White House Correspondents' Association#The Merriman Smith Memorial Award

The leadership of the White House Correspondents' Association for 2024–25 includes:

• Officers
• President: Eugene Daniels, Politico
• Vice President: Weijia Jiang, CBS News
• Treasurer: Sara Cook, CBS News
• Secretary: Justin Sink, Bloomberg News
• Board members
• Andrew Harnik, Getty Images
• Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News
• Trevor Hunnicutt, Reuters
• Courtney Subramanian, BBC
• Karen Travers, ABC News
• Executive Director
• Steven Thomma

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The WHCA was formerly responsible for assigned seating in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the White House.{{cite web |author=Wemple, Erik |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/04/02/one-america-news-network-has-been-ousted-coronavirus-briefing-rotation-heres-why/ |title=One America News Network Has Been Ousted From Coronavirus Briefing Rotation. Here's Why |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 2, 2020}}{{cite web |author=Farhi, Paul |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/the-white-house-tried-to-move-a-reporter-to-the-back-of-the-press-room-but-she-refused-then-trump-walked-out/2020/04/25/a5d16cc6-8714-11ea-ae26-989cfce1c7c7_story.html |title=The White House Tried to Move a Reporter to the Back of the Press Room, But She Refused. Then Trump Walked Out |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 25, 2020}}

{{Commons category|White House Correspondents' Association dinner}}

The WHCA's annual dinner, begun in 1921,[http://www.whca.press/history.htm "The Early Years (1914 - 1921)"].|White House Correspondents' Association. Retrieved 2017-02-25. has become a Washington, D.C. tradition, and is traditionally attended by the president and vice president. Except for Donald Trump, every president has attended at least one WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924.{{Cite web |last=Gittins |first=William |title=Why didn't Donald Trump ever attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner as president? |date=May 2023 |url=https://en.as.com/latest_news/why-didnt-donald-trump-ever-attend-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner-as-president-n-2/}}{{cite web |last1=Amiri |first1=Farnoush |last2=Weissert |first2=Will |title=Biden roasts Trump, GOP, himself at correspondents' dinner |url=https://apnews.com/article/pete-davidson-biden-covid-entertainment-health-eb0fae0500b1291059eba9947fad2453 |website=AP News |date=May 2022 |publisher=The Associated Press |access-date=4 May 2022}} The dinner is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton.

Until 1962, the dinner was open only to men,{{cite news|title=OPINION: Cancel culture vs. a legendary White House reporter: Don't strike Merriman Smith's name from the history book|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2022/03/17/cancel-culture-vs-a-legendary-white-house-reporter-dont-strike-merriman-smiths-name-from-the-history-books/|first=Bill|last=Sanderson|work=New York Daily News|date=Mar 17, 2022}} even though WHCA's membership included women. At the urging of Helen Thomas, President John F. Kennedy refused to attend the dinner unless the ban on women was dropped.{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/29/us/helen-thomas-fast-facts/index.html |title=Helen Thomas Fast Facts |first=C. N. N. |last=Library |work=cnn.com |date=January 29, 2013 |access-date=April 30, 2017}}

Prior to World War II, the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie, and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers. Since 1983, the featured speaker has usually been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a comedy roast of the president and his administration.

The dinner also funds scholarships for gifted students in college journalism programs.{{cite web |last=Mulhere |first=Kaitlin |date=April 29, 2016 |title=How Much Does the White House Correspondents' Dinner Actually Raise for Scholarships? |url=https://money.com/white-house-correspondents-dinner-scholarship-fundraiser/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915115725/https://money.com/white-house-correspondents-dinner-scholarship-fundraiser/ |archive-date=September 15, 2021 |access-date=April 29, 2018 |website=Money.com}}

Many annual dinners have been cancelled or downsized due to deaths or political crises. The dinner was cancelled in 1930 due to the death of former president William Howard Taft; in 1942, following the United States' entry into World War II; and in 1951, over what President Harry S. Truman called the "uncertainty of the world situation."[http://www.nationaljournal.com/white-house-correspondents-dinner-25-memorable-moments-20110427 "White House Correspondents Dinner: 25 Memorable Moments,"] National Journal, by Julia Edwards, April 27, 2011 In 1981, Ronald Reagan did not attend because he was recuperating after the attempted assassination the previous month, but he did phone in and told a joke about the shooting.{{cite news |title=Trump Will Be First President In 36 Years To Skip White House Correspondents Dinner |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/25/517257273/trump-will-be-first-president-in-36-years-to-skip-white-house-correspondents-din |newspaper=New York Times |date=February 25, 2017}}

During his presidency, Donald Trump did not attend the dinners in 2017, 2018, and 2019.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-04-06/trump-to-skip-white-house-correspondents-dinner-again-this-year |title=Trump to Skip White House Correspondents' Dinner Again This Year |date=April 6, 2018 |work=Bloomberg.com |access-date=April 6, 2018 |language=en}} Trump indicated that he might attend in 2019 since this dinner did not feature a comedian as the featured speaker.{{cite news |author=Staff Writer |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/11/20/trump-says-might-attend-white-house-correspondents-dinner/ZuJbzvTqKwLCLRQDDPcVxN/story.html |title=Trump says he might attend White House Correspondents' Dinner |work=The Boston Globe |publisher=Associated Press |date=2018-11-21 |access-date=2018-11-21}} However, on April 5, 2019, he announced that he again would not attend, calling the dinner "so boring, and so negative," instead hosting a political rally that evening in Wisconsin.{{cite news |url=https://www.thestate.com/entertainment/celebrities/article228877874.html |title=No-go zone: Trump to skip 'boring' White House press dinner |last=Lucey |first=Catherine |date=April 5, 2019 |newspaper=The State |agency=The Associated Press |access-date=April 5, 2019 |archive-date=April 6, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406003445/https://www.thestate.com/entertainment/celebrities/article228877874.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-heads-wisconsin-counter-rally-white-house-correspondents/story?id=62627290 |last=Verhovek |first=John |website=ABCNews.com |date=April 28, 2019 |title=At counter-WHCD rally in Wisconsin, Trump rips Democrats' 'collusion delusion,' takes aim at 2020 presidential field |access-date=April 28, 2019}} On April 22, Trump ordered a boycott of the dinner, with White House Cabinet Secretary Bill McGinley assembling the agencies' chiefs of staff to issue a directive that members of the administration not attend.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/440229-trump-tells-officials-not-to-attend-white-house-correspondents-dinner/ |last=Fabian |first=Jordan |title=Trump tells officials not to attend White House Correspondents' Dinner |date=April 23, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019 |website=The Hill}}{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/23/trump-orders-boycott-of-white-house-correspondents-dinner-1287871 |last=Johnson |first=Eliana |title=Furious Trump orders first-ever boycott of White House Correspondents' Dinner |website=Politico |date=April 23, 2019 |access-date=April 23, 2019}} However, some members of the administration attended pre- and post-dinner parties.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/04/28/no-president-no-celebs-no-problem-white-house-correspondents-dinner-crowd-parties |title=No president, no celebs, no problem: The White House correspondents' dinner crowd parties on |last1=Heil |first1=Emily |last2=Andrews-Dyer |first2=Helena |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=April 28, 2019}}

The WHCD has been increasingly criticized as an example of the coziness between the White House press corps and the administration.Joe Strupp, [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003575828 "WHCA Prez Defends Dinner Amid Criticism Of 'Coziness' and Rich Little"], Editor and Publisher, April 24, 2007{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Magaret |title=For the sake of journalism, stop the White House correspondents' dinner |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/for-the-sake-of-journalism-stop-the-white-house-correspondents-dinner/2018/04/29/e2cb780c-4962-11e8-9072-f6d4bc32f223_story.html |access-date=27 May 2018 |agency=The Washington Post}} The dinner has typically included a skit, either live or videotaped, by the sitting U.S. president in which he mocks himself, for the amusement of the press corps. The press corps, in turn, hobnobs with administration officials, even those who are unpopular and are not regularly cooperative with the press. Increasing scrutiny by bloggers has contributed to added public focus on this friendliness.

After the 2007 dinner, New York Times columnist Frank Rich implied that the Times would no longer participate in the dinners.Rich, Frank. [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/opinion/29rich.html All the President's Press], The New York Times, April 29, 2007. Rich wrote that the dinner had become "a crystallization of the press's failures in the post-9/11 era" because it "illustrates how easily a propaganda-driven White House can enlist the Washington news media in its shows".

Other criticism has focused on the amount of money actually raised for scholarships, which has decreased over the past few years.

The dinners have drawn increasing public attention, and the guest list grows "more Hollywood". The attention given to the guest list and entertainers often overshadows the intended purpose of the dinner, which is to "acknowledge award-winners, present scholarships, and give the press and the president an evening of friendly appreciation". This has led to an atmosphere of coming to the event only to "see and be seen". This usually takes place at pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties hosted by various media organizations, which are often a bigger draw and can be more exclusive than the dinners themselves.Libby Copeland and Dana Milbank, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/22/AR2007042201465.html The In-Crowd Steps Out: After the Correspondents' Dinner, Parties Are Icing on the Cake], The Washington Post, April 23, 2007.[http://washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20070422-111846-8128r.htm Taking Names], The Washington Times, April 23, 2007[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/celeb-watching-at-the-correspondents-dinner/ Ashley Parker, Celeb-Watching at the Correspondents Dinner], The Caucus blog, The New York Times, April 22, 2007

The public airings of the controversies around the dinner from the mid-2000s onward gradually focused concern about the nature of the event.{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/25/white-house-correspondents-dinner-trump-226713 |last1=Harris |first1=John F. |last2=Lippman |first2=Daniel |title=How Trump Took the Shine Off Washington's Glitziest Night |website=Politico |date=April 25, 2019}} While interest in the event from entertainers, journalists, and political figures was high during the Obama administration, by the period of the Trump administration, interest gradually slowed in attending, especially after President Trump announced he would not attend, nor his staff.{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/02/25/517257273/trump-will-be-first-president-in-36-years-to-skip-white-house-correspondents-din |last1=Peters |first1=Maquita |last2=Montanaro |first2=Domenico |title=Trump Will Be First President In 36 Years To Skip White House Correspondents' Dinner |website=NPR.org |date=February 25, 2017}} Business related to the weekend event slowed considerably, including at hotels, high-end restaurants, salons, caterers, and limo companies. During the Trump administration, some media companies stopped hosting parties, while other of the roughly 25 events held during the three-day period gained more prominence as signs of social status.

By 2019, the dinner and associated parties had returned somewhat to their previous nature as networking and media functions, with packed houses of media industry employees and Washington political figures.

After the April 30, 2022, dinner, several attendees, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for COVID-19.{{cite news |title=Virus Cases Grow After White House Correspondents Dinner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/us/politics/covid-white-house-correspondents-dinner.html |access-date=May 4, 2022 |work=New York Times |date=May 4, 2022 |quote=The White House Correspondents Dinner required proof of vaccination and a same-day negative test, and boosters were strongly encouraged...Attendees of the dinner expressed resignation as the number of confirmed cases grew over the course of the day on Wednesday.}} However, no cases of serious illness were reported as a result of the dinner.{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Jack |date=2022-05-12 |title=So We're Not Gonna Mention the Gridiron Dinner Turned Out All Right? |url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a39978164/gridiron-dinner-covid-cases-white-house-correspondents/ |access-date=2022-05-15 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}}

{{Gallery

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|File:President Gerald R. Ford and United Press International (UPI) White House Correspondent Helen Thomas at the 61st Annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner - NARA - 12007115.jpg

|President Gerald Ford (left) with White House Correspondent Helen Thomas at the 1975 Dinner.

|File:Bill Clinton Mike Maronna Final Days 2000.jpg

|President Bill Clinton (right) with television actor Mike Maronna (left) celebrating a successful online purchase in a comedic short film recorded for the 2000 Dinner.

|File:Bridgesbush.jpg

|President George W. Bush (left) with Bush impersonator Steve Bridges in character (right) at the 2006 Dinner.

|File:Barack Obama Mic Drop 2016.jpg

|President Barack Obama ending his final Correspondents' Dinner speech with a mic drop at the 2016 Dinner.

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: Note: Award years represent the date the work was published/broadcast, which is always one year before the prize was awarded.

{{main|Aldo Beckman Award for Journalistic Excellence}}

{{Missing information|section|award recipients|date=November 2023}}

Established in 1981 in memory of Aldo Beckman (1934–1980), the "late Chicago Tribune Washington bureau chief, a past president of the association.... Given annually to a Washington reporter 'who personifies the journalistic excellence as well as the personal qualities exemplified by Mr. Beckman, an award-winning White House correspondent.'"{{cite news|author=UPI ARCHIVES |date=Jan 16, 1981|title=The White House Correspondents Association today announced establishment of...|work=UPI|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/01/16/The-White-House-Correspondents-Association-today-announced-establishment-of/8962348469200/}}

Awarded for overall excellence in White House coverage.

{{Missing information|section|award recipients and specific articles/shows|date=November 2023}}

The award was established in 1970 as the Merriman Smith Memorial Award for outstanding examples of deadline reporting.[http://www.whca.press/awards.htm White House Correspondents' Association Journalism Awards]. WHCA official website. Retrieved 2017-02-25. (Smith died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1970.) The award was renamed in 2022 after the WHCA determined that Smith had supported excluding Black and female journalists from membership in the National Press Club and from attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner.{{cite news |last=Farhi |first=Paul |title=His reporting on the Kennedy assassination made him a legend. Then a press group looked into his past. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/03/11/merriman-smith-award/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=March 11, 2022 |access-date=March 11, 2022}}