The brunch is here and the pictures are in. Hundreds of journalists, pols, and celebrities have shown up to have a great time and support CURE and Mother’s Day Every Day.
We’ll be uploading pictures as they come in; take a look.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.
For the past 18 years, the WHCD Garden Party has been where friends gather before one of the biggest nights in Washington. Each year the stories are unique and the guest list represent the best representation of the news and events of the moment. Last year’s garden brunch was held just a few months after the arrival of the new administration. The economic crisis was in full bloom and both the media and official Washington were all trying to figure out how adjust to the new realities. Hollywood was fascinated with the new political stars and the new political stars were still adjusting to being celebrities. Here is a look back.
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Flash video.By Betsy Rothstein on Apr 21, 2010 04:19 PM
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner could potentially get really uncomfortable next weekend at the MSNBC tables, particularly if hosts Keith Olbermann and Donny Deutsch are in the mix of guests and stars.
Olbermann showed up to WHCA’s dinner last year — will he come again this year? Media insiders want to know: Will Griffin split the pair up, or will Olbermann refuse to sit with Deutsch if he attends? And who decides the seating chart? “Is Olbermann controlling the strings?” a media rep asked.
This week we’re compiling an Awkward Seating Chart for media folks around town. If you have input on potentially uncomfortable pairings, tell us about it. E-mail us at fishbowldc@mediabistro.com.
Deutsch is off the air this week, at least in part, we’re hearing, because Olbermann was furious about Deutsch floating a photograph of him while speaking of the Tea Partiers and “America the Angry.” President Phil Griffin was also reportedly angry and said as much to Deutsch and his producer, Gresham Striegel, who’s also off for the rest of the week.
Wolf Blitzer, Bobby Flay Headline Press Party
By Paul Bedard
Posted April 21, 2010
Politicians and Washingtonians have almost become a sidebar at the annual media event that features a funny monologue by the president and a real comic. This year it’s Jay Leno. Stars expected include Alec Baldwin, Ewan McGregor, Jimmy Fallon, Jon Bon Jovi, Judd Apatow, Tracy Morgan, Mary J. Blige, Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, John Cusack, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Alba, Julianna Margulies, and Jeremy Piven.
And it’s not just the press “prom” that’s a big show. There are several major parties built around the event, some before, some after, and TV talker John McLaughlin’s is held the next day, on Sunday. To get a feel for the types of parties, below is the press release description of the one affair virtually everybody will trek to after the official event is over Saturday night. It’s held by Jason Binn’s Capitol File and this year co-hosted by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and celebrity chef Bobby Flay. We don’t know if Flay’s going to do a throwdown challenge to Blitzer.
http://www.usnews.com/news/washington-whispers/articles/2010/04/21/wolf-blitzer-bobby-flay-headline-press-party.html
“By the People,” the HBO documentary by Amy Rice and Alicia Sims, brought together top Obama campaign veterans and the press corps that followed them through the historic 2008 election for a backslapping, bear-hugging reunion at the newly renovated Motion Picture Association of America. HBO President Richard Plepler greeted top White House advisers Anita Dunn, Austan Goolsbee, Dan Pfeiffer, Sarah Feinberg, Bill Burton, Mike Blake, Dag Vega, and Washington’s newest Chicago import Susan Sher, the First Lady’s longtime friend and chief of staff.
The filmmakers’ Obama bus mates were well represented in the 80-plus crowd beginning with bestselling author Richard Wolffe, Obama “original” Juliana Goldman, Lynne Sweet, plus several campaign heavy hitters: Mike Allen, Mark Leibovitch, Jeff Zeleny, and David Jackson.
Representing the 2008 TV and pundit corps: Hilary Rosen, Jonathan Capehart, Betsy Fischer, and David Chalian.
The party went into overdrive when Reggie Love huddled with Richard Plepler; one line formed to take photos with Love and another to shake hands and schmooze with Plepler.
Washington’s elite came out to watch the HBO screening: Ben Bradlee, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, George and Liz Stevens, and Bob Barnett. And all eyes were on Barnett and the HBO chief, as they huddled over their upcoming projects.
Obama media man Jim Margolis and White House Communications Director Anita Dunn spoke after the screening, reminding the crowd that Rice and Sims joined the campaign in 2006. And after an inspiring speech about the campaign, Margolis told how he meticulously prepared for commercial shoots at the critical campaign moment Rice and Sims were always present, whether it was around the campaign office or stepping in a the right moment to get the shot of the candidate who made history. Dunn said the film captured the special feeling of what it was like to work on the campaign and that “there will not be another campaign that was like the Obama 2008 campaign…people felt that they were a part of something much bigger than one individual.”
Reggie Love, who was always one step in front of or behind Obama in the film, attended the screening with two BlackBerry’s in hand, greeting many of those who spent hours covering the candidate or working on the campaign. MSNBC’s Richard Wolffe, who made several appearances in the film, cheered and laughed along with his colleagues as the audience could see through the camera lens the sometimes quiet and sometimes frantic moments of the campaign.
For many it was a chance to relive the excitement of the campaign, for others it was to catch up with Obama people who are now running the country.
“By The People” premieres November 3rd at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO.
Event Coverage, News Media, Uncategorized, Washington Events, White House Staff
Rose Garden Beer Summit
Harvard professor Henry Gates, Jr. and Cambridge police officer James Crowley “did not apologize” to each other, but “agreed to disagree,” says USA Today about last night’s Rose Garden Beer Summit.
Click here for the rest of the USA Today article.
Few questions were answered, besides who had what to drink: President Obama, a Bud Light — Gates, a Sam Adams Light — Crowley, a Blue Moon — and VP Joe Biden, a Buckler.
A number of new polls show Obama’s approval ratings have fallen over his comments that the Cambridge police “acted stupidly,” particularly among working-class whites.
Click here for the Pew Research Center poll, which found 41% disapproved of Obama’s handling of the incident, compared to 29% who approved.
And click here for Rasmussen’s poll, which found 44% of Americans believe Obama has done poorly in dealing with the situation.
President Obama has had his face and words on almost every magazine cover and newspaper in the world but can he sway health care votes IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS?
Wednesday, he will be the first President to have his presidential news conference tweeted to the world. Will he change his style of speaking? Will reporters tweet questions in earlier in the day? Don’t miss Robert Gibbs briefing LIVE on WHCInsider.com and get an advance TWEET!
The Press Conference will now be at 8 PM EST.
Read the whole story on FishBowlDC
Thursday morning: L’Aquila July 9, 2009 Gordon is off for his first breakfast meeting early, but I get an extra hour as we wait for the other spouses to arrive at the earthquake-hit town of L’Aquila. I did not know what to expect from the police barracks allocated for our accommodation but actually it is all very comfortable and all mod cons in full working order. All apart from one incident with a stuck lift for the events team (and a rapid response from the super efficient Italian staff), which has motivated us to be super-healthy and use the stairs. Once the rest of the spouses have arrived we are treated to coffee and pastries.
Everyone looks well-rested after a good night’s sleep. We are all assigned to buses for our journey to the area worst hit by the earthquake in April – I’m with my good friend Margarita Zavala from Mexico who remembers her country’s own devastating earthquake of 1985 We travel to the Piazza Duomo in the old town of L’Aquila. The full scale of the devastation really hits you when you see such beautiful buildings full of cracks and surrounded by crumbling stones. A glimpse inside a church revealed nothing but piles of rubble waiting to be sifted through during the coming months, to enable the restoration. We are then taken to the centre of the devastation where so many lost their lives and everybody lost their homes.
The emptiness of all the buildings was striking and you wonder how everyone is coping now with their displaced lives. The Director in charge of L’Aquila’s restoration explained that rebuilding the town will take many years. Michelle Obama and I are taken across to meet the emergency service team who have all been working so hard on the restoration. I know this is true of emergency services everywhere, especially in Britain
We are taken back to the G8 compound and run into Gordon and his team walking between meetings. We take the chance to make a call home and speak to our youngest son. Gordon goes off to his next session and now I head off to rejoin the spouses for a nice Italian lunch.
"On the night of June 24, the media and government become one"
To check out the rest of the story on the Drudge Report, click HERE
Jeanne Borugault is Internews' COO and Sr. VP for Programs. She's on the left. To her right is Thepchai Yong from Thailand, Tasneem Ahmar from Pakistain, photojournalist James Nachtwey, and Jean Fedner Chery from Haiti's RAMAK.Internews Presents the 2009 Recipients of its Media Leadership Awards
by Mitchell Polman
While we were getting a glimpse into the activities of the new President in the NBC Special Inside the Obama White House, Internews, the non-profit headed by board chair Kathy Bushkin-Calvin, held its third annual Media Leadership Awards at the Washington offices of DLA Piper.
What makes this significant is that Internews trains journalists to and media professionals the traditions and advantages of having free press around the world.
A crowd of journalists, diplomats, government officials, and NGO workers gathered to hear the inspiring stories of this year’s honorees from Pakistan, Thailand, and Haiti, and photojournalist James Nachtwey. The event was chaired by Washington Capitals owner and former AOL executive Ted Leonsis. Radio broadcaster Bob Edwards was on hand as master of ceremonies. Read more…
Washington will be glued to their television sets on Tuesday and Wednesday nights for Brian William’s special, “Inside the Obama White House”. Tune in to NBC on June 2 and 3 at 9pm eastern. Access doesn’t get better than this.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Latest Twitter Results Latest Google Results