Profile of Speech Writer John Favreau
John Favreau's career started as a speech writer for the Kerry campaign in 2004. During that campaign Favreau met Senator Obama and was hired as his speech writer. In 2008 Favreau would go on to work for Obama's campaign and following their electoral victory he was named the White House's Director of Speech Writing.
Boundaries
Explicit: As a professional Favreau was responsible for the writing of the words the President was going to speak. If President Obama was giving any sort of address the responsibility to craft those words fell to Favreau. This did not extend to other communication based texts such as written letters and other press based activities. Additionally, he is constrained by the political moment and policies goals of the administration.
Implicit: This job requires the writer to develop a close personal relationship for the person they are choosing to speak for. Obama refered to Favreau as his "mind reader" because he could put to words the thoughts and motivations of the President. A speech writer isn't writing their own ideas so this job includes building relationships with the speaker to tailor your writing to their needs and styles.
Artifacts: Any speech that President Obama gave is an artifact of Favreau's professional identity. The artifacts that he called upon when writing are incredibly vast and and varied. President's reference past Presidents, historical events, personal anecdotes, policy proposals, economic statistics, and much more.
Identities: This type of professional Favreau included assume an identity that is linked with the figure they write for. Their identity reflects the positions of their subject. Favreau became a public figure and part of the administration and needed to reflect those values and expectations.