About The Monitor Breakfast

Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor/File

Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff (left) listens to a reporter’s question next to Washington Bureau Chief of The Christian Science Monitor Linda Feldmann (right) at The Monitor Breakfast held at the St. Regis Hotel on September 23, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor

Kellyanne Conway (third from left), counselor to the 45th president, speaks at the St. Regis Hotel, on June 6, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

On February 8, 1966, Monitor correspondent Godfrey Sperling Jr. hosted the first "Monitor Breakfast." The idea was for Washington reporters to gather for a meal and interview a major public figure in a civilized way.

Now, more than 55 years later, The Christian Science Monitor has held more than 3,900 newsmaker breakfasts. Guests have included four U.S. presidents, five vice presidents, and countless cabinet officers and congressional leaders. (See past guests and feature videos below)

The Washington Post called the breakfasts “one of Washington’s premier journalistic forums.”

Actually, The Monitor Breakfast story begins with a lunch. Mr. Sperling invited Monitor colleague Dick Strout and nine other reporters from other major papers to have lunch with Charles Percy. A former Bell & Howell executive, Mr. Percy was a friend of Mr. Sperling’s and was running for the U.S. Senate from Illinois. During the gathering at the National Press Club, candidate Percy discussed his presidential ambitions. The session “made a lot of ripples so I had another,” Sperling explained to author Nora Ephron.

The breakfasts are closely tied to the goal of unselfish service through journalism that the Monitor’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy, set for the paper.

In a world of attack-dog, sound-bite journalism, The Monitor Breakfast encourages in-depth conversation among reporters and newsmakers. The goal is light – not heat. Guest speakers and their staff often report that the atmosphere at Monitor Breakfasts is different from what they experience elsewhere in Washington.

Linda Feldmann, Monitor Breakfast host and Washington Bureau Chief

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Notable Guests over the years

R. Norman Matheny/The Christian Science Monitor/File Ronald Reagan 40th President of the United States	R. Norman Matheny/ The Christian Science Monitor/File Jimmy Carter 39th President of the United States	R. Norman Matheny/The Christian Science Monitor/File Gerald Ford 38th President of the United States
Michael Bonfigli /The Christian Science Monitor/File Charles Schumer & John McCain Senators	Michael Bonfigli /The Christian Science Monitor/File Nancy Pelosi 52nd Speaker of the House	Michael Bonfigli /The Christian Science Monitor/File Eric Holder Former U.S. Attorney General
Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor/File Liz Shuler President, AFL-CIO	Michael Bonfigli /The Christian Science Monitor Ted Cruz Senator	Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor/File Ronna McDaniel Chair, Republican National Committee
Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor/File Kellyanne Conway Counselor to the 45th President	Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff/File Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States	Michael Bonfigli/The Christian Science Monitor/File Newt Gingrich 50th Speaker of the House