A Few Words About Steve Holland

By: Matthew Felling
Topics: Media Issues

(CBS)

CBS White House Correspondent Mark Knoller informed Public Eye that this is the last week at the White House for Reuters' Steve Holland. In the spirit of appreciation, he wanted to share his thoughts about Holland. Hear that? That's the sound of champagne flutes being tapped. Here's his toast:

The White House Press Corps is losing one of its best.

After 16 years covering U.S. presidents, Steve Holland of Reuters is leaving the beat.

Now, you may not recognize his name. He's not as well known as some of the TV hotshots who cover the President. And major newspapers have their own reporters covering the White House.

But as the chief White House reporter for one of the two major wire services, Holland very much set the news agenda for the rest of us.

Along with Terry Hunt of AP, Holland is one of the two White House correspondents the President almost always calls on first.

In fact, at many photo ops and press availabilities, they are the only American reporters to question Mr. Bush.

And though Holland didn't always ask what I would have, his questions were always on the level and on target.

In thinking about Steve Holland, no two words come to mind more readily than "consummate professional."

He's a mild-mannered straight shooter. I've never heard him curse. I've spent many years covering the President with him, and I can't tell you what his political views are. He keeps them to himself and never lets his views color his questions or his reporting.

It's the way all of us should be.

He has made us proud to be a member of the same press corps.

None of us is indispensable, but Holland will be sorely missed. The nation has been well-served by his reporting from the White House – and will continue to be well-served as he moves to his new beat: the presidential campaign.

As the reporter who almost always asks the first or second question of the President, Holland has taken his share of ribbing from Mr. Bush.

Last year, the President got Holland and the AP's Terry Hunt mixed up.

"Terry," said Mr. Bush, when he meant to call on Holland.

"You're not Terry, you're Steve. It's a huge insult, I know."

Another time, at a news conference in May 2002 with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Mr Bush called on Holland.

"A fine man, fine man," the President told the Chancellor.

Schroeder wasn't ready to concede the point.

"We'll see that once he's put his question," said Schroeder.

I used to kid Holland about always getting the first or second questions at presidential availabilities.

With tongue-in-cheek, I would send him notes beggin him to tell the President when called on: "Mr. President, you always call on me. I'd like to yield my question to Mark Knoller."

He never did. And I can't blame him.

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by oldtowner1 June 1, 2007 5:28 PM EDT: Those are kind remarks from Mr. Knoller.
The thing to keep in mind about Mark Knoller is he is literally the heart and soul of the White House press corps, as well as the ad hoc statistician. When we're away on a trip and all the press corps is in the same room, which we call a filing center, we often hear Mark's radio voice booming out the news. And he's so good at defining just what the news is from a speech or news conference that more than a few times I would come up to him and say, "Do you mind if I borrow that phrase for my story?" and he's never said no. And whenever you need to know how many times the president has been to Crawford, Texas, Mark knows the answer. In fact he's so meticulous about it that the president himself has quibbled with some of Mark's record-keeping. Hey, but we stick with Knoller's version.

Steve Holland; Reply to this comment