NPR National Political Correspondent Don Gonyea became a well-known figure at the White House after extensively covering President Barack Obama’s path from the Senate to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Gonyea served as the chief reporter for NPR on the 2008 Obama presidential race. He covered the campaign all the way from the Iowa caucuses in January to the night of the general election in November.
“Because I covered the Obama campaign, on day one of the White House everyone in the administration knew me,” he said.
Gonyea spoke to Adjunct Professor Richard Benedetto’s School of Communication class, “Preparing for the Primaries,” Oct. 6 to share his experiences reporting on presidential elections and his thoughts about prominent political figures.
Gonyea has covered a wide range of stories around the world and in the United States, including the 2000 presidential battle between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
During the class, Gonyea spoke in great depth about the 2012 race for the Republican nomination for president.
Speaking on the morning after Sarah Palin’s announcement that she would not be running for president, Gonyea said he wasn’t taken aback by Palin’s announcement.
“It was not a surprise,” he said.
He said he believes the recent polling success of candidate Herman Cain may be a similar surge to what Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry experienced earlier in the campaign season.
Students in Benedetto’s class came prepared with questions for Gonyea about the current political climate.
“These classes always seem really prime and well prepared for a discussion that goes beyond the superficial,” Gonyea said.
He spoke for the better part of an hour, pausing only to watch President Obama’s live press conference on jobs and the economy.
Gonyea commented throughout the press conference, drawing on his experience as a White House reporter.
“[The press room] is like coach seating, only worse,” he told the class. “And as soon as it’s done you have to go on air and talk about it and make sense of it.”
Leah Menzer, a senior in the School of Public Affairs, enjoyed Gonyea’s contributions in class.
“It was a very inspiring talk,” she said. “It reinvigorated my desire to work in radio.”
Gonyea left the White House two years ago to cover national politics. He now travels all over the country to put together stories for NPR.
Gonyea also played an audio story for the class that he put together this summer about the Iowa Straw Poll.
“I just try to be myself,” he said. “I try to make them feel like they’re talking to me and not on the radio.”
Benedetto, a professor in SOC and SPA, is an old friend of Gonyea.
The two reported from the White House together throughout the Bush administration — Gonyea for NPR and Benedetto for USA Today — during which they bonded over baseball.
“He’s a solid political reporter and a good friend,” Benedetto said.
Above all else, Gonyea tried to convey his love for his job while speaking to students.
“If you really like it and you really want to do it you just won’t quit,” he said. “I hope my love for my job is infectious.”
