Author Q&A

Q&A with Longtime Washington Columnist Mike Causey, Author of Mike Causey Unleashed

By Phil Piemonte, WIW Member

Mike Causey’s name is synonymous with news coverage of the federal workplace. One of the most recognized journalists in the Washington area, Mike spent 30 years as the federal columnist for The Washington Post.

Today, Mike has branched out in print as a regular contributor to The Washington Times and Federal Employees News Digest, on the air on WTOP and WFED, and online at federalnewsradio.com. Now Mike is on the bookshelf as well, with a compendium of some of his best recent columns collected in the just-released Mike Causey Unleashed.

Mike first arrived in Washington during World War II with his mother, one of many young women who had come to the area to work at the War Department. Later, after a stint in the Army and a bit of roaming around, Mike put down roots in the area for good, and began his three-decade association with the Post.

(And yes, he is the father of WIW President Michael Causey.)

You were known for years at The Washington Post as THE guy covering federal workers. How did you end up with that beat?

Total chance. I was a copyboy at the Post with horrible—6 p.m. to 3 a.m.—hours. My girlfriend said to get another job or get another girlfriend. Both were tough in the late 50s. So I applied for the job as secretary to the guy who did the federal column. His departing secretary was stunningly beautiful. I think his wife directed him to hire a young male replacement. So, I got my job through sex. Sort of. After a while with him, the Post hired me as a reporter. I did fill-ins on the column when he went away. Sort of grew into the job.

Throughout a lot of your career, you wrote straight news. Now, among other things, you write a column that gives you free reign to act as commentator rather than straight newsman. Do you find that sort of writing easier or more difficult?

Being a commentator is more fun as you get older. So, I guess that makes it easier, too. You have a lot of experience to draw on and it’s a heck of a lot easier than tramping around—or now I guess surfing the Internet—for information.

Over the years, a lot of top columnists have used humor to make a serious point. Are there any writers you particularly admire for their use of humor?

George Will—then more than now—had a great, dry sense of humor and sense of the ironic. Mark Shields can also be funny, although both seem to have grown more serious. There are many Internet and blog columnists—probably most—I haven't read. Some of them are bound to be funny.

Many of your core readers—federal employees—get a tough rap. How much of that is just Joe Sixpack looking for a scapegoat?

Feds are pretty much like other people, only smarter, better educated, better trained with the ability to pass a security clearance. Some of the jobs and responsibilities they have are mind-boggling. But for the most part, they blend in pretty well with their communities, exceptions being places like Oak Ridge and Alamogordo, where they bring the level of the community up.

For a member of the media, you often are quite critical of the press in your columns. Have you seen a great change in the media during your career? In the Washington press corps?

Yes. I think the movie—not the book—“All The President's Men” did for journalism what “LA Law” did for the law and what the CSI shows have done for police work. The editors I started with were nearly all World War II guys who had been-there-done-that, and seen some pretty amazing and terrible stuff. But for the GI bill, they would have never gone to college. They were part of the Greatest Generation, and were great mentors to the young reporters like me, who were mostly urban, ethnic street kids. Now the editors are often younger than the reporters, and—while not as tough as the crew in the old days—many manage to be politically correct, yet not very compassionate, at the same time.

Today, you work in a broad range of media. Is there one medium you like the most?

I guess writing, either news or pontificating in a column.

Is there any kind of writing you haven’t done that you would like to do?

I want to do two spy books and two children's books.

What advice would you have for a would-be columnist?

Keep your eyes and ears open and, when possible, your mouth shut. One of the least effective ways to get straight answers is to ask questions.

Mike Causey's books are listed on Amazon.com. Read Mike's column at www.federalnewsradio.com.