Gawker Rant: "Fuck the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner" [View all]

[Hissyspit]

http://www.gawker.com/5905698/fuck-the-white-house-correspondents-association-dinner

RANTS

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