Robin Siteneski
I haven’t always wanted to be a journalist. I never saw myself as a soccer player as most kids from Brazil, my home country, do. The first thing I remember wanting to do when I grew up was to be a video store owner. I guess the idea of being able to watch movies for free all day long seemed like a pretty good plan. As soon as I got to college, though, I was hooked on journalism.
There’s something about being able to tell people’s stories and write about topics that affect everyone’s day-to-day life. And the place to do that is journalism. I am a senior social communications student studying for a bachelor in journalism degree at Universidade de Caxias do Sul. Before getting this internship, I worked at my school’s communications agency and at O Caxiense, a weekly newspaper recently turned into a magazine.
Ever since the very beginning of my work as a reporter, I’ve been drawn to political reporting. Although most of the criticism politics gets is probably accurate, I think it’s one of the best ways to change things, hopefully for the best. That made me even more excited when I found out that the International Center for Journalists selected two students per year to be a part of the Scripps Howard Foundation Semester in Washington Program.
I’m writing this on the first day in the newsroom, and I couldn’t be more enthusiastic about what is to come in the internship. As I get closer to graduating and have this opportunity to report in D.C., there’s little doubt I want to be a journalist. I won’t sit around watching movies most of my days, but I’m sure I’ll be able to get to know some pretty amazing stories and people as well. I also won’t just watch events unfold, but will be able to tell stories which, hopefully, have some impact on people’s lives. And, the best part of it, they’re all real.
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Indian tribes want to regulate their oil exploration
February 16, 2012 5:17 pm 
Click on photo to enlarge or download: Tribal representatives ask for less federal involvement in oil and gas leases on their land. From left, Irene Cuch, Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council; Fred Fox, MHA Nation; Tara Sweeney, Indian-owned Arctic Slope Regional Corp., and Randall King, Shinnecock Nation Board of Trustees. SHFWire photo by Robin SiteneskiWASHINGTON – Indian tribes want to take over regulation of oil and gas exploration on their land from the federal government, tribal representatives told a House committee Wednesday.
GOP presidential candidates seek support from conservatives at CPAC
February 10, 2012 8:15 pm
Click on photo to enlarge or download: Newt Gingrich was the last speaker of the day. He praised conservative policies to hundreds of people in the audience and said he will start getting rid of Obama’s policies as soon as he takes office. SHFWire photo by Robin SiteneskiWASHINGTON: The Marriott Wardman Park Hotel was turned into conservative nirvana Friday during the Conservative Political Action Conference. Three of the Republican presidential candidates spoke to the crowd, all but Ron Paul.
Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff defends term limits, lobbying reform
February 9, 2012 11:26 am
Click on photo to enlarge or download: Jack Abramoff says that with the exception of “very few incredible saints,” most members of Congress fall into the “miasma” of corruption over time. The former lobbyist now defends term limits. SHFWire photo by Robin SiteneskiWASHINGTON – Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist convicted for corrupting public officials, tax evasion and fraud, said he supports term limits for members of Congress and their staffs.
Obama’s fun day hosting the White House Science Fair
February 7, 2012 5:57 pm 
Click on photo to enlarge or download: President Barack Obama used Joey Hudy’s Extreme Marshmallow Cannon during the White House Science Fair on Tuesday. The 14-year-old boy said he likes to build things but had never built anything “this serious.” SHFWire photos by Robin SiteneskiWASHINGTON – In an unusual day at the office for a president, Barack Obama played with robots and talked to children instead of Cabinet secretaries or foreign ministers.
Clint Eastwood receives Smithsonian medal, opens museum theater
February 3, 2012 2:40 pm 
Click on photo to enlarge or download: Clint Eastwood is the 69th recipient of the Smithsonian Bicentennial Medal. He was honored at the American History Museum Wednesday. SHFWire Photo by Robin SiteneskiWASHINGTON – Forever Dirty Harry, Clint Eastwood received with good humor the Smithsonian Bicentennial Medal Wednesday. The ceremony also marked the opening of the Warner Bros. Theater at the National Museum of American History.
Campaign seeks to double number of women in elective office by 2022
January 23, 2012 4:01 pm 
Click on photo to enlarge or download: Deborah Walsh, of the Center for American Women and Politics, says that, although women win at the same rate as men in comparable races, the number of women in Congress rose from 6 to 16.8 percent in the last 20 years. SHFWire photo by Robin SiteneskiEditor’s note: This is the first of several SHFWire stories that will focus on the 2012 elections in Pennsylvania and Virginia, both battleground states.
WASHINGTON - The number of women in Congress rose 3.2 percent over the last 10 years, a rate so slow that Political Partity is starting a campaign to double the number in the next 10 years.
For U.N. representative, copyright regulation proposals are ‘step back’
January 18, 2012 6:30 pmWASHINGTON – Wikipedia shut its English-language website Wednesday to protest two proposals in Congress, proposals a U.N. representative said would be “a step back.”
Half of voters say presidential candidates need to talk about reducing poverty
January 17, 2012 7:05 pmWASHINGTON – Half of likely voters say they have not heard enough from presidential candidates about reducing poverty, according to a poll released Tuesday.
Hundreds protest at Gitmo’s 10th anniversary
January 11, 2012 7:45 pm 
Click on photo to enlarge or download: Protesters wearing clothes similar to those of Guantánamo prisoners demonstrate in front of the White House Wednesday to ask President Barack Obama to make good on a campaign promise and close the prison. SHFWire photo by Robin SiteneskiWASHINGTON – Several hundred people urged the closing of Guantánamo Bay detention camp Wednesday on the 10th anniversary of the first prisoner sent to the island prison.
