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Ross Gianfortune

Senior Web Producer Prior to joining Government Executive’s online production staff, Ross Gianfortune worked at The Washington Post, The Gazette Newspapers, WXRT Radio and The Columbia Missourian. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from University of Missouri and a master's in communications from American University.
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Play of the Day: A Bad Week for the White House

May 15, 2013 With scandals bubbling up all around Barack Obama’s White House, late-night comedy is taking note. The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno enumerated the scandals, even calling the IRS audit the White House’s “high-tech weapon” in a joke. He also tried to imagine using the same excuses that acting IRS head Steve ...

Play of the Day: The Tea Party's Taxes

May 14, 2013 The revelation that the Internal Revenue Service targeted right-wing groups was the main topic on late-night television. At the start of his monologue Monday, The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno said he was hesitant to mock the president, for fear of getting audited. The Daily Show devoted its entire first segment ...

Play of the Day: The Purpose of the Benghazi Hearings

May 13, 2013 Congress’ most recent investigations into the response to the the September attacks on the United States Consulate in Benghazi were in the news this week and Saturday Night Live was on it. The political cold open featured Bill Hader and Kenan Thompson as the heads of the Committee on Oversight ...

Play of the Day: Air Hockey Diplomacy

May 10, 2013 The 17-year Brood II cicadas are set to swarm the east coast this year and David Letterman has some news for them. The cicadas will be interested in smartphones and certainly wonder how the Al Gore presidency turned out. Also on The Late Show last night, Letterman noted NASA’s plan ...

Play of the Day: Notable Political Weight Loss

May 9, 2013 Alaska’s Cleveland Volcano erupted this week, spewing ash near the Aleutian Islands and generally causing havoc for air traffic controllers. Craig Ferguson found the presidential humor in the eruption, making fun of Grover Cleveland's name and invoking Bill Clinton. He also hinted at future war on the United States’ friendly ...

Play of the Day: Golfing with Obama

May 8, 2013 President Barack Obama played golf in a foursome with two senators over the weekend and whenever Obama plays a high-profile round, it’s fodder for late-night humor. The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno used some video manipulation to highlight the animosity between Obama and his playing partners, while Late Night’s Jimmy Fallon ...

Play of the Day: A Look at the 2016 Democratic Primary

May 7, 2013 Stephen Colbert got ahold of a story about the Homeland Security Department buying more bullets than every before and jumped on the bandwagon of those assuming a conspiracy. Monday night, Colbert asked why DHS would be doing such a thing, wondering if the department was “shooting a Tarantino movie?” On ...

Play of the Day: Cinco de Mayo and Gun Control

May 6, 2013 With Cinco de Mayo over the weekend, Friday's late-night shows noted the holiday's occurrence. Joe Biden's Friday celebration was considered an opportunity to make fun of the vice president by Late Night's Jimmy Fallon, while Jay Leno marked the holiday by talking about immigration again. Saturday Night Live returned to ...

Play of the Day: Obama Travels to Mexico

May 3, 2013 President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico this week had Jay Leno ruminating on two of his favorite political topics: Obama’s lack of skill in economics and the immigration issue. The president is traveling to Mexico to talk about the North American economy and immigration with Mexican leadership, which promoted the ...

Video: Jon Stewart's 'Progress Report' on VA Claims Backlog

May 3, 2013 FROM NEXTGOV arrow For the VA executives who won't be receiving bonuses this year, comedian Jon Stewart had this to say: "To have the government promise you a benefit and then not deliver it, I can't imagine." But maybe the nearly 900,000 veterans waiting for Veterans Affairs Department officials to adjudicate their claims ...