White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Trump Snubs White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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President Donald Trump, Photo Courtesy Reuters

After weeks of toying with the idea of attending this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Donald Trump has decided to pass. Trump, whose last appearance at the dinner was in 2011 as a civilian, is sending White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in his place. This year’s Correspondents’ Dinner is set to take place on April 28th.

White House Correspondents Association President and Bloomberg News White House reporter Margaret Talev released a statement saying, “The White House has informed us that the president does not plan to participate in this year’s dinner but that he will actively encourage members of the executive branch to attend and join us as we celebrate the First Amendment. In keeping with tradition, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also will represent the administration at the head table. The April 28 dinner celebrates award-winning reporting, scholarship winners and the vital role of the First Amendment and the free press in American democracy.”

Mike Allen Talks to Parkland Shooting Survivor David Hogg Ahead of March for Our Lives

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David Hogg and Mike Allen, Photo Courtesy Axios

Mike Allen interviewed Marjory Stoneman Douglas student and school shooting survivor turned activist David Hogg on Friday, March 23rd, one day before the March for Our Lives gun control protest set to take place on in Washington, DC and around the country. They discussed the march, his activism, and his role in becoming a leading voice in the gun control debate.

Hogg states that, after the shooting, Marjory Stoneman is “like a prison” since last month’s shooting with the increased police presence and security measures. He added that “law enforcement are some of the hardest working individuals in the country,” and that, “we need to realize that there are serious issues not only at the FBI and Broward County Sheriff, but with politicians too who are responsible for government agencies.”

Allen asked about Hogg’s take on the way the media covered the shooting and the movement that has sprung up in its wake. Hogg’s biggest takeaway was that the media did not reach out to African-American students in the same way that it reached out to white students. “My school is about 25% black, but the way we’re covered doesn’t reflect that.”

Watch the full interview here.

The March for Our Lives is set to take place in Washington, DC and other cities around the country on Saturday, March 24th. You can learn more about the march here. 

Victoria Espinel, BSA CEO, On Maximizing the Benefits of AI

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Tammy Haddad interviewed Victoria Espinel, Chief Executive of BSA The Software Alliance, on the opportunities and challenges in Artificial Intelligence as part of the Washington Post’s Transformers Summit on Tuesday, March 20th.

They discussed the ways in which AI can be used as a force for good.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner – No Stormy Daniels

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Don Lemon, Stephanie Ruhle, and Matt and Morgan Walsh at the 2017 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch supporting NS2 Serves, Veterans program

Washingtonian Magazine reports that Stormy Daniels, the adult film star who is claiming a sexual relationship with President Trump, will not attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 28th.  No news organizations has invited her according to her attorney.  President Trump has not confirmed his appearance at the annual dinner honoring journalists who cover the White House and supporting journalism students.

“For a while in Washington, there was a trend of media outlets inviting celebrities to ruffle the guest of honor. In 1998, Insight magazine brought Paula Jones to the dinner, four years after she sued Bill Clinton for sexual harassment and months after news of his affair with Monica Lewinsky broke. Clinton, for the record, never missed a WHCA dinner while in office.

The year after that John F. Kennedy Jr. brought the Hustler publisher Larry Flint to dine with George magazine. The New York Times boycotted, with then DC bureau chief Michael Oreskes (yes, him) calling the event “unseemly” and a “circus.”

But Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, will not be carving time out of her Make America Horny Again tour to hit Washington’s nerd prom. According to her attorney Michael Avenatti, no news outlets have invited her, and she would have no interest in going even if they did.”

Click here for Amanda Whiting’s full report: http://bit.ly/2pm3RuG

 

 

 

Facebook to News Publishers: Don’t Count On Us

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Graph showing traffic estimates between Google, Facebook, and Twitter over time, Photo Courtesy Parse.ly

A new study finds that social media giant Facebook has become increasingly less influential when it comes to the way news is distributed. Analytics firm Parse.ly has gathered data from over 2,500 publishers and found that “ahead of the 2016 US presidential election, more than 40 percent of traffic to [the 2,5000 sites] came from Facebook. By the end of 2017, Facebook accounted for less than 26 percent of traffic to those publishers,” according to a report on Parse.ly’s findings from Wired’s Fred Vogelstein.

Vogelstein says that, “Facebook’s role in distributing news has been falling dramatically for more than a year,” and that this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Facebook claims that the decline in clicks is due to the increasing appetite for video in news feeds.

Another important factor driving Facebook’s flailing news distribution is the increasing use of Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), which allows certain content to load more quickly. Vogelstein attributes Google’s push to deliver more newsy content with Facebook’s decline.

He also speculates that publishers consider Facebook’s responses since January to be “schizophrenic” and therefore less willing to deliver content through the platform.

Vogelstein highlights a number of fumbles on Facebook’s part, “For example, one week after announcing that it was changing news feed to promote more meaningful interactions between friends and family and deemphasize news, Facebook said it would start giving boosts to the most trustworthy publications based on user surveys. A few weeks later it said it also plans to boost content from local newspapers, in an effort to help struggling publishers who’ve watched much of their ad revenue flow to Facebook and Google.”

Campbell Brown, Facebook’s news partnership leader, said at a Recode conference last month that, “My job is not to go recruit people from news organization to put their stuff on Facebook. This is not about us trying to make everyone happy.  My job is to ensure that there is quality news on Facebook and that the publishers who want to do quality news on Facebook have a business model that works.”

You can read Wired’s full report here.

 

President Obama to Netflix Spokesman Confirms Conversations with Barack and Michelle Obama

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The New York Times has exclusive reporting on conversations between President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to join Netflix. “Former President Barack Obama is in advanced negotiations with Netflix to produce a series of high-profile shows that will provide him a global platform after his departure from the White House, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Under terms of a proposed deal, which is not yet final, Netflix would pay Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, for exclusive content that would be available only on the streaming service, which has nearly 118 million subscribers around the world. The number of episodes and the formats for the shows have not been decided.

Mr. Obama does not intend to use his Netflix shows to directly respond to President Trump or conservative critics, according to people familiar with discussions about the programming. They said the Obamas had talked about producing shows that highlight inspirational stories.

But the Netflix deal, while not a direct answer to Fox News or Breitbart.com, would give Mr. Obama an unfiltered method of communication with the public similar to the audiences he already reaches through social media, with 101 million Twitter followers and 55 million people who have liked his Facebook page.”

“President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire,” Eric Schultz, a senior adviser to the former president, said Thursday. “Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories.”

Read the rest here.

Juleanna Glover Among GQ’s 50 Most Powerful in DC

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Juleanna Glover with Karen Appleton, Rachel Pearson, Kristi Rogers at the Washington Women Technology Network Luncheon with Senator Amy Klobuchar, Photo Courtesy Haddad Media

GQ has published its list of the 50 Most Powerful People in Trump’s Washington on Thursday, February 22nd. Among the ranks of insiders and Trump-whisperers is corporate consultant Juleanna Glover.

According to GQ, “For all that talk of swamp draining, Glover—a former aide to Dick Cheney—remains a key figure where the city’s social and policy scenes meet. Her dinner parties are a refuge for establishment Republicans in a sort of exile.”

Haddad Media CEO Tammy Haddad said of Glover, “Washington still works because Juleanna is ‘fixing’ every day.”

To see the rest of GQ’s 50 Most Powerful People in Trump’s Washington click here.

 

Uber Welcomes Danielle Burr at DC Reception

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Justin Kintz and Danille Burr at Uber’s DC Office, Photo Courtesy Haddad Media

Danielle Burr, Uber’s head of federal affairs, hosted DC’s top influencers from politics to advocacy and media on Tuesday, February 20th at Uber’s Washington, DC office.

Justin Kintz, the head of policy and communications for Uber’s American operations, took the stage to introduce Burr and noted her policy experience including working on the Hill with Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the House, to working with Jon Kyl in the Senate.

Kintz also talked about Uber’s recent inroads in DC, “In addition to having a local presence here in the district, this is also our east coast hub for the US. We have our operational leaders here in the room tonight who run UberEats in the US, and who run our US operations. This is a nerve-center for Uber, our third-largest office in the country. We’re very proud of our presence here.”

Burr thanked Justin for his guidance in helping her make the transition to the company. Burr told the crowd of policy and media influencers that “there’s an opportunity here to make some change, there’s an opportunity here to grow.”

She went on to discuss some of Uber’s latest initiatives saying, “I’m thrilled to be a part of the team, whether that is to help educate drivers about human trafficking, or whether that is the work we have been doing with the National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children. There’s so many powerful things we can do with this fast, fast platform, not to mention the work that we will do on the federal level with regards to infrastructure.”

Megan Cepiak, John Coale, Rick Klein, Greta Van Susteren, Carly DeBeikes, Photo Courtesy Haddad Media

Among her Uber colleagues at the event were Raj Naik, the general manager of Uber Eats for the mid-Atlantic region, Todd Brewer, from Uber Military, Dave Marmore from the Policy team, Malcom Glenn who coordinates Partnerships, Bill Gibbons from comms, and Carly Debeikes from comms and operations.

Hill colleagues and friends included Ron Bonjean, Yebbie Watkins, Marty Reiser, Todd Inman, Grover Norquist, Yebbie Watkins, Sage Peterson, Tess Glancey, Tom Forrest, Tom Hoare, Jeff Solnet, Emily Beyer, Tom Manatos, Stephanie Cutter, Lisa Barclay, Ron Bonjean, Kathy O’Hearn, and Meredith Balenske.

Media guests included Rick Klein, David Sanger, Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Daniel Lippman, Patrick Steel, Alexis Williams, Sara Fisher, Dave McCabe, Craig Gordon, Steve Clemons, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Tony Romm, Garance Franke Ruta, Shawn McCreesh, Naomi Nix, Kevin Cirilli, Carl Cannon and Lachlan Mackay.

 

Uber Danielle Burr Reception - 2/20/18

Attention Academy Members: Vote for Knife Skills Doc

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Oscar Documentary (Short Subject) Nominee

Looking for a worthy film? Joan Ganz Cooney and award-winning documentary filmmaker Tom Lennon believed in the power and purpose of criminal justice reform and the Academy members responded with an Oscar nomination for KNIFE SKILLS.  Lennon directed the film and has previously won an Academy Award and been nominated four times. Journalist and novelist Holly Peterson is also an executive producer of the short film about formerly incarcerated men and women who launch a top high end French restaurant — an intimate portrait of the experience of reentry into society after prison.

Here is what the New Yorker has to say about KNIFE SKILLS. Click here and vote now! http://bit.ly/2GRZ2R9

 

Julia Louis Dreyfus Winning Cancer Battle

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Julia Louis Dreyfus post cancer surgery.

The day after winning her sixth Emmy in September, Julia Louis Dreyfus announced that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her absence has not gone without notice.

Dreyfus took to Twitter this week to show cancer isn’t going to keep her down, “Hoorah! Great doctors, great results, feeling happy and ready to rock after surgery. Hey cancer, “F*ck you! Here’s my first post op photo.”

Dreyfus returns to the set in August with HBO officially confirming the return of Veep in 2019.

Check out the post on twitter here.