In Photos: Washington D.C. during the government shutdown

From Oct. 15-18, our editors attended Mediafest25 in Washington D.C., where they attended workshops and award ceremonies. On Oct. 1, just two weeks before the conference, Congress failed to pass funding legislation for 2026. Because the legislation was not passed, the government shut down.

When our editors were between workshops and sessions, they walked around the city, and those who had been there in previous years compared what they had seen before to what the city was like now. 

Throughout the city, some federal buildings were barricaded, the Secret Service was around the White House, and the National Guard was posted on the streets, greeting people passing by and picking up trash. There was graffiti throughout the city condemning the current administration. 

Visiting Washington, D.C., put us in the center of the nation’s political tension, and people were expressing their opinions on almost every street corner.  

In front of the White House, there were Make America Great Again hats for sale; on the other side, just a few blocks away, a person was giving out “free tote bags for free speech.” 

The kick-off rally for the No Kings protest on Oct. 18 took place at the National Mall in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Our editors were unable to document the protest due to scheduling conflicts with transportation.