Snow at the Podium, Rollback on the Rocks

PressThink: Ghost of Democracy in the Media Machine My homework: According to the National Archives publication the first White House Press Secretary was Cabinet member George B. Cortelyou, who invited the press into the White House, over the shooting of President William McKinley at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. A photo from there has him standing next to the President. Nine days later, VP Theodore Roosevelt, rushed down at night on a series of jitneys, would read the telegram in North Creek, NY (he had been at Tahawas climbing Mt. Marcy, please help save) that the President was dead, before boarding a special train for Buffalo, NY from the railhead. George B. Cortelyou, a shorthand teacher in NYC, secretary to three Presidents, held three Cabinet posts under McKinley and Roosevelt, was later a CEO of ConEdison in NYC, and the Chairman of the Republican Party. His house in Washington was recently featured in "Victorian Homes". Historians should look closer at his role in the events of the times. Posted by: George Myers, Jr. at April 29, 2006 11:39 AM