White House Correspondents Insider

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

Dishing on WHCA Dinner

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WHC Insider’s Tammy Haddad sat down with ABC News’ David Chalian and Rick Klein on the ABCNews.com show “Top Line” to chat about the evolution of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner into an all-out weekend event – including the annual brunch she co-hosts on Saturday morning.

In a town where politicians and notable folks tend to avoid the press, it’s one of the few times when the invitation bearing, ticket holding, media is suddenly in demand:
“This is the only time they call us and beg…. This is the only time where everyone has to stand in line together.”

Ed Chen's White House

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Ed Chen will soon be stepping aside as President of the White House Correspondents’ Association but he’s still got his day job to keep him busy.

The Senior White House Correspondent for Bloomberg News recently sat down with Hans Nichols, fellow Bloomberg News correspondent and guest interviewer for WHC Insider, to talk about what goes on behind the scenes in the press room and what it’s like to cover the Obama administration.

The two also covered Senator John McCain during his bid for the Oval Office, and Nichols asked what it would be like if McCain were behind the press room podium instead:”Do you think he would have done those weekly briefings?”

Chen: “It would have been very interesting every day, and I also would have kept a suitcase here, packed, at the White House because you never know when a President McCain would have decided to go to Russia.”

Bloomberg’s Ed Chen & Hans Nichols for WHC Insider from whcinsider on Vimeo.

DC: Party Central

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Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and CURE Epilepsy's Susan Axelrod at the 2009 White House Correspondents' Garden Brunch

It’s been called the Nerd Prom and compared to Hollywood’s Oscar extravaganza, but the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and the parties surrounding it have evolved into their own electrifying entity. Politico takes a behind the scenes look at where the sparks will be flying this weekend.

WHC Insider Interview With WHCA President Ed Chen

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This weekend Ed Chen will end his reign as the President of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Before he hands the mantle over to Reuters’ Caren Bohan and heads back to Bloomberg, Chen spoke with WHC Insider’s Tammy Haddad at the White House.

The Senior White House Correspondent has honchoed the Press Corps during the transition into a new administration. Recently, Chen and several colleagues sat down with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs and White House staffers to discuss grievances from both sides of the table.

“We had a mutual exchange and we worked out a lot of issues, and cleared the air. And I think things will get better, especially from our perspective, with greater press access,” said Chen.

Speaking of sitting down, Chen has offered his seat in the press room for a day to Lloyd Grove whose recent article in The Daily Beast questioned whether social media like Twitter and YouTube would be the end of reporting from the White House as we know it.

Ed Chen at the White House from whcinsider on Vimeo.

WHCA Dinner: Two Days To Go

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Tracey Ullman does research for her Showtime series "State of the Union" at the 2008 Garden Brunch. Here with Hilary Rosen and Ed & Wendy Schultz.

We’re heading into the homestretch, ready to slide into a weekend full of brunches and screenings, and oh yeah, a little thing called the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Oh, my!

The jostling for tickets and guests to bring to the WHCA Dinner has been going on for months. As WHC Insider’s Tammy Haddad told Annie Groer in Politics Daily:

“It’s become a competition about who can get the better ‘get,’ ” said Tammy Haddad, a former producer for Chris Matthews and Larry King and thus no stranger to megawatt wrangling. “Journalists are very competitive and there are very few times they get to go head to head, like at a political convention.” The dinner, she said, gives these multiplatform media rivals a perfect showcase “to bring in someone of interest to draw attention to the work they are doing.”

To read the full article click here.

Robert Gibbs and WHCA Clear The Air?

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It was nice while it lasted, right?

As reported by Politico’s Mike Allen, mere days ago White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs met with a delegation from the White House Correspondents’ Association, headed by Ed Chen, WHCA president and Bloomberg News White House correspondent.

Chen asked for the meeting “to clear the air because in my 10-plus years at the White House, rarely have I sensed such a level of anger, which is wide and deep, among members over White House practices and attitude toward the press.”

The two sides spoke on a number of issues including improved press access. Chen told Politico that he felt “very good about the collegial give and take.” Read the full interview from Politico.

Would Chen still feel that way, however, after watching Gibbs’ interview on CNN’s “Reliable Sources” with Howard Kurtz? Gibbs admitted he does “wonder at times what it would be like if we turned the cameras off and we could just have a discussion. I sometimes joke that I know when somebody thinks they have a good question, because when I walk in they’ve already got their makeup on.”

Gibbs also lamented the cable “spin cycle” and marveled at Twitter, which he called a “fascinating, fast-moving medium.”