Nerd Prom: Film shows how cozy reporters
are with White House
BY EDDIE SCARRY | APRIL 10, 2015
Reporters in the national press are all in bed with their powerful government sources, and that is proven each year during White House Correspondents' Dinner week. That's the conclusion of a new documentary directed by a former reporter at one of Washington, D.C.'s biggest news publications.
Patrick Gavin, who most recently worked as a journalist for Politico until leaving in 2014, chronicles in his film the evolution of the White House Correspondents' Dinner from a small annual gathering of journalists and West Wing officials in the 1920s to the multimillion dollar week-long power-jockeying event it has become today.
RELATED: Frustrated reporters send Obama a list of press freedom demands
"Nerd Prom: Inside Washington's Wildest Week" is an indictment of the incestuous culture fostered by the Capitol's elite journalists and the government officials they're supposed to be holding accountable. In Gavin's view, this connection is encapsulated by the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Gavin says in the movie that he created it to find out what the annual event is truly about. By the end, he's bemoaning the loss of the dinner's meaning, which is produced by the White House Correspondents' Association and was originally intended to celebrate press freedom, as well as serve as a scholarship award ceremony for aspiring journalists.
RELATED: Staying: Press refuses to leave Obama, golfing for 223rd time
The dinner still awards scholarships and plenty of White House reporters still attend. But in recent years, the focus has turned to Hollywood celebrities who flood Washington for the week, invited by not only news publications but by seemingly any company — whether tech, beverage or fashion — looking to promote itself and capitalize on the dinner by hosting its own adjacent party.
The result is a highly competitive environment wherein news outlets, companies from Silicon Valley and other commercial ventures compete for the attention and thereby the influence of power players in politics and media.
are with White House
BY EDDIE SCARRY | APRIL 10, 2015
Reporters in the national press are all in bed with their powerful government sources, and that is proven each year during White House Correspondents' Dinner week. That's the conclusion of a new documentary directed by a former reporter at one of Washington, D.C.'s biggest news publications.
Patrick Gavin, who most recently worked as a journalist for Politico until leaving in 2014, chronicles in his film the evolution of the White House Correspondents' Dinner from a small annual gathering of journalists and West Wing officials in the 1920s to the multimillion dollar week-long power-jockeying event it has become today.
RELATED: Frustrated reporters send Obama a list of press freedom demands
"Nerd Prom: Inside Washington's Wildest Week" is an indictment of the incestuous culture fostered by the Capitol's elite journalists and the government officials they're supposed to be holding accountable. In Gavin's view, this connection is encapsulated by the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Gavin says in the movie that he created it to find out what the annual event is truly about. By the end, he's bemoaning the loss of the dinner's meaning, which is produced by the White House Correspondents' Association and was originally intended to celebrate press freedom, as well as serve as a scholarship award ceremony for aspiring journalists.
RELATED: Staying: Press refuses to leave Obama, golfing for 223rd time
The dinner still awards scholarships and plenty of White House reporters still attend. But in recent years, the focus has turned to Hollywood celebrities who flood Washington for the week, invited by not only news publications but by seemingly any company — whether tech, beverage or fashion — looking to promote itself and capitalize on the dinner by hosting its own adjacent party.
The result is a highly competitive environment wherein news outlets, companies from Silicon Valley and other commercial ventures compete for the attention and thereby the influence of power players in politics and media.
RELATED: Obama White House sets new record for 'denying, censoring government files': AP
Gavin describes it as "one big business opportunity."
"People are really here to do business," says Kenny Day, a D.C.-based advertising executive.
Chris Matthews of MSNBC and Bret Baier of Fox News are seen in the film, enjoying related parties. Both say that they're exhausted by the end of the week.
Criticism of the dinner climaxed in 2012, as mentioned in the documentary, when veteran NBC newsman Tom Brokaw said the event is serving as a symbol of how far removed the national press is from the average American.
RELATED: Has the Obama administration really avoided 'conflict of interest' and lobbyists?
"If there's ever an event that separates the press from the people that they're supposed to serve, symbolically, it is that one," he said at the time. "It is time to rethink it."
Perhaps the most cringe-worthy part of the documentary is a five-minute segment of video footage from previous dinners wherein the young scholarship winners are recognized but go unnoticed by the room full of journalists, high-ranking government officials and celebrities who are too busy rubbing elbows.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer is seen snapping photos of friends in the ballroom while the young scholarship winners are being announced.
RELATED: Reporters refuse Obama's dismissal from golf course, are sent to 'shed'
The documentary wraps up with Ann Compton, former ABC News White House correspondent, saying the coziness on display during the week of the dinner is no different than every other day of the year.
The dinner doesn't contribute to D.C.'s coziness, says PBS "White House Chronicle" host Llewellyn King.
"It reveals it."
"People are really here to do business," says Kenny Day, a D.C.-based advertising executive.
Chris Matthews of MSNBC and Bret Baier of Fox News are seen in the film, enjoying related parties. Both say that they're exhausted by the end of the week.
Criticism of the dinner climaxed in 2012, as mentioned in the documentary, when veteran NBC newsman Tom Brokaw said the event is serving as a symbol of how far removed the national press is from the average American.
RELATED: Has the Obama administration really avoided 'conflict of interest' and lobbyists?
"If there's ever an event that separates the press from the people that they're supposed to serve, symbolically, it is that one," he said at the time. "It is time to rethink it."
Perhaps the most cringe-worthy part of the documentary is a five-minute segment of video footage from previous dinners wherein the young scholarship winners are recognized but go unnoticed by the room full of journalists, high-ranking government officials and celebrities who are too busy rubbing elbows.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer is seen snapping photos of friends in the ballroom while the young scholarship winners are being announced.
RELATED: Reporters refuse Obama's dismissal from golf course, are sent to 'shed'
The documentary wraps up with Ann Compton, former ABC News White House correspondent, saying the coziness on display during the week of the dinner is no different than every other day of the year.
The dinner doesn't contribute to D.C.'s coziness, says PBS "White House Chronicle" host Llewellyn King.
"It reveals it."
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment