White House Correspondents Insider

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

White House Correspondents Dinner Guests – So Far

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As of April 28:

* CNN: Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
* ABC News: David and Susan Axelrod; Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff; Peter Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget; Valerie Jarrett, senior presidential advisor; Jackie Norris, First Lady’s Chief of Staff; Leon Panetta, CIA Director; Susan Rice, UN Ambassador; Justice Antonin Scalia; Meghan McCain; Jon and Dorothea Bon Jovi; Kate Walsh; Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel
* NY Daily News: Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
* Fortune: George Lucas and Glenn Close
* People: Sting and Trudie Styler, Miranda Cosgrove, Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, Jon Hamm, Eva Longoria Parker, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Brooke Shields
* Glamour: Narciso Rodriguez, Alicia Keys, Kenneth Cole, Kerry Washington and White House social secretary Desiree Rogers
* USA Today: Tim Daly, Justin Long, Richard Belzer, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen, Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Michelle Obama staffer Jocelyn Frye
* Atlantic Magazine:Ed Westick (Gossip Girl), Newt Gingrich *
* Others: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Anne Hathaway

WHCInsider Exclusive: ABC News' Guest List for White House Correspondents Dinner

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Bon Jovi, Kate Walsh, Taye Diggs, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Meghan McCain, Antonin Scalia and More

ABC News will have its share of political and entertainment stars at its tables:

6th Annual Can-Do Awards

David Axelrod, White House senior advisor, and his wife Susan Axelrod
Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff
Peter Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Valerie Jarrett, senior presidential advisor
Jackie Norris, First Lady’s Chief of Staff
Leon Panetta, CIA Director
Susan Rice, UN Ambassador
Justice Antonin Scalia
Meghan McCain
Jon and Dorothea Bon Jovi
Kate Walsh
Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel

People and Time Magazines to Launch Dinner Weekend with Friday Night Cocktail Bash

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As they have before, People and Time will get the White House Correspondents Dinner weekend off to a glass-clinking start with a Friday night cocktail party in downtown D.C. Last year their WHCD-eve party drew a mix of insiders and stars. This year’s is not likely to be much different.

Sully to Attend White House Correspondents Dinner

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Hero of USAirways Flight 1549 to be Guest of NY Daily News

Captain Sully and his flight crew testify on Capitol Hill

Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III — better known as “Sully,” the pilot who safely landed his crippled airliner on the Hudson River last January — will be attending the WHCD as a guest of the New York Daily News, Politico is reporting. The last time he was in D.C. was to receive personal thanks and congratulations from President Obama for his heroism. Click here for more.

White House Correspondents Challenge Press Secretary on what Obama Meant on CIA Interrogations

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Remarks Suggest President is Open to an Investigation

April 21 — Press secretary Robert Gibbs faced persistent questioning from the White House press corps, which focused primarily on whether President Obama is now open to possibly holding former Bush administration officials — including the former president — accountable for CIA interrogation methods of suspected terrorists.

In response to reporters after his meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah earlier in the day, Obama said, “If and when there needs to be a further accounting of what took place during this period, I think for Congress to examine ways that it can be done in a bipartisan fashion, outside of the typical hearing process that can sometimes break down and break it entirely along party lines, to the extent that there are independent participants who are above reproach and have credibility, that would probably be a more sensible approach to take.” [Read more…]

Bush Gift to Obama "Visual Messaging" Team

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Behind the Scenes at the New White House Briefing Room Redesigned for the 24/7 News Cycle

The White Briefing Room Series
Part One: The Technology

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in 2007. Courtesy of White House Photo Office.

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in 2007. Courtesy of White House Photo Office.

On the surface, the revamped and spiffed-up White House Press Briefing Room looks like a clean, well-lighted and more streamlined version of its old self. But largely hidden from public view is evidence of the extensive cutting-edge technology — not to mention the intensive labor — that went into the 2006-07 renovation.

For instance, that rich, royal blue backdrop behind the podium? Not blue at all. “That’s an entirely new backdrop with lots of LEDs,” says Scott Sforza, the former White House deputy assistant communications director and director of the renovation project. “Those lights can make the backdrop any color of the spectrum.”

Complete walls were torn out. A stairwell to access cabling in the deep end of the pool below the briefing room floor was dug and installed. (Yes, the briefing room is atop the old White House swimming pool.) New wiring, new lighting, new air conditioning (finally serious air flow), and pretty much new everything went in. [Read more…]

Actors Tim Daly, Justin Long, Richard Belzer Among USA Today's Guests for White House Correspondents Dinner

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Paper Also Nets Some Obama Administration Players

Tim Daly (“Private Practice”), Justin Long (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) and Richard Belzer (“Law & Order”) will be lighting up USA Today’s tables at the WHCD, along with Deputy White House Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen, Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Michelle Obama staffer Jocelyn Frye, according to FishbowlDC.