It's true. There are too many blogs. But the White House, no matter how long a president has to serve, is still one of the most important journalistic beats around, and we felt that The Times needed to have a focused, White House-specific outlet to move our coverage forward.
This blog will focus on reporting. The style here is more casual than actual newspaper writing and allows for a more intimate, behind-the-scenes or off-the-beaten-path look at the president's trips and events (where I believe a blog can provide the most value). And there may be times where the blog serves as a space for analysis that doesn't get into the paper. But I have no intention of making this blog my personal Web page or injecting myself into the story more than is necessary. There is plenty of opinion out there, but what is really valuable are facts and a feel for what the world of the U.S. president looks and feels like (which is where pictures and video come in).
Since my blogging from the Middle East in January and Africa in February was done for our main news blog, Fishwrap, I've gone back and grabbed the links to all those posts and placed them below, just for archival purposes.
I hope POTUS Notes becomes a regular read for you and adds to your understanding of what's going on.
Middle East Trip
Jerusalem: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7
Ramallah and Bethlehem: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3
Bahrain: Post 1
Riyadh: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4,
Sharm el Sheikh: Post 1
Wrapup: Post 1
Africa Trip
Tanzania: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, Post 6, Post 7, Post 8, Post 9, Post 10, Post 11
Rwanda: Post 1, Post 2, Post 3, Post 4
Liberia: Post 1
— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times
