Seconded! I've never understood this event. It's a symptom of the kind of access journalism that turns journalists into water carriers for authoritarianism.
There is a huge conflict between needing access and getting too chummy.
I also have a huge problem with reporters protecting sources who are actually manipulating them and even outright lying to them. I think when that happens journalists’ obligation to inform the public about how our news is being distorted by sources with an agenda should take priority over protecting of those sources.
I had the opportunity to attend this once a few years ago and found it to be pretty grotesque. The pre- and post parties put on by media companies cost a pretty penny at a time when so many journalists are being laid off or muzzled by their bosses ostensibly celebrating freedom of the press. Yes the dinner raises money for aspiring journalists but surely there is a better way to do this? It may have started out as a way of coming together for one evening but like many things American, it has become bloated and self-important so I agree with you, time to 86 it and create a whole new fundraiser that truly amplifies freedom of the press without having to hobnob with those who would sooner see the press disintegrate.
It is grotesque and a fork definitely should be permanently stuck in the WHCA confab. The analogy of a woman going back to her abuser is apt especially in this case. I’m specifically thinking of all the journalists in Gaza and Lebanon who have been targeted and killed so I’m not too sanguine about the puffs at the glamor fest the other night.
Thank you Margaret for this—finally-sane idea. I’m a journalist and have always found this dinner a little icky. But more and more now that freedom of the press is under attack by our own president. Having been invited, he know dares to think he has the right to decide if the event is rescheduled and where it will be held. As you said: Cancel the damn thing! Or honor the right people who uphold free speech.
Well-said Margaret. Yes the WHCA dinner is a charade; but useful to have the sanewashers and democracy-washers self-identify by participating.
1 - Isn't there another ethical consideration here with Weija Jiang as WHCA President and host - and also an employee of the Ellisons - who attended and the Ellison's lavish event celebrating Trump and his admin Thursday. The Ellisons need (and have thus far received the blessing of their dangerous takeover of Warner-Bros (CNN, HBO etc..) from the Trump FCC (Carr), DOJ, FTC...
2 - IMO there was an even more startling - and informative - thou-doth-protest-too-much in the O'Donnell interview exchange here in text form:
“Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people, horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody. I’m not a pedophile,” Trump said.
“Do you think he was referring to you?” O’Donnell asked.
“I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. I got associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated,” Trump said. “Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say, Epstein or other things. …You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things.”
"I'm not a pedophile" is the new "I am not a crook".
Put a fork in it. And thank you for noting that those in power are confronting an issue that school children in America have been living with their entire lives. Republicans want to now spend $400M of taxpayer dollars on trump’s ridiculous ballroom, but only “thoughts and prayers” for school children . In so many ways, corporate media is failing us. One plus from this year’s event though - we finally got to see Stephen Miller for who he truly is when he used his pregnant wife as a shield.
Not something I'd miss, but I'm not a journalist. During my career, though, I attended events meant to celebrate other professional accomplishments so I get the desire for recognition.
I do think a radical reimagining of the event along the lines you described is the very least that could be done. The very thought of Trump, Miller, Hegseth and Leavitt being invited to an event that celebrates speaking truth to power makes me gag.
Oh my gosh thank you so much for saying all of this. I'm a lifelong newspaper person--reporter and editor and columnist--and I have never fraternized with my sources, even when I was the books editor and was surrounded by incredible writers. I didn't go to lunch with them, I didn't party with them, I didn't befriend any of them. (Not that they wanted to befriend me, either, but you get my point.) I have *never* understood the purpose of this dinner -- it has always made journalists look bad, in my view -- and now in particular it is not just absurd, it is offensive and counterproductive.
I completely agree with all you have written. I am most disgusted at the suspiciously too quick Republican demand for the incredibly garish Trump Ballroom, especially any suggestion of diverting tax money for it. Conspiracy theories abound, but the lock step Republican demands for the ballroom are perhaps the most worrisome suggestion of something nefarious, along with the what may have been deliberately lax security.
I’ve been blaming his dementia-enhanced narcissism. He’s singularly obsessed with not just adding his name to existing well-known buildings, but is now laser-focused on building “the biggest anyone has ever seen”-type structures that will have his name emblazoned on them. And then there’s that demand for everything to be coated with gold (paint)….
if presidential security is such a Republican concern after the WHCD assassination attempt, why has Trump continued to play golf, out in the open, two or three times a week, since the assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in Florida in September 2024?
Well into what my wife laughingly refers to as my “retirement” from journalism, I’m volunteering my services for an award-winning but financially struggling weekly in my community. We’d happily accept the money spent on the correspondents’ annual rubber chicken fest. It would probably go a long way toward keeping the presses rolling.
Margaret, I agree on honoring those who fight for the First Amendment. I'm proud to be associated with the Arthur Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University. This year we recognized two outstanding journalists, Caitlin Collins of CNN and Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic.
I think it's long past time to throw the event into the dustbin of history. In the Trump era (and the Bush era, and the Reagan era) the Fourth Estate is nothing more than an extension of the Republican Party and the WH press office, totally abandoning its investigative and critical roles in exchange for access. As such, any celebration of the First Amendment is a sham. One more question - if this thing is rescheduled, where will it be held? The Golden Epstein Ballroom and Bordello will not be finished for years. Mierdalardo is not big enough. Does Trump own a roach motel golf resort with the space?
I really can't understand why so many journalist want to be abused by him and this administration. He was going to blister them. If nothing else his words to Nora O'Donnell should cement it. Only the guilty would have responded as he did and he was found guilty. The state of 1A is crippled, crawling along trying to find a rock to hide under.
Count me on Team Fork. There is something inherently corrupting when journalists view themselves as part of the political or Washington elite, rather than as servants of democracy as part of a free and independent media.
The former WaPo critic Jonathan Yardley once wrote when reviewing Walter Cronkite’s memoir, “Cronkite does not understand—or has simply lost sight of—the essential truth that presidents, generals, and other lofty scoundrels who occasionally consort with journalists do so in pure self-interest; it is the institution the journalists represent rather the journalists themselves that these people court, and exploitation rather than friendship is the only business at hand.”
I'm rooting for the fork.
Go, fork!
Seconded! I've never understood this event. It's a symptom of the kind of access journalism that turns journalists into water carriers for authoritarianism.
Thank you for this piece, Margaret.
There was a time when it was simply about honoring their own.
Agreed! No way should the media try to be “buddy-buddy” with the subjects of their reporting. Talk about getting too close and losing objectivity!!
There is a huge conflict between needing access and getting too chummy.
I also have a huge problem with reporters protecting sources who are actually manipulating them and even outright lying to them. I think when that happens journalists’ obligation to inform the public about how our news is being distorted by sources with an agenda should take priority over protecting of those sources.
Fork! Fork! Fork! Fork! Fork!
I had the opportunity to attend this once a few years ago and found it to be pretty grotesque. The pre- and post parties put on by media companies cost a pretty penny at a time when so many journalists are being laid off or muzzled by their bosses ostensibly celebrating freedom of the press. Yes the dinner raises money for aspiring journalists but surely there is a better way to do this? It may have started out as a way of coming together for one evening but like many things American, it has become bloated and self-important so I agree with you, time to 86 it and create a whole new fundraiser that truly amplifies freedom of the press without having to hobnob with those who would sooner see the press disintegrate.
Your description is all too apt, Emily.
And how about we add childish? The press acts like a bunch of frat boys and sorority sisters showing us just how elitist they really are.
I think the otherwise-execrable Kevin Spacey was the one who dubbed the event "Nerd Prom," and I think that pretty well defines it.
I think "grotesque" is the perfect word for it. "Disgusting" (literally causes disgust to well up in me) is another apt description.
It is grotesque and a fork definitely should be permanently stuck in the WHCA confab. The analogy of a woman going back to her abuser is apt especially in this case. I’m specifically thinking of all the journalists in Gaza and Lebanon who have been targeted and killed so I’m not too sanguine about the puffs at the glamor fest the other night.
Thank you Margaret for this—finally-sane idea. I’m a journalist and have always found this dinner a little icky. But more and more now that freedom of the press is under attack by our own president. Having been invited, he know dares to think he has the right to decide if the event is rescheduled and where it will be held. As you said: Cancel the damn thing! Or honor the right people who uphold free speech.
Thanks, Karen. We’re on the same page.
Well-said Margaret. Yes the WHCA dinner is a charade; but useful to have the sanewashers and democracy-washers self-identify by participating.
1 - Isn't there another ethical consideration here with Weija Jiang as WHCA President and host - and also an employee of the Ellisons - who attended and the Ellison's lavish event celebrating Trump and his admin Thursday. The Ellisons need (and have thus far received the blessing of their dangerous takeover of Warner-Bros (CNN, HBO etc..) from the Trump FCC (Carr), DOJ, FTC...
SOURCE: Paramount Throws Party for Trump as It Awaits Approval of Warner Bros. Deal https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/business/media/david-ellison-trump-cbs-news.html
2 - IMO there was an even more startling - and informative - thou-doth-protest-too-much in the O'Donnell interview exchange here in text form:
“Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people, horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody. I’m not a pedophile,” Trump said.
“Do you think he was referring to you?” O’Donnell asked.
“I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person. I got associated with stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated,” Trump said. “Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say, Epstein or other things. …You should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things.”
"I'm not a pedophile" is the new "I am not a crook".
What a sentence.
When trump says he's not a pedophile, you can bet your bottom dollar he is.
Put a fork in it. And thank you for noting that those in power are confronting an issue that school children in America have been living with their entire lives. Republicans want to now spend $400M of taxpayer dollars on trump’s ridiculous ballroom, but only “thoughts and prayers” for school children . In so many ways, corporate media is failing us. One plus from this year’s event though - we finally got to see Stephen Miller for who he truly is when he used his pregnant wife as a shield.
Not something I'd miss, but I'm not a journalist. During my career, though, I attended events meant to celebrate other professional accomplishments so I get the desire for recognition.
I do think a radical reimagining of the event along the lines you described is the very least that could be done. The very thought of Trump, Miller, Hegseth and Leavitt being invited to an event that celebrates speaking truth to power makes me gag.
Oh my gosh thank you so much for saying all of this. I'm a lifelong newspaper person--reporter and editor and columnist--and I have never fraternized with my sources, even when I was the books editor and was surrounded by incredible writers. I didn't go to lunch with them, I didn't party with them, I didn't befriend any of them. (Not that they wanted to befriend me, either, but you get my point.) I have *never* understood the purpose of this dinner -- it has always made journalists look bad, in my view -- and now in particular it is not just absurd, it is offensive and counterproductive.
I completely agree with all you have written. I am most disgusted at the suspiciously too quick Republican demand for the incredibly garish Trump Ballroom, especially any suggestion of diverting tax money for it. Conspiracy theories abound, but the lock step Republican demands for the ballroom are perhaps the most worrisome suggestion of something nefarious, along with the what may have been deliberately lax security.
Someday (soon?) we’ll understand the obsession with the ballroom.
I’ve been blaming his dementia-enhanced narcissism. He’s singularly obsessed with not just adding his name to existing well-known buildings, but is now laser-focused on building “the biggest anyone has ever seen”-type structures that will have his name emblazoned on them. And then there’s that demand for everything to be coated with gold (paint)….
if presidential security is such a Republican concern after the WHCD assassination attempt, why has Trump continued to play golf, out in the open, two or three times a week, since the assassination attempt at Trump International Golf Club in Florida in September 2024?
Journalist here. Thank you for your clarity, Margaret. I agree and have said publicly that the dinner was always a bad idea and a disgraceful look.
Yep!
Well into what my wife laughingly refers to as my “retirement” from journalism, I’m volunteering my services for an award-winning but financially struggling weekly in my community. We’d happily accept the money spent on the correspondents’ annual rubber chicken fest. It would probably go a long way toward keeping the presses rolling.
Thanks for doing that work!
Margaret, I agree on honoring those who fight for the First Amendment. I'm proud to be associated with the Arthur Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University. This year we recognized two outstanding journalists, Caitlin Collins of CNN and Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic.
I think it's long past time to throw the event into the dustbin of history. In the Trump era (and the Bush era, and the Reagan era) the Fourth Estate is nothing more than an extension of the Republican Party and the WH press office, totally abandoning its investigative and critical roles in exchange for access. As such, any celebration of the First Amendment is a sham. One more question - if this thing is rescheduled, where will it be held? The Golden Epstein Ballroom and Bordello will not be finished for years. Mierdalardo is not big enough. Does Trump own a roach motel golf resort with the space?
Stick a fork in it.
I really can't understand why so many journalist want to be abused by him and this administration. He was going to blister them. If nothing else his words to Nora O'Donnell should cement it. Only the guilty would have responded as he did and he was found guilty. The state of 1A is crippled, crawling along trying to find a rock to hide under.
Count me on Team Fork. There is something inherently corrupting when journalists view themselves as part of the political or Washington elite, rather than as servants of democracy as part of a free and independent media.
The former WaPo critic Jonathan Yardley once wrote when reviewing Walter Cronkite’s memoir, “Cronkite does not understand—or has simply lost sight of—the essential truth that presidents, generals, and other lofty scoundrels who occasionally consort with journalists do so in pure self-interest; it is the institution the journalists represent rather the journalists themselves that these people court, and exploitation rather than friendship is the only business at hand.”
The guardrail is cracked and crumbling.
Hi, Kay!
Hey, Marla! Hope all is well with you.
Yep, we moved from Texas to the DC area 18 years ago! Doing well. Where are you living now?
I'm in Santa Fe, writing my memoir, now moving into the manuscript phase. What is it that keeps you busy in DC?
I was a community coach for The Harwood Institute for 10 years but just retired. Not sure what's next!
Always on target!