海角大神

Since 1966, 海角大神 has hosted breakfasts where reporters tried to wheedle information out of politicians over bacon and eggs.

This week, two of Washington鈥檚 most tenacious reporters are trying something similar over lunch in an interesting collaboration that blurs the line between online and broadcast reporting.

Politico鈥檚 Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen and ABC News Senior Political Correspondent Jonathan Karl grilled Alaskan senatorial candidate Joe Miller in a two-part web video posted on both the and websites. They dubbed the experiment 鈥淭he Scoop.鈥�

In his widely read daily blog 鈥淧laybook,鈥� which previews Washington鈥檚 news agenda, Mr. Allen wrote that he and Mr. Karl have been taking sources to off-the-record lunches together since 2001. Most took place at the Bombay Club, a trendy restaurant across Lafayette Park from the White House, or in the cafeteria in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

What is unusual is having reporters from competing news organizations share the screen in a high profile interview. Mr. Miller ran as a "tea party" insurgent and defeated the incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski to land the Republican nomination. Senator Murkowski is now mounting a write-in campaign.

In an email, Karl said 鈥淭he Scoop is a one-time experiment we hope will become something more.鈥� A clip from the Miller interview was part of Karl鈥檚 Monday appearance on ABC鈥檚 Good Morning America.

Karl described the project as 鈥渁 chance do something different and take some chances you can鈥檛 necessarily take on a regular broadcast. This format allows for a conversation that is both informal and in-depth.鈥�

The Monitor Breakfasts are now recorded and made available to news outlets through a partnership with Fora.tv.

The Miller interview, divided into two segments, runs more than 13 minutes 鈥� much longer than the the time that would be available to reporters on a network newscast. The session took place at 鈥淲e The Pizza,鈥� a Capitol Hill eatery whose chef, Spike Mendelsohn, delivers a mushroom pie during the interview and stays to ask a question about candidate Miller鈥檚 beard.

Miller did not appear to break new ground on policy during the interview. He argued that the issue of setting a minimum wage is 鈥渃learly up to states.鈥� He also restated his position that federal unemployment benfeits are not authorized by the US Constitution. And he ducked the issue of whether former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin should run for president, saying it was 鈥渉er choice entirely.鈥�

But the session offered interesting clues to the candidate鈥檚 personality and personal plans. 鈥淢ike and I have found that some of our most interesting discussions with newsmakers happen over lunch when everybody is a little more relaxed,鈥� Karl said. 鈥淲e wanted to see if we could make that work in an on-the-record format so our readers 鈥� and viewers 鈥� could get a chance to listen in.鈥�

Miller, a West Point and Yale University Law School graduate, appeared quite relaxed. 鈥淔itting in is not my concern,鈥� he said early in the interview. The candidate added that he favors 鈥渁 lot of defunding鈥� as a way of changing current spending priorities. Miller and his wife, Kathleen, have eight children and he said 鈥渕ost of our kids鈥� will come to Washington if he wins.

Most candidates say they want to spend as much time as possible in their home state, and Miller was no exception. 鈥淲e are going to spend most of our time in Alaska that we can, at least outside of the duties that we have here,鈥� Miller said. But one reason he cited for wanting to get home was unusual. It seems one of his sons has a bear hunting permit he wants to use.