OK, everybody — breathe a sigh of relief. We survived another White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. But before we rush on to the next one, can’t we all agree that this event is out of control and in desperate need of a big shake-up?
Maybe the dinner should be canceled altogether.
{mosads}In theory, the purpose of the dinner is to celebrate the value of a free and fearless White House press corps by setting aside one evening when those who cover the White House can sit down and break bread with the president, as reporters first did with President Calvin Coolidge in 1924, plus hand out a few scholarships. But today’s dinner is little more than an opportunity for out-of-town celebrities to strut their stuff. It has almost nothing to do with the president and the press, as was more evident than ever Saturday night.
Consider. In his painful 20-minute routine, “Nightly Show” host Larry Wilmore never mentioned the media — except to skewer CNN, MSNBC and Fox. He could’ve made the same jokes any time, anywhere. President Obama did observe tradition by ending his own remarks with a tribute to White House reporters, but the sincerity of his remarks was undercut by a Politico survey released the day before showing his administration to be one of the least media-friendly ever.
As rated by 72 current White House reporters, 23 percent say the Obama White House is the least friendly to the press of any recent administration. Only 10 percent said the George W. Bush White House was worse. And 32 percent say the Obama administration has gotten more restrictive toward the press over the course of his presidency.
Perhaps most tellingly, when WHCA President Carol Lee asked the audience to recognize members of the White House press corps, only 30-some people in the entire ballroom of more than 3,000 guests stood up. Most of those present, in fact, had nothing to do with the White House or the media. The dirty secret is that many media staffers who actually work at the White House — reporters, producers, camera and sound technicians — never get to attend the dinner. Their news organizations give their seats, instead, to lobbyists, corporate sponsors, members of Congress or Hollywood celebrities.
Indeed, the dinner itself has become almost an after-thought in an around-the-clock festival of parties that starts Thursday night and ends sometime Sunday afternoon, most of which, again, have nothing to do with the White House Correspondents’ Association or contribute anything to the scholarships that are the ostensible reasons for the dinner.
As a member of the WHCA, I think it’s time to end this embarrassing spectacle once and for all, and get back to basics. Instead let’s sponsor a serious dinner for the president and White House reporters only. Hold a companion forum on press freedom and access. Celebrate the work of accomplished journalists. And dump the big show at the Hilton.
We don’t need to roll out another red carpet for celebrities. There are enough of them already in Hollywood.
Press is host of “The Bill Press Show” on Free Speech TV and author of “Buyer’s Remorse: How Obama Let Progressives Down.”