White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

PR Firm asks Politico's Mike Allen "Are You Media?"

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Politico's Mike Allen recording the program
edit: Yes, in the original we said “Mike Ryan.” It’s because we were reading HuffPost Entertainment.

This seems to be too crazy even for the week leading up to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. Politico reports that the actual White House Correspondents’ Association overnighted a trademark lawsuit to GBK Productions (which Politico provides here). The source of the lawsuit? A gifting suite that GBK is co-partnering with The Creative Coalition that’s called “GBK & The Creative Coalition White House Correspondence [sic] Weekend Gift Lounge.”

This goes against the trademark of the WHCA and gives visiting celebs the false impression that their dinner hosts would be providing free swag from “the St. Regis Bora Bora, Made by Survivors handmade jewelry, Lovelinks by Aagaard jewelry, EyeWalker Elements Aromatic Botanical Alchemy (a.k.a.., perfume) , Jorg Gray watches ‘and more'” according to today’s Playbook.

To further dig a knife into the wound, when Mike Allen tried to inquire further he was met with the age-old response given to online journos since 2004: “Are you media?” And given the always charming response from another GBK representative: “If you’d like to RSVP, follow the instructions on the email. Any other questions, we have no comment.”

It seems silly that a gifting firm wouldn’t look into possible legal issues if they name themselves after the weekend festivities they’re attending. Even sillier is asking whether or not a company like Politico are press. Maybe Tom Brokaw wasn’t wrong when he took the encroaching celebrity aspect of the dinner to task? Or maybe it’s far too late as our annual fete for journalists–now the worst ranked job of 2013–comes calling.

POLITICO Scores With Bradley Cooper at Allbritton White House Correspondents Sunday Brunch

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George Clooney and Barbara Walters

Big News on the White House Correspondents Weekend Soiree front. In a release from Politico this morning, eyes widen and hearts raced with the name Bradley Cooper in the final paragraph. The Georgetown graduate who once worked at Cafe Milano is expected as a guest, so is top White House aide Alyssa Mastromonaco at the Sunday Allbritton brunch. Lucky Lady.

Here is Politico’s rundown.

POLITICO ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR 2013 WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER

Below are details on POLITICO’s coverage and involvement with this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner – beginning Friday with the release of POLITICO’s must-read WHCD guide and culminating on Sunday with the annual Allbritton-POLITICO Garden Brunch.

FRIDAY, APRIL 26:

WHCD GUIDE – Celebrity Politics: The Lines Blur Between Hollywood and D.C.
This annual magazine edition of POLITICO offers influential dinner attendees and readers alike a sneak peek inside Washington’s biggest weekend. The ultimate guide includes an exclusive interview with comedian and dinner headliner Conan O’Brien, an introduction to the WHCA board, profiles of scholarship and award winners, a look behind the scenes of the Washington Hilton and more. Nearly 40,000 copies of the magazine will be distributed around Washington including at more than 100 Starbucks locations. Stories from the magazine will also be available here.

WATCH LIVE: WHCA SCHOLARSHIP LUNCH – The White House Correspondents’ Association will honor its scholarship recipients at a luncheon on Friday at 1 p.m. POLITICO will livestream the luncheon’s panel discussion with the winners. Watch the event at POLITICO.com/live.

‘THE SCRUM’ PODCAST – POLITICO reporters will preview the weekend’s festivities, examine key moments from past dinners and analyze why Hollywood makes the pilgrimage to the nation’s capital each year in ‘The Scrum,’ POLITICO’s weekly podcast. Subscribe to each weekly installment of ‘The Scrum’ on iTunes.

SATURDAY, APRIL 27:

COMPLETE COVERAGE – As the one-stop destination for coverage of the WHCD weekend, POLITICO will have reporters at each of the biggest events, offering intel on everything from pre-dinner parties to late-night celebrations. Coverage will include live blogging, celebrity interviews, on-the-ground videos and must-see photo galleries. Get the latest in one click: POLITICO WHCD Complete Coverage.

WATCH LIVE: DINNER PROGRAM – Tune in to POLITICO to watch this year’s dinner, including red carpet arrivals, the president’s remarks and entertainment headlined by Conan O’Brien. Watch here: POLITICO.com/live.

POLITICO DINNER GUESTS – POLITICO is honored to host more than two dozen leading names in business at this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Some guest highlights include: Marty Durbin, incoming CEO, ANGA; Steve Case, co-founder, AOL; Jim Cicconi, Executive Vice President, AT&T; Brian Moynihan, CEO, Bank of America; Don Baer, CEO, Burson-Marsteller; Tita Freeman, Executive Vice President, Business Roundtable; Clyde Tuggle, Senior Vice President, and Matt Echols, Vice President, Coca-Cola; Maria Pica Karp, Vice President and General Manger, Chevron; Lorenzo Simonelli, CEO, GE Transportation; Gary Cohn, COO, and John Rogers, Executive Vice President, Goldman Sachs; David Drummond, Senior Vice President, Google; James Murren, CEO, MGM Resorts; Mark Penn, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft; Wes Bush, CEO, Northrop Grumman; Peggy Johnson, Executive Vice President, Qualcomm; and Eric Spiegel, CEO, Siemens. Additionally, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck will be joining POLITICO.

SUNDAY, APRIL 28:

ALLBRITTON-POLITICO GARDEN BRUNCH – For the fourth consecutive year, POLITICO Publisher Robert Allbritton and his wife, Dr. Elena Allbritton, will open the doors of their Georgetown home for an exclusive, invitation-only brunch. Invited guests include: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), actress Kerry Washington, White House Social Secretary Jeremy Bernard, Hollywood couple Ed Burns and Christy Turlington Burns, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling and Allison Abner, actor Bradley Cooper, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, actor Daniel Day-Lewis, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren, CBS President David Rhodes, Jordanian Ambassador Alia Bouran, British Ambassador Peter Westmacott.