Lindsay France/University Photography

Political reporter Robert Costa speaks in Rockefeller Hall Nov. 4.

Committing himself to John Boehner’s breakfast routine at Pete’s Diner in Washington, D.C., is just one of the many unconventional reporting tactics used by Robert Costa, the National Review’s Washington editor and a CNBC political analyst.

He presented “Tweeting from the Cloakroom: Covering Politics for a New Generation” Nov. 4. in Rockefeller Hall.

Costa, who manages the National Review’s Capitol Hill bureau and covers the White House, Congress and national campaigns and was called the “golden boy of the government shutdown” last month in New York Magazine, said that he thought that his unique journalism methods were responsible for his 54,000 Twitter followers. When covering conservative politics, he said, he challenges himself to leave his own opinion at the door.

“No one was really able to update all the time from the Republican cloakroom, and we were able to do it,” he said. “This is the new model in the sense that you can deeply cover a source even if you’re not at the Washington Post or New York Times. You can get deep into a source and deep into a subject matter.”

His other new methods of journalism, he said, include asking senators to directly text him while in session about what’s happening inside and sharing that information immediately on Twitter. Costa admitted it’s not perfect journalism, but he tries to be as correct as possible through credible sources, and it’s worked so far.

Costa also explained other ways that he uses Twitter. “Instead of seeing Twitter as something that is 140 characters long, I see it as my notebook,” he said.  “The way political journalism is moving now is that everyone used to hold things back, but Twitter is straight quotes – it is inside color. I see they are bringing Domino’s boxes to Boehner’s office at 11 o’clock at night. People love this stuff, I love this stuff.”

The 28-year-old reporter, who has been celebrated for getting numerous scoops on the GOP’s frequently changing strategies, related the benefits of a constantly updating stream of consciousness in Twitter to the rapidly changing Republican Party landscape. “The party from the perspective of a reporter in the National Review is in disarray,” said Costa.

As a way of demonstrating his commitment to monitoring such a party in disarray, Costa spoke of a meal he shared with Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J. Costa ordered eggs and grits at a diner in Washington, D.C., where Christie ordered berries. He jokingly concluded later that only a man planning to run for president of the United States would order berries for breakfast.

In light of the growing schism between Boehner and Ted Cruz, Republican senator from Texas, which Costa said contributed to the government shutdown, and a 2016 presidential election looming, there is a heightened need for ear-to-the-ground reporting, according to Costa.

“So I’ll be there at Pete’s Diner trying to get some clues, trying to tweet.  Trying to figure out what the story is that’s changing almost by the hour, and that’s because of the way power is moving in the Republican Party,” said Costa. “There’s no clear leader, it’s a battle all the time to grab that ball. Maybe Cruz will continue, but in January or February it could easily be someone else.”

Costa concluded by acknowledging that the greatest story right now is Republican politics, and if Hillary Clinton chooses to run for the presidency, it’s only going add fuel to the fire.

The Program on Freedom and Free Societies sponsored the event.

Mark Ezzo ’14 is a writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.