UPCOMING SOCIETY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

MIKE DeBONIS TALKS ABOUT LIFE AS A NEWS REPORTER IN WASHINGTON

By Nancy DeSanti, 1st Vice President - Programs

We are happy to have AMHS member Mike DeBonis, a reporter who covers congressional and national politics for the Washington Post, as our speaker for the July 22 program. Mike has had a number of front-page stories in the Washington Post and has appeared on several television news programs. Mike is well-known to many AMHS members 2 through his family ties to our former President Omero Sabatini, and so Mike also traces his roots to the town of Secinaro in the province of L’Aquila in Abruzzo.

At our meeting at Casa Italiana, Mike will speak to us about how journalists do their jobs and how journalism is “not fake news.” He will give us an overview of the midterm elections and explain what he has been covering and what is expected later this year. Mike will discuss how decisions are made on what stories to cover, how he develops sources and how the fact-checking is done. He will also tell us about his wonderful trip to Abruzzo with Omero.

For 8 years, Mike covered D.C. politics and government—first for Washington City Paper, where he wrote the “Loose Lips” column from 2007 to 2010, and then for The Washington Post, where he started the blog known as District of DeBonis.

While covering the D.C. government, Mike reported on the resignations of three D.C. Council members, the federal investigation into former Mayor Vincent Gray, a past council chairman’s penchant for luxury transportation, and how a little-known businessman, Jeffrey Thompson, placed himself at the intersection of business and D.C. politics,

Mike also found time for articles, tweets, blog posts, columns and morning roundups, chronicling the clashes of policy and personality—standoffs with Congress, battles over Wal-Mart and a soccer stadium, the fall of Adrian Fenty, the rise of Muriel Bowser, and the passing of Marion Barry.

When he began covering Congress, and especially the House of Representatives, for the Washington Post in 2015, his editors had this to say about Mike: “Since arriving at The Post five years ago, Mike has dominated coverage of City Hall and he will bring the same energy, love of politics and knack for breaking news to the halls of Congress.”

Mike lives in the District with his wife Dena and their year-old daughter Rosie, who has already come to some of our meetings. Mike was born and raised in northwest Indiana and holds both a bachelor’s degree from and, we’re told, men’s basketball season tickets to Georgetown University.

Before Mike’s talk, we will enjoy a delicious lunch catered by Fontina Grille. The menu will include a house salad, pasta primavera with white sauce, Chicken Marsala with mushrooms, and saffron rice.

Please make your reservations early and invite your family members and friends to what is sure to be an interesting and informative event. The deadline for paid reservations is July 19. SAVE THE DATES: 2018 CALENDAR OF AMHS MEETINGS & EVENTS

•Sunday, July 22, 1:00 p.m., Casa Italiana

•Sunday, August 12, 3:00 p.m., Ferragosto Picnic

•Sunday, September 23, 1:00 p.m., Restaurant TBD

•Sunday, November 11, 1:00 p.m., Casa Italiana

•Saturday-Sunday, December 1-2, Bella Italia Market at Casa Italiana