White House Correspondents Dinner

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

... 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 all be in good-natured fun, which is the premise of the correspondents’ dinner. Amid all the brouhaha, we may lose sight of this: The press had no problem holding its dinner when Bush I or Clinton or Bush II or Obama was president. Their issue ...

Is The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Worth Saving

... consultant. Interesting moment of announcing candor. At the end of CBS’ Saturday third-round coverage of the PGA tournament at Pebble Beach, the famous player Dustin Johnson hit a ball out of bounds. There are distinct rules as to where you can then place the ball for your next shot. Very clearly, analyst Nick Faldo and generally sycophantic announcer Jim Nantz both raised doubts as to whether Johnson had (with the OK of player partner Jordan Spieth, the eventual winner) incorrectly placed the ball for his next shot. They never used the word cheated but made clear, after showing replays, that they thought he’d saved himself a huge amount of yardage by erroneously placing the ball far closer to the hole than he should. He hit his fourth shot from there and made a par five, surely helped by the placement. Gender diversity in tech. “When I hear about the need to push gender diversity in tech and improve gender disparity in the industry, it takes me a second to appreciate the full reality of the situation,” writes Amir-Esmaeil Bozorgzadeh in Tech Crunch. Working for free. “One of the often recurring discussions among professional photographers is whether or not we ...

Who Will Emcee The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

... plans to come to the April 29 affair — and the White House Correspondents’ Association has yet to announce who will be this year’s “talent,” which the organizers typically would have had locked down weeks, if not months, ago. Getting a high-profile comedian for the gig has been particularly tough this year, with entertainers taking pains to distance themselves from the divisive president (for evidence of this phenomenon, witness the decidedly D-listy lineup for inaugural events). James Corden reportedly gave the correspondents’ association a “no thanks.” And look for more boldface names across town at comedian Samantha Bee’s anti-WHCD dinner/comedy fest at the Willard. Asked for a status report, WHCA President Jeff Mason said he had “no updates” on the entertainment plans and urged us to “stay tuned.”. But past emcees are publicly urging their funny brethren not to turn up their noses. Former ...

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

... the White House and the national media about whether reporters are covering the president objectively, Trump said in a tweet that he would not attend the function—derisively referred to as "Nerd Prom"—on April 29. Trump tweet. In recent days, a debate has erupted over whether 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 ...

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

... 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 finest political reporting of the past year while using our scholarship program to highlight and support up-and-coming journalists who are the future of our profession.". The dinner will already face stiff competition as far as entertainment goes, with Samantha Bee announcing Monday that she would be hosting the " Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner " the same night, with proceeds going to the Committee to Protect Journalists. There is further the question of whether President Trump will even attend this year's dinner, which typically includes a celebrity host roasting the president and his administration. Latest ...

White House Correspondents' Dinner Is Still On, Whca Says

... 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 will also reward some of the finest political reporting of the past year while using our scholarship program to highlight and support ...

Drain The White House Correspondents Dinner

... in better times, soundly rejected. The White House Correspondents Dinner, which reached its apogee in the Obama years, when time and again the media and Hollywood crowd could not get over how funny the president’s jokes were, actually had humble and purely utilitarian beginnings. In 1914, a group of Washington journalists banded together to found the White House Correspondents Association when it was bruited about that a Congressional committee was going to decide which reporters could attend President Woodrow Wilson’s press conferences. It turned out that this was just a rumor, but the association, though dormant for a few years, continued. It held its first dinner in 1920. Calvin Coolidge became the first president to attend in 1924, and since then every president has been a guest. The dinner Coolidge attended, held at the now-vanished Arlington Hotel, near Mc Pherson Square, was a small affair, however, with fifty ...

Trump Will Not Attend White House Correspondents' Dinner

... association's president, wrote. "The WHCA takes note of President Donald Trump's announcement on Twitter that he does not plan to attend the dinner, which has been and will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the important role played by an independent news media in a healthy republic. We look forward to shining a spotlight at the dinner on some of the best political journalism of the past year and recognizing promising students who represent the next generation of our profession.". Many Twitter users shared their thoughts on Trump's controversial decision to ditch the dinner. "You're not breaking up with me, I'M breaking up with YOU," one user wrote. Another added, "Is it the part where comedians make fun of the president? Or where they give out scholarships? It's the scholarships, isn't it?". You're not breaking up with me, I'M breaking up with YOU __link__/n 1 q O 0 kw 6 DJ. — Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) February 25, 2017. Is it the part where comedians make fun of the president? Or where they give out ...