White House Correspondents Insider

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

President Trump Says He Would Attend 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner

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Photo courtesy Gage Skidmore.

The president announced in February that he would not attend this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, scheduled to take place this Saturday, April 29.  But in a recent interview with Reuters, President Donald Trump suggested he may participate in future dinners.

“I would come next year, absolutely,” Trump replied when asked if he would attend future White House Correspondents’ Dinners.

This year marks the first time a sitting president was not at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner since Ronald Reagan was recovering from an assassination attempt in 1981.  Jimmy Carter was the last president to turn down an invitation to the 1978 Dinner.

Instead of attending the dinner, President Trump is schedule to speak to a political rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Jeff Mason, White House Correspondent for Reuters and president of the WHCA, has said the president’s absence is not all negative.  He said it would be “a great opportunity to make clear that this dinner is about celebrating the press, not the presidency.”

Why the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Is More Important than Ever

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Correspondents’ Dinner place setting. Photo courtesy Haddad Media.

White House Correspondents’ Association president and Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason is fighting back against the voices calling for cancellation of the White House Correspondents Dinner. argues the dinner is critically important in the age of Donald Trump and “fake news.”

“It’s about an opportunity to lift up good journalism, celebrate up-and-coming journalism, and celebrate the First Amendment—that’s what we’ll be doing this year. And we do encourage our member organizations to bring as many journalists as they can, because that’s what the dinner is about. It’s also about giving journalists a chance to visit with the sources they cover.”

George Condon of National Journal also pointed out that the dinner is about the First Amendment and members of the media, not the president. “Every president is unhappy with the press, although President Trump is much more vocal and more personal in his attacks. But that doesn’t affect whether you have the dinner, because it doesn’t mean we’re honoring or validating everything a president says.”  Here is Mr. Condon’s interview with Tammy Haddad on a Podcast Special on the White House Correspondents Weekend.

Recent news surrounding the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has focused mainly on media outlets declining to attend due to various reasons: an administration hostile toward the media, lack of focus at the dinner on important media issues, alternative scheduled events, fostering a too-cozy relationship between the press and the administration.

Jo Miller, showrunner for Bee’s “Full Frontal” show, has said that this year’s dinner “will either be called off or it will probably be the most sinister, awkward event ever.”

Former Association president Ed Chen argues the dinner helps promote better journalism. “If you’re sitting next to a Cabinet secretary or a senior West Wing official, you have that much more time to establish a rapport with that person, and that can only help, rather than hurt.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner is scheduled for Saturday April 29. Proceeds from the event will go also fund scholarships for deserving reporters-in-training.

Today’s WHCD 2015 Round Up

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CBS nabs real, fictional secretaries of State for WHCD
“Two secretaries of State — a real-life former one, Madeleine Albright, and the Hollywood version, Téa Leoni, — will attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this weekend. Albright and Leoni, who plays the fictional title role on “Madam Secretary,” will both be guests of CBS News at the April 25 festivities in Washington.”

Gov. Kasich takes flirtation with White House run to next level, creates ‘New Day for America’ fund
“Kasich will be traveling to Washington, D.C. later this week for a number of stops including the White House Correspondents Dinner and an appearance Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.””

Listen Up, D.C.! Here Comes the White House Correspondents’ Jam.
“Leavell recruited five correspondent-fronted bands — Fortune Senior Editor-at-Large Brian Dumaine, Esquire scribe Tom Junod, CNBC Senior Economics Reporter Steve Liesman, New Yorker Editor David Remnick and Vanity Fair Contributing Editor Mark Rozzo are all slated to play with their respective outfits — to blow the doors off the Fairmont Hotel (2401 M St. NW) on April 24 from 7 to 11 p.m.”

Téa Leoni, Gina Rodriguez, Tim Daly Join WH Correspondents’ Guestlist
“The network is also bringing actress Gina Rodriguez and her actor boyfriend, Henri Esteve; “Madam Secretary” actor Tim Daly; Virginia Sen. Mark Warner; former CBS newsman and now NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence & Counter-terrorism John Miller; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro; Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro; Lebanon Ambassador to the U.S. Anotine Chedid; and former U.S. Ambassador to Italy David Thorne.”

Funny Girl Gig: Cecily Strong Fourth Female Entertainer at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
“Strong follows Wanda Sykes (2009), Elayne Boosler (1993) and Paula Poundstone (1992).”

How To Stream The White House Correspondents’ Dinner Live, Because It’s The Hottest Place To Be Saturday Night
“The cast of Modern Family is expected to attend, as well as Michael Kelly, Gina Rodriguez, Gabourey Sidibe, and Naya Rivera. We’ll see you Saturday night.”

‘SNL’s’ Cecily Strong Promises Hard Laughs at White House Correspondents Dinner
“She said that it “felt like the right year” to do the dinner as President Obama also has Chicago-area roots. “It was really sort of like, ‘Well, it’s now or never,’” she says of taking the gig.”

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.”

The Best of 2009 WHCD Garden Party

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For the past 18 years, the WHCD Garden Party has been where friends gather before one of the biggest nights in Washington. Each year the stories are unique and the guest list represent the best representation of the news and events of the moment. Last year’s garden brunch was held just a few months after the arrival of the new administration. The economic crisis was in full bloom and both the media and official Washington were all trying to figure out how adjust to the new realities. Hollywood was fascinated with the new political stars and the new political stars were still adjusting to being celebrities. Here is a look back.

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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.

2009 RADIO AND TELEVISION CORRESPONDENTS DINNER

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Radio and TV Correspondents tell the story of this weeks’ dinner on video.

Wine policy explained in advance via Twitter feed

Not even the Hilton to complain about.


“On June 19, change is coming to Washington press dinners,” the Radio Television Correspondents Association trumpets in a video it posted last month on the dinner’s Facebook fan page and on YouTube.


Instead of a comedian or impressionist, guests at the Convention Center on Friday night will hear music from Sweet Honey in the Rock, the all-female African-American a Capella group that the RTCA dinner organizers tout as “a favorite of the First Lady.” Humor will come from JibJab.com, which says on its blog that it is “beyond thrilled” that its first satire of the Obama Administration will premiere in front of the man himself. (The satirists entertained President George W. Bush with “What We Call the News” at the 2007 dinner, as well.) Onion News Network will have a “special report.”

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

“For our dinner, entertainment is a plural term, not a singular term,” says Heather Dahl, a producer at Feature Story News and the dinner’s chair.

Despite the smaller table buys from some news organizations in this money-crunched year, what will stay the same, she says, is the attendance: Her preliminary estimates are that the crowd will number in the ballpark of recent dinners, around 2,000 attendees.

International news organizations took more tables, Dahl says, and some journalists whose employers refused to pony up for full tables have paid their own way. “I believe this shows that people really want to go out and have a nice evening, so that’s what we’re going to deliver,” she says.

How Local Girl Wanda Sykes Made Good Using Bad Words

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D.C. Comedy Impresario Richard Siegel Hosted First Contest Sykes Entered

Wanda Sykes — the emcee of this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, who is known for her often raw, blush-inducing commentary — has a lot of inquiring minds wondering just how raw her routine might be this Saturday night.

Richard Siegel, veteran producer on the D.C. comedy scene.

Richard Siegel, veteran producer on the D.C. comedy scene.

One of her biggest fans thinks that, when time comes for her to address her high-powered audience, “she really should tone it down. Audiences here are a lot more conservative generally,” Richard Siegel tells WHCInsider.com. “They don’t like things getting too edgy.”

The longtime producer of the annual “D.C.’s Funniest Celebrity” contest, Siegel knows a little about what kind of comedy works in this town. He’s also known Sykes since the late 1980s, when he was managing a local stand-up comedy contest at the Comedy Cafe, located above a strip club that enforced a dress code. [Read more…]