White House Correspondents Dinner

What If They Threw A White House Correspondents' Dinner And Nobody Came

... year's dinner coincides with the new president's contentious and often openly hostile relationship with press outlets, some of which he has deemed "fake news," "very dishonest" and "lying, bad people.". White House Correspondents' Assn. President and Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason released a statement Thursday confirming that the dinner would take place as planned. "We've received some queries about the 2017 White House Correspondents' Dinner, which will be the first since the new administration took office," Mason said. “The White House Correspondents’ Association will hold its annual dinner on April 29 at the Washington Hilton.". "This year, as we do every year, we will celebrate the First Amendment and the role an independent press plays in a healthy republic," Mason continued. "We will also reward some of the ...

What Boundaries? White House Correspondents’ Dinner Creates Unholy Cohabitation Of Press, Politicians

... others are threatening a boycott, which forced the WHCA to issue a statement that the dinner was indeed still being held on April 29 as scheduled. There have been other public calls to end the dinner entirely, including one by Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post, who called it “journalistic self-abasement,” and another by John Oliver. The ostensible reason for the hand-wringing is that the media cannot possibly cohabit with a president who has actively and continuously attacked them, challenged their credibility, told them to shut up and presented a panoply of “alternative facts” against their verifiable facts. More simply, they cannot cohabit with a president who does not believe in a free press. There is, however, another argument as to why the event should be canceled, and it may be a better one. A function in which there are gibes and laughs seems inappropriate for a time when the line between comedy and tragedy has never been thinner. The same night, Samantha Bee will be hosting a dinner of her own, the “Not the White House Correspondents Dinner,” but one can pretty much assume that the gibes there will not ...

Is The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Worth Saving

... GOP town hall meetings,” “U. S. cities opt for demolition,” “They never saw this coming” (a rerun of a pre-inaugural Sunday magazine Kellyanne Conway interview) and, then, finally, the Batman story. Low-rent use of clickbait or masterful way to get people into the tent for more serious stuff. Or a mix of both. Well, at least that embarrassingly puffy pre-inaugural piece on Conway (call it a “beat sweetener”), which ran Sunday in the print edition’s magazine, was journalistically counterbalanced by a good video elsewhere of Conway’s straining to explain ambiguous declarations and falsehoods of late. Fine arts journalism. Check out both Ben Brantley’s New York Times review of the revival of Sunset Boulevard , with Glenn Close reprising (and apparently improving upon) her Tony winning performance of 22 years ago and then David Mason’s Wall Street Journal ...

White House Correspondents' Dinner Is Still On, Whca Says

... bashing the media, even going so far as to describe it it as "the opposition party," some had doubted whether the WHCA intended to hold the dinner, and several journalists called on the association to cancel it. "Please cancel the White House Correspondents Dinner," Jacob Weisberg, the editor-in-chief of the Slate Group, recently tweeted. "Unseemly spectacle, totally at odds with the press holding administration accountable.". "I swear to God, any reporter or journalist who attends this should be boycotted," Reza Aslan, the author and television host, tweeted in response to Thursday's announcement. Samantha Bee, the comedian and late-show host, has already announced plans to counter-program the dinner with a "Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner" gala. Proceeds will benefit the Committee to Protect Journalists. In his statement, Mason stressed the WHCA's intention to use the dinner as a celebration of a free and independent press. "This year, as we do every year, we will celebrate the First Amendment and the role an independent press plays in a healthy republic," he wrote. "We ...

No 'nerd Prom' For Trump As President Says He'll Skip White House Correspondent's Dinner

... the WHCA should altogether cancel its event, widely regarded as elbow-rubbing between Hollywood, media and political elites. On Friday, the acrimonious relationship between Trump and the media reached a crescendo when the White House press office selectively chose certain outlets for an informal on-the-record briefing, yet barred others—including CNN, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. The president's decision to skip the WHCA dinner arrives at a time when even journalists have questioned whether the event has become too insular and self-congratulatory. Each year, reporters co-mingle with celebrities in a display of celebrity-soaked pageantry, featuring lots of sponsored parties and related events. However, some media critics say the dinner raises questions about whether beat reporters should rub shoulders with the politicians they cover frequently, or allow themselves to be too closely associated with Hollywood. In a statement earlier this month, the WHCA said the dinner would "celebrate the First Amendment and the role an independent press plays in a healthy republic," ...

Trump Will Be First President In 36 Years To Skip White House Correspondents Dinner

... quick, do it.". He signed off with a light ribbing of the news media. "Well, I'm looking forward to the next news conference," he said. "I have so many questions to ask you all.". The last president to outright skip the event was Richard Nixon in 1972. Nixon warned the press he'd do so and followed through. Trump called the press the "enemy of the American people," in a tweet recently. That echoes Nixon, who told the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, " The press is your enemy.". Article continues after sponsorship. Trump's announcement comes at a moment of high tension between the White House and many news organizations. Trump has made attacking mainstream news organizations a staple of his public remarks. Trump and his White House have accused the New York Times, CNN and others of being an "opposition party" with which he is at war. In response to Trump's tweet, the White House Correspondents' Association President Jeff Mason issued the following statement. "The White House Correspondents' Association looks forward to having its annual dinner on April 29. The WHCA ...

Trump Says He Won't Attend Correspondents Dinner This Spring

... Reprint of this Story. President Donald Trump, who has been criticizing the news media and is famously thin-skinned, says he won't be attending the White House Correspondents' Association dinner — sparing himself the dubious honor of being an in-the-house target of jokes. The annual fundraiser for college scholarships and venue for reporting awards mixes politicians, journalists and celebrities and is typically attended by the president and first lady. Remarks by a comedian, often roasting the president, and a humorous address by the president himself, often roasting the press and political opponents, have highlighted the event, which C-SPAN has carried live. In a tweet Saturday, Trump wrote: "I will not be attending the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!" He gave no reason for not attending. Trump has long had an adversarial relationship with news media. Since taking office, however, he has stepped up his criticism by accusing some prominent news outlets of publishing "fake news" ...

A Brief History Of The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

... for “Saturday Night Live” and today a Democratic U. S. senator for Minnesota — performed in 1994 and 1996. He is the only keynote speaker to eventually have been elected to Congress. Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Seth Meyers and Joel Mc Hale have all led the festivities. And sometimes the comedians have caused controversy. In 2006, Stephen Colbert, who was hosting the satirical “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central, offered biting criticism of President George W. Bush in his keynote speech. Colbert did his mock-conservative shtick from “The Colbert Report” and teased Bush, saying, “Guys like us, we’re not some brainiacs on the nerd patrol.” Sitting mere feet away, the president did not seem amused. Colbert also ribbed the news media: “Over the last five years, you people were so good over tax cuts, WMD intelligence, the effect of global warming. We ...

Drain The White House Correspondents Dinner

... the Iraq war). Slowly, the dinner evolved into a glitzy, star-studded evening—albeit gradually. As late as 1990, the biggest celebrity of the evening was Marla Maples, Donald Trump’s second wife, who was largely credited with playing a very active role in the demise of his first marriage. Washington Post reporter Roxanne Roberts wrote that Maples “eclipsed everyone, including the First Couple, the Cabinet, mayors, generals, administration bigwigs.” Quaint, but when you consider that the other celebrity guests that year were Virginia Governor Doug Wilder and Barbara Bush’s stepmother, understandable. The guest list wasn’t the only thing that evolved. The unwritten “singe don’t burn” rule eventually was dropped­—­the entertainment became increasingly brutal and partisan. Stephen Colbert’s blistering jokes about President George W. Bush one year actually evoked some gasps from the crowd. The most incendiary entertainer was Wanda Sykes. It was 2009 and President Obama was in the White House. Traditionally, as the late ...