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==WHCA Dinner (WHCD)== |
==WHCA Dinner (WHCD)== |
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The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1920, has become a [[Washington, D.C.]] tradition and is usually attended by the President and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]].<ref name="history" /> Thirteen presidents have attended a WHCA dinner, beginning with [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1924.<ref name="history" /> The dinner is held on the evening of the last Saturday in April. |
The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1920, has become a [[Washington, D.C.]] tradition and is usually attended by the President and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]].<ref name="history" /> Thirteen presidents have attended a WHCA dinner, beginning with [[Calvin Coolidge]] in 1924.<ref name="history" /> The dinner is held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the [[Washington Hilton]]. |
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Prior to [[World War II]], the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers."<ref name="history" /> In recent years the featured speaker has often been a [[comedian]], with the dinner taking on the form of a [[Roast (comedy)|roast]], especially of the President. |
Prior to [[World War II]], the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers."<ref name="history" /> In recent years the featured speaker has often been a [[comedian]], with the dinner taking on the form of a [[Roast (comedy)|roast]], especially of the President. |
Revision as of 05:01, 10 August 2007
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson.[1] Among the issues handled by the WHCA are press access to the President and physical conditions in White House press briefing rooms.[2]
Officers
The president of the association is Steve Scully of C-SPAN and the president-elect is Ann Compton of ABC News.[3]
WHCA Dinner (WHCD)
The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1920, has become a Washington, D.C. tradition and is usually attended by the President and Vice President.[1] Thirteen presidents have attended a WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924.[1] The dinner is held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton.
Prior to World War II, the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers."[1] In recent years the featured speaker has often been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a roast, especially of the President.
In several recent years, the dinner has fallen shortly after major national events and tragedies, such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the Waco incident, the Columbine shooting, and the Virginia Tech Massacre, thus dampening the spirit of the event.[2]
Dinner Criticisms
The WHCD has been increasingly criticized as an example of the coziness between the White House press corps and the Administration.[4] The dinner typically includes a skit, either live or videotaped, by the sitting President in which he mocks himself, for the amusement of the press corps.[4] The press corps, in turn, hobnobs with Administration officials, even those who are unpopular and are not regularly cooperative with the press.[4] Increasing scrutiny by bloggers has contributed to added public focus on this friendliness.[4]
After the 2007 dinner, New York Times columnist Frank Rich implied that the Times will no longer participate in the dinners.[5] Rich said that the event is "a crystallization of the press's failures in the post-9/11 era" because it "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can enlist the Washington news media in its shows."[5]
In recent years, the dinners have drawn increasing public attention each year as the entertainers draw more interest, and the guest list grows "more Hollywood".[2] The attention given to the guest list and entertainers often overshadows the intended purpose of the dinner, which is to "acknowledge award-winners, present scholarships, and give the press and the president and evening of friendly appreciation."[2] This has led to an atmosphere of coming the event only to "see and be seen."[2] This usually takes place at pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties hosted by various media organizations, which are often a bigger draw and can be more exclusive than the dinners themselves.[6][7][8][9][10]
Timeline of WHCD Performances
1945 dinner
Performers included Frank Sinatra, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Fanny Brice and Danny Kaye.
1969 dinner
President Richard Nixon personally requested the Disneyland Golden Horseshoe Revue.
1975 dinner
The dinner featured Bob Hope as emcee and Chevy Chase.[11] When President Ford rose to speak, he "accidentally" caught a tablecloth in his trousers, causing silverware to fall in Chase's lap. He also pretended to trip as he approached the podium, flinging pages he was carrying into the audience—he then began his speech with "Good evening. I'm Gerald Ford and you're not" (a reference to Chase's catchphrase from Weekend Update).[11]
1985 dinner
Rich Little and President Ronald Reagan in a dual press conference skit.
1988 dinner
1993 dinner
1994 dinner
1995 dinner
1996 dinner
1997 dinner
1998 dinner
1999 dinner
Aretha Franklin, entertainment (NBC's Brian Williams in skit)
2000 dinner
Outgoing President Bill Clinton mocked himself in the short film President Clinton: Final Days, which depicted him as a lonely man closing down a nearly-deserted White House, riding a bicycle, and learning about the Internet with the help of actor Mike Maronna as his character "Stuart".
2001 dinner
Darrell Hammond and Survivor spoof
2002 dinner
Drew Carey (singer Ozzy Osbourne also attended)
2003 dinner
Ray Charles, entertainment
2004 dinner
2005 dinner
Cedric the Entertainer, plus some jokes by First Lady Laura Bush.
2006 dinner
The featured speaker was Stephen Colbert in his on-screen persona as a satire of a right-wing cable television pundit.[14]
Several of Bush's aides and supporters walked out during Colbert's speech, and one former aide said that the President had "that look that he's ready to blow." [15] Bush mocked himself with the help of a celebrity impersonator, Steve Bridges. Many bloggers would criticize the fact that most news sources focused on Bush and his impersonator, and devoted little space to Colbert, sometimes not even mentioning him at all.[16]
2007 dinner
The 2007 dinner took place on April 21, 2007. Entertainment was provided by impersonator Rich Little, with David Letterman appearing by video with a Top 10 list of "favorite George W. Bush moments."[17]
The choice of Little, following controversy over Stephen Colbert's biting routine the previous year, itself drew controversy.[4] Little's appearance was slammed by critics, included several jokes and impersonations that drew little or no laughter, and others considered racy for a black-tie banquet crowd.[4] In his opening speech before the comedic routine, he insults Steven Colbert's performance from the year before and tried to deflect the lack of laughter from his own audience by saying "and you thought Colbert was bad." He appeared ill-prepared with little new material and numerous decades-old references. [4]
Among the guests from the entertainment world at the dinner was Sanjaya Malakar, one of the contestants on American Idol, invited by People Magazine.[18]. Malakar was popular at the dinner and was even prompted for an autograph by New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.[19]
Future Dinners
In response to widespread criticism due to entertainer Rich Little's poor performance at the 2007 dinner, WHCA president-elect Ann Compton has said that while "there is no entertainment that is perfect," choices of future entertainers will not be made "to please a presidential staff, [or] to be politically correct."[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Unverifiable leak leads to modern WHCA, from the WHCA website
- ^ a b c d e f Joe Strupp, Incoming WHCA Prez: Next Year's Dinner Will Not Be 'Politically Correct' , Editor and Publisher, April 25, 2007
- ^ Greg Mitchell and Joe Strupp, Bush Doesn't Joke at WHCA Dinner Due to Virginia Tech Killings -- But Rich Little Says 'Nuts', Editor and Publisher, April 21, 2007
- ^ a b c d e f g Joe Strupp, WHCA Prez Defends Dinner Amid Criticism Of 'Coziness' and Rich Little, Editor and Publisher, April 24, 2007
- ^ a b Frank Rich: 'NY Times' Will No Longer Participate in WHCA Dinner, Editor and Publisher, April 29, 2007
- ^ Libby Copeland and Dana Milbank, The In-Crowd Steps Out: After the Correspondents' Dinner, Parties Are Icing on the Cake, Washington Post, April 23, 2007
- ^ Taking Names, Washington Times, April 23, 2007
- ^ Julie Mason, News Watch: The White House blog, Houston Chronicle, April 22, 2007
- ^ Ashley Parker, Celeb-Watching at the Correspondents Dinner, The Caucus blog, New York Times, April 22, 2007
- ^ Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin, Yeas & Nays, The (Washington) Examiner, April 23, 2007
- ^ a b Humor played big role in Ford's persona, a December 2006 Deseret News article via findarticles.com
- ^ Remarks at the Annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner, from the website of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
- ^ Al Franken's 1994 speech, from the website of a Franken fan
- ^ Template:Google video
- ^ http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060501/1whwatch.htm
- ^ http://mediamatters.org/items/200605010005
- ^ Bush Doesn't Joke at WHCA Dinner Due to Virginia Tech Killings—But Rich Little Says 'Nuts', an Editor & Publisher article
- ^ Sanjaya to attend Correspondents' dinner
- ^ Sanjaya's a Hit at White House Correspondents' Dinner