Gawker Rant: "Fuck the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner"
http://www.gawker.com/5905698/fuck-the-white-house-correspondents-association-dinnerRANTS
Fuck the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
By Hamilton Nolan, Apr 27, 2012 12:33 PM
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Do you know who knows that the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner is a shameful display of whoredom that makes the "average American" vomit in disgust, or, more likely, simply continue to disregard the findings of any ostensibly neutral journalistic outlet in favor of their own ideology of choice, because they have a fully solidified belief that the "mainstream media" is little more than a bunch of ball-lapping lapdogs to whoever's in power? Everyone. Everyone knows this. Even the members of the media who attend the White House Whores Despondence Dinner know this, deep down, whether they admit it openly or lie defensively about how they, the true professionals, can stand in a receiving line to backslap and shake the hands of politicians like groupies and pose for pictures with Ashton Kutcher and Alec Baldwin and Stephen Baldwin and Anna Paquin and no, it does not matter tomorrow, because they are professionals who would never be compromised by the fact that they just spent their favorite evening of the year joshing playfully with the powerful officials they are supposed to be afflicting and reveling in their close proximity to the celebrities that they wish they were.
This is not just any segment of the working press, enjoying a night out. This is the DC press corps, which has arguably the most important job in American journalism: informing the public about the activities of its government, and serving as a strong and omnipresent check on the government's power. Great to know that our fearless watchdogs are busy swilling wine with the people they are supposed to be covering and introducing them to their wives and posing for pictures with Mila Kunis.
The United States of America is currently at war. In part because of the DC press corps' soft, friendly relationship with those in power. Glad to see they've learned their lesson from that.
Every year I ponder whether it's possible to go to Whore Dinner to cover it without being Part of the Problem, and I every year I decide that it is not. (Credit the New York Times and other news organizations who have come to the same conclusion.) And every year I and other humorless moralists write these somber diatribes about this event, and nothing ever changes, nor will it, because the media members themselves don't give a fuck, because they like to meet celebrities, and the public doesn't give a fuck because they already know the stars of the "mainstream media" are a bunch of patsy starfuckers who have to carefully consider how awkward next year's Dinner might be every time they're formulating uncomfortable questions for a politician, so who cares?
REST OF RANT AT LINK
= new reply since forum marked as read
Sigh. True.
GOTTA get those invites to those chi-chi cocktail parties at those luxury Georgetown living rooms.
SIMPLY MUST fawn over all those newsmakers - don't care if they're crooks! GOTTA have that precious access!!! If we can't rub elbows with all these people - how will we ever get access to them?
For what?
Another in a continuing series of softball interviews?
I had this argument with a friend recently. If I had been news president at MSNBC or someplace, and my staff's coverage started getting so tough on these assholes that we were threatened with a cut-off of access, I would then make THAT the story! I would have had a drumbeat - NOT of "oh, poor me, locked out... boo hoo," but rather with a more aggressive, combative tone - "they've denied us access because they don't want to face objective questioning - in fact THEY'RE SCARED of it! 'Cause they know their version won't hold up if they're faced with anybody but our competitors - who always present themselves on their knees because they've just got to get into those fancy-ass VIP cocktail parties." We'd rather present the truth, with our own political stars and celebs - and there are PLENTY of them. But our competitors would shut THEM out, too. WE won't be doing that, or playing that cowards' game. You don't need to get into the back room or the private VIP cocktail party to report THE NEWS!!!"
Thinking back to the absolute 100% shut-out of objectors' voices during the run-up to the Iraq War, I can't help but think of the LEGIONS of experts, activists, and even the handful of war opponents in Congress and the Senate - who'd be GREAT to fill the airwaves and the face time with, were my news division to be shut out of interviews with contradicta or rummy or wolfie or dickie.
"TOO FREAKIN' BAD! You wanna see contradicta or wolfie or rummy or ari or scotty or dickie, go watch any other channel and you get the same stale Xerox'd version with the same big names over and over and over. YOU could play their part in any interview because you already have seen the same script blast-faxed all over everywhere. And you'll keep getting their lies and their spin and their tall tales that don't stand up to serious, legitimate, objective questioning. But WE would offer alternative views, alternative faces and voices, and thereby not only get the truth out to the public, BUT start grooming new names and faces as spokespeople and well-seasoned talking heads - on OUR side. It would have paid two different sets of dividends. WE are not a wholly-owned subsidiary as those other networks are."
Only now are we building the left-leaning media profile - with MSNBC, and to a much lesser extent, Current. That should have started a decade ago. Only now are we building bench strength and our own stable of credible talking heads. Once again, our side comes from behind. Hope we don't stay there too long. And they're STILL caving! If they weren't, Cenk would still be on MSNBC and nobody who works for that network in Washingon would even bother moaning and groaning about how the republi-CONS there are pissed off at our coverage and won't come on our show! It wouldn't matter!!! TOTALLY IRRELEVANT!!! There's such an easy way to turn it around - to our favor!
And nobody's thinking that way at the networks, cable or otherwise. Because they just can't tear themselves away from the hard-ons for that precious access. I don't get it! It's just so obvious!!!!
