How an editor found a home at Roll Call in unconventional ways

Roll Call’s 70th Anniversary

Recently, I visited the Capitol to produce footage for a documentary by the Japanese network NHK about PolitiFact, where I work as chief correspondent. The film crew had asked if they could capture video of me attending a press conference or interviewing a source in person, but I don’t do these things often for my job; most of the claims we gather for our fact checks can be found either online or on social media. So I suggested that we go to the Capitol instead.

For me, the return visit to the Capitol conjured up memories of my five-year tenure at Roll Call — as deputy editor from 2004 to 2006, and as founding editor of its digital-native wire service, CongressNow, from 2007 to 2009.

Most of my memories of Roll Call and CongressNow are fond. But being back o