacturers Association

NMMA is “the industry’s primary source of recreational boating research, statistics and technical data.” Some of the issues they care about include ethanol, boating access, recreational fishing, and the Sport Fish Restoration & Boating Trust Fund

I cannot imagine a circumstance in which giving these remarks would influence my coverage of any issue in any way.

Giving the speech to me is an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money wisely on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less.

But I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagements, which will be me sharing thoughts about the current political world along with some q&a,

–Jake

[jaketapper]

Disclosing a speaking event

I rarely do private speaking events, but when I do I disclose them to the public. On Friday I will be speaking at an event hosted by the Sayfie Review in Florida. The Sayfie Review for years has been a site where political junkies across the Sunshine State and beyond can go for the latest political news, aggregated from the great news outlets in the state.

I will be donating the entirety of the stipend being given to me to two charities:

1) Horton’s Kids is a community-based organization that serves 500 children, grades K through 12, living in an isolated neighborhood called Wellington Park in Washington, DC’s Ward 8.

I used to volunteer with Horton’s Kids, and I know first hand that it’s a great group. Its mission is to empower at-risk children and prepare them for successful and healthy lives through educational opportunities and comprehensive programs tailored to their needs. They provide a holistic, research-based continuum of academic, enrichment, and basic needs supports designed to empower children to succeed.

2) Homes For Our Troops is a privately funded nonprofit organization that builds mortgage-free, specially adapted homes nationwide for severely injured Veterans Post – 9/11, to enable them to rebuild their lives. 

I’m an “ambassador” for the group, having been impressed with their mission and purpose after learning more about them. I cannot imagine a circumstance in which giving these remarks would influence my coverage of anything. Giving the speech to me is an opportunity to earn some cash to give directly to charities that I know spend the money on inner-city children in need and homes for wounded veterans and their families. No more, no less. It will not influence my ability to cover any issue fairly or impartially. But I believe you have a right to know about the speaking engagement. 

After the speaking engagement, which will be me sharing thoughts about the election along with some q&a, I will tell you more about the event.

--Jake

[jaketapper]

Hey Jake, good luck at the military and Veterans forum tn, and thanks for bringing more attention to these issues. Will you be asking any questions about director Comey's predictions of a dangerous diaspora in the future? I think this is a serious subject that needs much more journalistic attention.

agree...i didn't ask but it should get more attention

[jaketapper]

I start college in less than a month and I'm going for journalism- any advice? (you're my fave tbh)

write write write read read read read. good luck!!!

[jaketapper]

What & who ignited your drive to become a reporter & an accurate & balanced reporter on TV? I know Jennings & Carr. Was your stint at the WH Press briefing key or a result? Has your education helped you vs JSchool?

jennings and carr...also gibson and koppel....and i had a great editor at salon named kerry lauerman. a good editor is important...