The White House Correspondents Association ( WHCA ) is a journalist organization that includes the White House and the President of the United States. WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that the US congressional committee will choose which journalists can attend President Woodrow Wilson's press conference.
WHCA operates independently of the White House. Among the more important issues handled by the WHCA are the credentialing process, access to the President and the physical condition in the White House press press room. His most notable activity was the annual White House Correspondent Dinner Party, traditionally attended by the President and covered by news media.
Not every member of the White House press corps is a member of the White House Correspondents Association.
Video White House Correspondents' Association
Leadership association, 2017-2018
Current leadership teams from the White House Correspondents Association include:
- Officer
- President: Margaret Talev, Bloomberg News
- Vice President: Olivier Knox, Yahoo News
- Secretary: Jon Decker, Fox News
- Treasurer: Julie Pace, Associated Press
- Board members
- Zeke Miller, Associated Press
- Alicia Jennings, NBC News
- Jonathan Karl, ABC News
- Doug Mills, New York Times
- Todd Gillman, Dallas Morning News
- Executive Director
- Steven Thomma
Maps White House Correspondents' Association
Table of association president
White House Press Room
WHCA is responsible for placing a seat in the James S. Brady Short Press Room in the West Wing of the White House.
White House Correspondent Dinner
The annual WHCA dinner show, started in 1921, has become a tradition of Washington, D.C. and traditionally attended by presidents and vice presidents. Fifteen presidents attended at least one WHCA dinner, starting with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. This dinner was held traditionally on the last Saturday night in April at the Washington Hilton.
Until 1962, dinner was only open for men, although the WHCA membership included women. At the urging of Helen Thomas, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend a banquet unless a ban on women was dropped.
Before World War II, the annual dinners featured singing on the sidelines of courses, homemade movies, and big-time post-dinner dinners. But since 1983, the keynote speaker is usually a comedian, with dinner taking the form of 'grill' the president and his government.
The dinner also funded scholarships for gifted students in college journalism programs.
Many annual dinners have been canceled or downsized due to death or political crisis. The dinner was canceled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft; in 1942, following the entry of the United States into World War II; and in 1951, more than what President Harry S. Truman called "the uncertainty of the world situation". In 1981, Ronald Reagan was absent because he recovered after an attempted murder of his life the previous month, but he called and told a joke about the shootings.
President Donald Trump does not attend dinner in 2017 and 2018.
Evening dinner
The WHCD was increasingly criticized as an example of joy between the White House press corps and administration. The dinner usually includes a comedy drama, either directly or recorded, by the sitting president in which he mocks himself, for the entertainment of the press corps. The press corps, in turn, hobnob with government officials, even those who are unpopular and do not regularly work with the press. Improving supervision by bloggers has contributed to adding a public focus to this hospitality.
After dinner in 2007, New York Times columnist Frank Rich suggested that the Times would no longer participate in dinner. Rich writes that dinner has been a "crystallization of press failure in the post-9/11 era" because "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can register the Washington news media in its shows."
Another criticism has focused on the amount of money actually raised for scholarships, which have declined over the past few years.
In recent years, dinner has attracted increasing public attention, and the guest list is growing "more Hollywood". Attention to guest lists and entertainers often goes beyond the intended purpose of dinner, which is to "acknowledge the award winner, award the scholarship, and give the press and the president a friendly appreciation night." This has caused the atmosphere to come to the show just to "see and be seen". This usually happens at pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties organized by various media organizations, which are often larger and more exclusive of the dinner itself.
Dinner list
Gallery
Awards
The Merriman Smith Memorial Award
- View footnotes.
Given for extraordinary examples of deadline reporting.
The Aldo Beckman Memorial Award
- View footnotes.
Given for journalistic excellence.
Edgar A. Poe Memorial Award
- View footnotes.
Given for excellence on stories of national or regional significance.
See also
- Gridiron Club
- Radio and Television Correspondent Association
- Dinner Foundation Alfred E. Smith Memorial
- Not a White House Correspondent Dinner
- National Press Club
- Press Gallery of Parliament
- List of events
References
External links
- White House Correspondents Association
- Dinner of the White House Correspondent Association at C-SPAN
- Barack Obama Roasting Donald Trump at the Dinner of the White House Correspondents Association
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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