White House Correspondents Insider

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

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.

Celebrating Mothers at Garden Brunch

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For the second year in a row, Saturday’s Garden Brunch is going to be dedicated in part to Mothers Day Every Day, an advocacy group combining the resources and talents of the White Ribbon Alliance and CARE. Ambassador Melanne Verveer, named by President Obama as the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, will be among the guests at the brunch

Members of these groups also gathered last month to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), a special day set aside to reflect on the achievements of women around the world and for leaders to strategize new ways to help women in the social, economic, and political arenas. Next year marks the centenary celebration of International Women’s Day.

A dinner took place in Washington, DC with members of Mothers Day Every Day and the ONE campaign which used IWD to launch a new initiative called Women ONE2ONE. The goal is to increase opportunities for women and save the lives of those living in poverty across the globe by recruiting one million people to conduct awareness-raising events and actions. Among those attending were Theresa Shaver, Director of the White Ribbon Alliance; Sheila Nix, US Executive Director, One; Mothers Day Every Day Advisory Board Members Amb. Mark Green and Mike McCurry; and JoDee Winterhof, CARE’s vice president for policy and advocacy.

International Women’s Day 2010 from whcinsider on Vimeo.

Tale Of A WHCA Dinner Crasher

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We’ve all heard tales of DC party crashers. Some we roll our eyes at after we consider the source. Others, we – the ticketless brethren – take notes from, which is exactly what the Washington Post’s Reliable Source has done.

Fear not, it’s not another Salahi saga but the story of Julia Allison, a Georgetown grad who crashed the 2007 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and wrote about it for The Huffington Post. Although, Allison and Michaele Salahi do share something in common: a penchant for a red dress.

First Lady Fields Questions From Kids

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Sasha and Malia weren’t there, but presidential pooch Bo was on hand while First Lady Michelle Obama entertained questions from a curious crowd of kids in the East Room. Executive Office employees brought their offspring to the event as part of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.

The First Lady joked a few may have “read my bio” beforehand when asked about childhood obesity.

“Every First Lady defines their job based on what their interests and passion are,” Mrs. Obama explained. “For me the issues are healthy living for our kids.”

That includes limiting the number of snacks, to which one youngster said they only ate two snacks a day – Mrs. Obama approved.

As to how she was going to celebrate Earth Day, which also happens to be today, the First Lady said her daughter Sasha had brought home a few energy efficient light bulbs, so there would be some bulb changing taking place at the White House.

On a lighter note, Mrs. Obama said that Bo’s favorite toy was a big rope and “the game is, can you get it before he gets it?” and yes, she often wins. The kids gave a big “whoa” when they heard the girls have to get up at 6AM but Mrs. Obama got the last laugh: “They can get up later if they move faster.”

According to Media Bistro-Olbermann's Potential Veto Seating Power at WHCA

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By Betsy Rothstein on Apr 21, 2010 04:19 PM
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner could potentially get really uncomfortable next weekend at the MSNBC tables, particularly if hosts Keith Olbermann and Donny Deutsch are in the mix of guests and stars.

Olbermann showed up to WHCA’s dinner last year — will he come again this year? Media insiders want to know: Will Griffin split the pair up, or will Olbermann refuse to sit with Deutsch if he attends? And who decides the seating chart? “Is Olbermann controlling the strings?” a media rep asked.

This week we’re compiling an Awkward Seating Chart for media folks around town. If you have input on potentially uncomfortable pairings, tell us about it. E-mail us at fishbowldc@mediabistro.com.

Deutsch is off the air this week, at least in part, we’re hearing, because Olbermann was furious about Deutsch floating a photograph of him while speaking of the Tea Partiers and “America the Angry.” President Phil Griffin was also reportedly angry and said as much to Deutsch and his producer, Gresham Striegel, who’s also off for the rest of the week.

Side Parties Overshadow Big Event According to USNews

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Wolf Blitzer, Bobby Flay Headline Press Party
By Paul Bedard
Posted April 21, 2010

[picappgallerysingle id=”4753149″]It’s that time of year again when the Washington press corps fights over Hollywood stars as dates for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. This year’s May 1 event is already turning into a who’s who from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Politicians and Washingtonians have almost become a sidebar at the annual media event that features a funny monologue by the president and a real comic. This year it’s Jay Leno. Stars expected include Alec Baldwin, Ewan McGregor, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Bon Jovi, Judd Apatow, Tracy Morgan, Mary J. Blige, Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, John Cusack, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Julianna Margulies, and Jeremy Piven.

And it’s not just the press “prom” that’s a big show. There are several major parties built around the event, some before, some after, and TV talker John McLaughlin’s is held the next day, on Sunday. To get a feel for the types of parties, below is the press release description of the one affair virtually everybody will trek to after the official event is over Saturday night. It’s held by Jason Binn’s Capitol File and this year co-hosted by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and celebrity chef Bobby Flay. We don’t know if Flay’s going to do a throwdown challenge to Blitzer.

http://www.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2010/04/21/wolf-blitzer-bobby-flay-headline-press-party.html

Captiol File WHCD After-Party To Be At MayFlower

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Niche Media CEO Jason Binn and Capitol File magazine’s John Colabelli and Sarah Schaffer are hosting their Fifth Annual Afterparty with special guests including Wolf Blitzer of CNN’s The Situation Room. Bobby Flay, Chef and TV personality will be adding his unique flavor to cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and music will be handled by world-renowned DJ Cassidy.

The WHCD after party will take place at the The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel starting at 10 pm. Last year’s event was held at the Corcoran Gallery.

Hank-ering For A Cup Of Coffee

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Tom Hanks feels for the “poor slobs” of the White House Press Corps.

The Academy Award winning actor said as much while checking out the old Pony Express espresso machine he bought in 2004 for the hardworking men and women of the Fourth Estate after noticing they didn’t have a proper source of java.

Hanks couldn’t resist visiting the press room last month to see if the coffee maker was still there while at the White House for a special screening of HBO’s “The Pacific” with President Barack Obama.

Director Steven Spielberg and Hanks are Executive Producers of the ten-part WWII miniseries now airing on HBO.

Hanks showed off the coffee maker to pal Spielberg, along with their wives, actresses Rita Wilson and Kate Capshaw. He also promised to send the press corps a new one after declaring that “this one is on its last legs.”

Well, despite a question of ethics jokingly raised by veteran CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller (to which Hanks replied: “It’s just a gift — it’s not like it’s a pizza oven.”) Hanks has made good on his promise: a shiny new coffee maker and personal note from the actor were delivered this afternoon.

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.”