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In a decade of covering the White House, "Evening News" producer Max McClellan has covered two presidents, visited six continents and even fit in a game or two of elephant polo in India while he was at it. He started at CBS News as an intern in London and started covering the White House in 1996 for the morning news. In 1999, he began covering the White House for the "Evening News," where he's been ever since. Want to know more about that elephant polo match? Read on.


So, what do you do for a living?

I'm the White House producer for the CBS "Evening News." I work along with our White House correspondents to cover the activities of the president on a daily basis. It's a job that has taken me all over the world, to six continents, and to all 50 states. It's fascinating and never quite the same from day to day. That's the nature of the news business, of course, but it also really defines the White House beat. One day we'll be doing a piece about the Iranian nuclear crisis, the next it might be a story on the president's prescription drug plan, and then something happens in Israel and all of a sudden our focus gets shifted to the Middle East peace process. In fact, much of what happens in the world today intersects with the president and his policies in some meaningful - and newsworthy - way. I learned quickly that proximity is no barometer of White House news; a story can break anywhere and within minutes it can take center stage at the White House and demand our attention. In each case, however, my job is essentially the same: to put stories on the air that are clear, comprehensive and balanced - and presented in a way that best connects with our audience. It's a lot of fun and always interesting.

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Unlike some McClellans associated with the White House, this one is more than happy to answer questions. And luckily for you, there's still time to e-mail us your questions for White House producer Max McClellan. With a decade on the White House beat, he'll likely have an answer to anything you'd like to know about covering the president.

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"Evening News" producer Max McClellan has spent about 10 years covering the White House - he began mid-way through President Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996, covering the administration for the morning news and doing the same since 1999 for the "Evening News." We spent a day
tagging along while he produced a story on one of President Bush's recent Iraq speeches. But McClellan has also had a chance to work outside the White House beat -- you might recall that he spoke to us a few months ago about his experiences covering Hurricane Katrina. He also spent 10 months in Los Angeles covering the O.J. Simpson trial and covered Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba in 1998 as well as his funeral and the conclave last year. He's covered a lot of ground, so here's your chance to ask him anything. E-mail us your questions or post them in comments and he'll answer one on Thursday, along with 10 of our standard questions.

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