By now, the problems with the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner — which took place, hostless, on Saturday — are pretty well known to the point of cliché.
The uncomfortable nature of journalists palling around with the politicians they cover, the B-list celebrities at every table (Tim Daly, Dean Norris, Kevin O’Leary), the reporters playing at being rich celebs while claiming not to be elitist… you get the idea (and the “Nerd Prom” sobriquet). You’ve heard it ad nauseam for years, they’re not going to stop doing it, and there’s nothing left to say other than that the WHCD has been supremely ineffective at the one thing they’re supposed to be good at, namely covering the White House and protecting their own members’ First Amendment rights.
When they start boycotting press conferences, let me know. And there are better and more ethical ways to raise money for whatever it is the WHCD does. (Scholarships and awards, it would appear.)
Meanwhile, a similarly uncomfortable journalism thing played out last week, namely, another round of talk radio shows broadcasting from a radio row at the White House. Stations and shows that participate in these things, like the sports stations populating the Super Bowl radio row, get very excited about it on the air and in social media. ‘Look at us,’ they’re saying. ‘We’re important! You’re getting the news straight from the horses’ mouths! Exciting!’
Exciting? For the hosts, maybe. For listeners, what you’re really saying is that you’re willing to hand your mic over to politicians to spout their propaganda. It doesn’t matter which party’s in power; all you’re gonna get from a radio row is what the interviewees want you to get, and nothing more. You’re being used, and I think a growing number of listeners know that.
Besides, you’re not going to get too many really important members of the administration; you might get a Nancy Mace or Howie Lutnick to overenthusiastically endorse everything that’s happening, but who, really, wants to hear from them? (Fun Fact: My college’s alumni Facebook group spends much of its time trashing Howie and demanding that his name be taken off the campus library, to which he donated a large sum. He doesn’t have too many defenders among his classmates.)
Sports radio rows are the same thing, only with sponsors. You might get some big names to stop by your card table booth and chat, but you’ll have to let them talk about their sponsor, first. “Baker Mayfield, welcome to the show; tell us about Advance Auto Parts!” At least those guys will go on to talk football between plugs. You ain’t getting nothin’ from politicians that hasn’t been vetted and planned out in advance.
It’s the same issue as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. You’re getting chummy with people you’re supposed to be covering honestly, if not entirely impartially.
Are you willing and able to ask really, really tough questions when your subject isn’t just on the phone but is sitting right there next to you? Will you risk a subject storming away, upset by your probing, or do you want to become friends with them? Are you ready to be thrown out of the venue for doing your job, or are you “respectful” in a don’t-make-waves manner when you’re in a room full of interview subjects?
tl;dr version: Don’t do political radio rows, ever. Don’t do interviews to make friends and don’t socialize with the people you cover. Also, don’t go to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner even if your lifelong dream is to be in a room with the guy from “Wings.” No, not that guy, the other guy. Either guy. Just don’t.
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Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
Don’t do radio rows? It depends on the host. I’ve seen plenty of lively talks, and plenty of “BJ” questions. The hosts on each end of that spectrum know who they are.
Don’t get “chummy?” That’s pretty subjective, especially back in the 70s and 80s when they slogan for long Presidential trips was “wheels up, rings off.” I actually interviewed a former White House staffer – turned conservative columnist who bemoaned that she MISSED those days!
Don’t socialize? Tough to do when you’re on a 13-hour press charter flight to Japan. In my four years covering the White House for Fox Radio, I was probably one of the least social people in the press room basement, and I still made plenty of pleasant acquaintances, which is vital to the job. You get phone calls returned a bit quicker when someone knows you, even a little bit.
Don’t attend the dinner? Wrong. Yes, it’s gotten out of hand. My last dinner was a decade ago, and I got yelled at by a photographer because I was talking to a colleague in what MIGHT have been a place where a celebrity MIGHT walk by. This year’s event is a good start in the effort to return to sanity.
But here’s the reason to go, and to encourage big media corporations and others to attend: $139,000 in scholarships, the second-largest amount in the 34-year history of the White House Correspondents Association. Plus another $56,000 in aid and grants.
Oh, and maybe the WHCA has a little to do with the fact that real media companies, not just the sycophants, still get to cover the President every day.
Things may not be as “chummy” as they used to be above the old swimming pool.