Operation Mockingbird White House Correspondents Dinner Party Exposed

Journalism’s job is to speak truth to power, not refill it’s glass and laugh at it’s jokes.

The mainstream media operation mockingbird assets are wined and dined each year by the White House at the annual press correspondents’ dinner. Media analyst Mark Dice discusses why it is a conflict of interest for the press corps to be partying with the President at a red carpet event.

From the Guardian: The White House correspondents’ dinner is known for being a glitzy, over-the-top affair, and Saturday’s event lived up to its reputation. Starstruck reporters schmoozed with celebrities; the president made jokes at the expense of a red-faced and huffy Donald Trump; bloggers continued to Tweet madly, unimpeded by their black-tie attire, pausing only to gawk at the likes of Bristol Palin and Paul Rudd.

Sponsored by the White House Correspondents’ Association with a little help from the lobbyists next door, the stated goal of the event is to raise funds for awards and scholarships (of which I was a recipient) and honour the media for its commitment to news coverage. At a time when American journalism is losing its clout as quickly as it is haemorrhaging money, the dinner’s intention is close to irreproachable. But its execution is symptomatic of the problems the profession is facing.

The celebrities sitting at almost every table of the Washington Hilton gave the distinct impression that both journalism and politics are now wholly beholden to the whims of the entertainment-industrial complex. That the entire evening’s discourse revolved around Donald Trump’s birther-babble only confirmed this.

It has always been common for nightclubs to pay bright young things for making appearances. Today, newspapers and magazines pick up the tab, flaunting glamorous contributors – Tina Fey, Bono, James Franco
– while downsizing their newsrooms.

Seeing Rahm Emmanuel rub shoulders with writers, producers and editors would suggest to any reasonable viewer that the press and this particularly photogenic administration enjoy a relationship that is cozier than it is critical. The hoards of people outside the after-parties hosted by DC’s rich and powerful are proof that afflicting the comfortable has become much less cool than having drinks with them. Last spring, writer Michael Hastings responded to criticisms of his Rolling Stone profile of General Stanley McChrystal by saying many other journalists resort to writing “puff pieces” in order to gain crucial access to key government officials. This dinner, with its assortment of eye candy and Kit-Kat pyramids, is the ultimate puff piece.

Perhaps, that’s why it’s so readily enjoyable. The president’s tongue-in-cheek jabs at both NPR and Fox News, and comedian Seth Meyer’s deadpan takedown of, well, everyone, made for excellent standup, and even better television. What disturbs is the chumminess of it all: everyone – except the Donald – was in on the joke. Fewer and fewer Americans trust the press; the polarisation of news coverage is a testament to how ill-at-ease people feel about the information they’re being sold. To send the message via C-span that the Capitol, the Fourth Estate and Hollywood are all in it together, if only for one night, hardly helps accusations of elitism.

At a time when the presidency can easily bypass the media and get its message out via Twitter or Facebook, it is crucial for an independent, critical press corps to keep government accountable. Instead, this dinner provides newspapers an occasion to gush – even Dubya made his audience giggle. And for all his wit and worldly charm, Obama has been criticised for holding fewer and fewer press conferences, not allowing external photographers into the White House, and generally making himself unavailable for questioning. This is a dangerous trend that frustrates journalists to no end. Why make it a non-issue by publicly clinking glasses in ball gowns?

A businessman once remarked that he could buy any reporter in New York with a steak dinner. On Saturday, DC’s press corps got surf-and-turf and bottomless glasses of wine. Journalism is a decidedly unglamorous occupation, and I’d be loath to fault any reporter for being drawn to an event like this one once a year. What matters is not to let it set the tone.

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Source: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/may/03/barack-obama-obama-administration