Saturday’s night’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington followed the usual script of jokes and pokes at various politicians, media types, Washington insiders and, of course, President Joe Biden.
For his part, Biden joined in with a few jokes as well.
But there was a seriousness to Saturday’s event as well. Especially when Biden, during his address, trumpeted the importance of journalists by calling out the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump and many of Trump’s followers.
Biden said, “There are some who call you the enemy of the people. That’s wrong and it’s dangerous. … The defeated former president has made no secret of his attack on our democracy. He has said he wants to be a dictator on day one. And so much more. He tells supporters he is their revenge and retribution. When, in God’s name, have you ever heard of another president say something like that? And he promised a ‘bloodbath’ when he loses again. We have to take this seriously.”
Biden then added, “I’m sincerely not asking you to take sides. I’m asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment. Move past the horse-race numbers and the gotcha moments and the distractions, the sideshows that have sensationalized our politics. And focus on what’s actually at stake. I think, in your hearts, you know what’s at stake.”
Biden closed with a toast: “To a free press, to an informed citizenry, to an America where freedom and democracy endure. God bless America.”
It also should be noted that, for the second year in a row, Biden called for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being detained in Russia on trumped-up charges of espionage. The U.S. government considers Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained.”
Meanwhile, back to host Colin Jost. Some thought he didn’t have a great night — more on that in a minute. He did share a poignant and personal message at the end of his act that seemed to win over the crowd. Jost talked about his grandfather, William Kelly, and how Kelly was a longtime firefighter from Staten Island who painted houses and worked as a substitute teacher to make extra money for his family.
Jost said, “My grandfather, a Staten Island firefighter, voted for you, Mr. President. … He voted for you, and the reason that he voted for you is because you’re a decent man. My grandpa voted for decency, and decency is why we’re all here tonight. Decency is how we’re able to be here tonight. Decency is how we’re able to make jokes about each other, and one of us doesn’t go to prison after — we go to the Newsmax after-party.”
Biden ribs New York Times
Last week, Politico’s Eli Stokols wrote a story that had the media world buzzing: “The Petty Feud Between the NYT and the White House.” Stokols reported that one of the issues is that the Times, especially publisher A.G. Sulzberger, is frustrated that Biden hasn’t sat down for a one-on-one interview with the Times. The Times, through a spokesperson, said, “The notion that any line of coverage has been ordered up or encouraged in retaliation for declining an interview, or any other reason, is outrageous and untrue.”
But it also put out a statement about Biden’s not giving many in-depth interviews and wrote, “It should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term.”
During his speech Saturday night, Biden said, “The New York Times issued a statement blasting me for ‘actively and effectively avoiding independent journalists.’ Hey, if that’s what it takes to get the New York Times to say I’m active and effective, I’m for it.”
Reporters for Politico’s Playbook wrote that “emotions on both sides are still pretty raw when it comes to the recent (White House-New York Times) dustup.”
Jost’s night
As I mentioned earlier, Jost, who co-anchors the “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live,” had a night that drew mixed reviews. (I actually thought he did well.) The New York Times’ Jason Zinoman wrote, “Without his Weekend Update partner Michael Che next to him, he came off muted, vanilla, less assured than usual. With long pauses between jokes, eyes darting side to side, he occasionally took a drink of water and at least once acknowledged the lack of laughter in the room.”
Zinoman did say Jost’s closing part about his grandfather was his “strongest moment.”
The Washington Post’s Samantha Chery wrote, “Colin Jost’s funniest jokes at the White House correspondents’ dinner.” And Politico has, “Top 7 jokes Colin Jost made about Trump at White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
And thanks to Politico’s Playbook for rounding up Jost’s jokes about the media:
- “By the way, when I started at the Staten Island Advance, we had a circulation of 100,000. The Washington Post would kill for that.”
- “Wordle is here tonight. Sorry, I meant the New York Times.”
- “Fox News is here tonight. It’s the end of an era: Rupert Murdoch stepped down at Fox News. Which is strange: I didn’t think there was a step down from Fox News.”
- “The Washington Post is here. Washington Post — they were the ones taking your coats at the door. Please be sure to tip.”
- “The New York Post is like having the New York Times summarized for you by a crackhead.”
O’Donnell’s comments
White House Correspondents’ Association president Kelly O’Donnell spoke at the dinner, saying, “We believe that independent, professional journalists on hand to document events of a presidency are stewards of something precious — more enduring than any news cycle or trending topic. We preserve the historical record, part of the legacy of the First Amendment.”
In case you missed it, I had a Q&A last week with O’Donnell about the White House Correspondents’ Association.
The last word
For an insider’s look at the WHCA Dinner, here’s Vanity Fair’s Charlotte Klein with “Glitzy Parties and Gaza Protests Collide at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
Rather’s return
Veteran journalist Dan Rather, right, talks with “CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent Lee Cowen. (Photo courtesy of CBS News Sunday Morning)
Dan Rather appeared on CBS on Sunday for the first time since his controversial exit in the mid-2000s. Rather was featured on “CBS News Sunday Morning.”
Rather had been at CBS for 44 years, including 24 years as anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” where he was one of the most respected voices in journalism. However, Rather left the anchor chair in March of 2005 after a “60 Minutes II” report questioned George W. Bush’s National Guard record, which was based on documents that CBS failed to authenticate.
As Associated Press’ David Bauder wrote, “Rather escaped official blame for the report that questioned Bush’s Vietnam War-era National Guard service but, as the anchor who introduced it, was identified with it. CBS could not vouch for the authenticity of some documents upon which the report was based, although many people involved in the story still believe it was true.”
Rather was eventually fired from CBS News.
Now 92, Rather told “CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent Lee Cowen, “Without apology or explanation, I miss CBS. I’ve missed it since the day I left there.”
But Rather remains hurt over his exit at CBS, telling Cowen, “In the heart of every reporter worthy of their name, Lee, there’s a message that news, real news, is what somebody, somewhere, particularly somebody in power, doesn’t want you to know. That’s news.”
He said leaving CBS was his “lowest point,” adding, “I gave CBS News everything I had. They had smarter, better, more talented people, but they didn’t have anybody who worked any harder than I did.”
Rather is the subject of a documentary called “Rather,” which will debut on Netflix on Wednesday.
Poppy Harlow leaves CNN
Poppy Harlow, now formerly of CNN, in December 2023. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Poppy Harlow, the longtime CNN anchor, announced late last week that she is leaving the network.
According to CNN’s Oliver Darcy, Harlow sent an email to colleagues saying her nearly two decades at CNN have been “a gift.” She added, “I have been inspired by you and learned so much from you — who are (and will remain) dear friends. … I grew up here: as a journalist and as a person. I was allowed to stumble, to falter, and then to try again with the support and care of this CNN family. This place has shaped me as a leader, taught me resilience, shown me the value of perspective and how to make hard decisions.”
Harlow joined CNN in 2008. She covered prominent stories, such as the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and 2015 Paris terror attacks. Former CNN boss Chris Licht, in an effort to revamp morning programming, picked Harlow to co-anchor “CNN This Morning,” along with Don Lemon and Kaitlan Collins. That was in 2022, but the program struggled from the get go. Lemon was ultimately fired from CNN, and Collins was moved to her own primetime show.
Mark Thompson took over for Licht as head of CNN, he made more changes to the morning lineup and Harlow was moved off the program in February of this year. She hasn’t been on the air since then.
The Los Angeles Times’ Stephen Battaglio reported that Harlow “has about 18 months left on her contract but was unable to reach an agreement with management on a new role. Nonetheless, the parting is considered amicable, according to people familiar with the discussions.”
Thompson told CNN staffers, “Poppy is a unique talent who combines formidable reporting and interviewing prowess with a human touch that audiences have always responded to.”
Harlow wrote, “For now, my plan is to walk our children to school and pick them up (hopefully they won’t get sick of me!), and to support the evolution of journalism in every way I can, while preserving the human(ity) in it. I’m excited for what is ahead — and I will be rooting for CNN always.”
Penny Abernathy: Local legacy media is more innovative than you think
For this item, I turn it over to Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds.
Penny Abernathy, whose studies of the local news crisis popularized the terms “news deserts” and “ghost newspapers,” surprisingly says that legacy newspapers can be a place to look for innovation. That’s small, independent newspapers, close to their communities with local owners empowered to act. Chain papers and their sites, by contrast, especially those owned by hedge funds, put big profits first and are part of the problem.
Abernathy offered those and other opinions last week in an exit interview at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism during a gathering honoring her retirement. She is stepping down after more than a decade of data-rich studies that have made her the most cited expert on the attrition of local news. She will be continuing as a visiting professor at Medill.
She had stints as a high-level business executive at both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal before turning to academia, first at the University of North Carolina, then at Medill.
Other Abernathy comments:
- On legislation regulating Facebook and Google: She’s in favor. “It’s well established that (the two) take 75% of digital advertising in local markets. Everyone else is fighting over scraps. … Plus national news – not local – is what hits their algorithms.”
- On the digital nonprofit sector’s potential: “I’m not completely sold. Of 460 (sites) we study, few are older than five years.” That means many do not weather the tough midlife work of becoming sustainable after initial funding runs out. “For small sites,” she said, “you have to be very focused if you only have 10 people or so. And there are limitations on what you can endorse because of nonprofit status.”
- On the Press Forward initiative from the MacArthur and Knight Foundations, to widen philanthropic support and dispense $500 million: The new program has already made great strides on the first goal, bringing on board more than 50 collaborating foundations. On the other hand, $500 million sounds like a lot, “but spread over five years, it’s a small drop (of investment) compared to what’s needed.”
- On the ubiquity of the “news desert” metaphor: “I didn’t invent the term … but I like it. … You know things do bloom in the desert.”
Media tidbits
- Variety’s Zack Sharf with “Aaron Sorkin Is Writing Some Kind of ‘Social Network’ Sequel Because ‘I Blame Facebook For January 6’ Riot at the U.S. Capitol.”
- The Washington Post’s Shira Ovide with “Who might buy TikTok?”
- A personal rant. I spent much of the weekend watching the NBA and NHL playoffs. And the AT&T commercial featuring young NBA stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren singing a changed-lyrics version of Christina Aguilera’s “What a Girl Wants” played, I swear, at least 498 times. It started getting annoying after the second time.
Hot type
Lee Zurik, Samantha Sunne and Dannah Sauer of WVUE-TV, with data analysis by Joel Jacobs of ProPublica: “The Louisiana Town Where a Traffic Stop Can Lead to One Charge After Another.”
The Ringer’s Nora Princiotti with “How Taylor Swift Writes About Being Taylor Swift.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Jared Diamond with “Baseball’s Most Notorious Umpire Is Back — and People Are Losing Their Minds.”
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
More resources for journalists
- Reporter’s Toolkit gives you the tools to succeed early in your career. Applications close Sunday.
- Delve more deeply into your editing skills with Poynter ACES Intermediate Certificate in Editing.
- Beat Academy offers eight trainings for one low price.
- Understand U.S. Immigration From the Border to the Heartland — Start any time.
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