Behind the White House Curtain

Going behind the scenes with a veteran member of the White House press corps

Now in paper and with new material, Steven L Herman weaves together memoir and history to pull back the curtain on the inner workings of the White House press corps, giving readers a rare glimpse into the historic and current relationship between the president and the press.

Herman traces the trajectory of his career as a journalist—from learning to be skeptical of government officials’ statements when he worked as a novice reporter covering nuclear testing in Nevada in the 1970s to understanding the power of on-the-ground social media coverage after the Fukushima disaster in 2011 and facing the challenges of covering the Trump administration for the nonpartisan, government-funded Voice of America (VOA).

Throughout Behind the White House Curtain, Herman convincingly argues that public access to accurate, unbiased information is essential to a healthy and peaceful democracy, and that journalists can and should play a key role in pressing government officials to be truthful and transparent. At a time when misinformation is rampant and the need for unbiased coverage of current events is more urgent than ever, Herman reminds readers that freedom of the press is a foundational American right.

Steven L Herman is the chief national correspondent of the Voice of America (VOA) and an adjunct lecturer in the journalism department of the University of Richmond. He covered the White House for VOA during the Trump administration and the first eight months of the Biden administration. He has traveled to more than 75 countries and territories, including reporting assignments in Afghanistan, Argentina, Bhutan, Burma, China, the Gaza Strip, North Korea, Peru, and Vietnam.