Planning a dinner do-over
One week has passed since the shooting in the Washington Hilton hallway outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
At first, there was widespread skepticism about rescheduling the event anytime soon, but attitudes have shifted in recent days. The consensus is now that the dinner — which doubles as an awards ceremony and fundraiser — should be hosted again on principle, several White House correspondents told me.
The WHCA board is “working through options” for a “rescheduled event,” president Weijia Jiang of CBS News told members yesterday.
In a memo obtained by CNN, Jiang said “as of today, we have not made any decisions. However, I am committed to ensuring our scholars and award winners receive the recognition that is rightfully theirs, and that an attack on free speech does not cancel our annual celebration of free speech and the other freedoms protected by the First Amendment.”
President Trump initially said, “We’ll do it again within the next 30 days.” People involved in the planning discussions said the 30-day timetable is not considered realistic. But the WHCA board is planning a follow-up event within the next 60 days. (Jiang’s term as WHCA president ends on July 15. Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News is next in line for the position.)
A source familiar with the planning pointed to this year’s celebrations around the US semiquincentennial and argued that it is especially important now to show resilience.
And numerous journalism organizations have reached out to the WHCA to offer assistance. Here’s my full story for CNN.com…
What’s next for the WHCD? |
The obstacles to a redo are considerable, starting with the obvious security concerns. Any new event will likely be somewhat smaller. (Some of the attendees at last Saturday’s dinner have ruled out attending another.) But, understandably, the association does “not want the shooting to be the defining moment for the WHCA in 2026,” Oliver Darcy wrote over at Status. “Not holding another event would effectively mean allowing a gunman to chill its speech — at a dinner aimed at celebrating the freedom of speech.” In yesterday’s memo, Jiang said to her fellow correspondents, “Your resilience and resolve to inform the public under awful conditions continues to inspire me. And even though the night unfolded differently than planned, it ended the way it was supposed to: with nearly 3,000 dinner guests going home to their loved ones. We are grateful to the law enforcement officers that made that happen.” >> DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin said yesterday on Fox that the security perimeter outside the ballroom worked as intended. While “the first layer was breached,” the suspect “never penetrated the second one,” he said, defending the performance of the Secret Service and other agencies. >> When asked about a rescheduled dinner, Mullin said, “Will it happen at that venue? Probably not, but the president gets to make the decision.” In the event of a redo, the president decides whether to attend, but the event itself is organized by the correspondents’ association. I’m told that holding it at the WH is viewed as a non-starter. |
An uneasy feeling – but a familiar one for many Americans |
Earlier this week I was talking with my local school superintendent about what happened in DC, reflecting on the fact that all these politicians and journalists (myself included) now know a bit more of what it feels like for schoolchildren who have to endure lockdowns. Many school shootings don’t even make the news because “only” one person is shot, or the suspect is subdued, or the threat is contained off campus. But even false alarms cause emotional and mental scars. The same is true in offices, malls, churches and countless other places across America. And none of those places have the level of security that the Hilton ballroom had. DC dinnergoers have been processing what happened a week ago. Some have been feeling just fine; others have had trouble sleeping, have had flashbacks, have felt irritable at work, that sort of thing. Experts in acute stress reaction say this is all perfectly normal. Big news organizations have been providing counseling services for those affected. Three factors make this situation uncommon even though gun violence is far too common in America: One, the event involved the president and many top officials; two, many of the journalists in the room immediately started reporting on the news; and three, the incident was recorded and replayed from a variety of angles for days afterward. Personally, it has made me think differently about the way TV networks show dramatic video clips on a loop. >> People who were eyewitnesses to the event are now covering the aftermath – from the shooting suspect’s alleged writings to the prosecution’s case against him. So it’s natural for people to think about the frightening possibilities and wonder about the what-ifs. |
If you’re curious about the live TV news coverage of last Saturday’s incident, Deadline’s Ted Johnson caught up with the C-SPAN team that was producing the pool video feed of the dinner, and TVNewser’s Mark Mwachiro talked with CNN exec producer Eric Hall and technical production manager David Foote about what it was like in the CNN control room that night. Mwachiro noted that “CNN was the only network with its own live cam inside the ballroom for more than 45 minutes.” |
Trump back on stage yesterday |
WaPo’s Dan Diamond writes: “Trump said Friday that he was eager to deliver his first public speech since he was hustled from a hotel stage Saturday… And the president picked a familiar stop for his return address: The Villages, a retirement community in Florida and a longtime Republican stronghold.” In the “profane speech,” the president “mocked transgender weightlifters and the ‘medical crap’ an adviser was telling him…” |
Yesterday, while writing about the state attorneys general who had added their offices and resources to the lawsuit against Nexstar-Tegna, I said Pennsylvania has a Democratic AG. The state’s AG, Dave Sunday, is a Republican. Thank you to the readers who caught the mistake. |
NBC instituted some interesting changes this year to make Kentucky Derby weekend feel even bigger, as Ben Axelrod reported for Front Office Sports here. Moving the Kentucky Oaks race to prime time last night was one of the changes. “But while the Oaks enjoyed its biggest platform yet,” he wrote, “the Derby remains the weekend’s main event. The race has established itself as one of NBC’s most reliable properties, with 2025’s event drawing 17.7 million viewers, its most since 1989.” Tonight’s Run for the Roses is slated for 6:57 p.m. ET. Axelrod has more here… |
Scott Jennings and his F-bomb |
CNN commentator Scott Jennings was back on TV yesterday after a heated exchange on Thursday’s “NewsNight with Abby Phillip.” Jennings “told guest Adam Mockler to ‘get your f—ing hand out of my face’ as the young liberal gesticulated about Jennings’ stance on the current U.S. conflict with Iran,” as Variety’s Brian Steinberg wrote here. Liberals mocked Jennings for losing his cool, and some even called for CNN to fire him, but that’s not going to happen. (A network spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.) Mockler took several victory laps on social media afterward. >> I know some of you won’t like my not-so-hot take, but here it is: Jennings and Mockler are both effective commentators and I’d like to see the two of them talk on air more. |
‘Steeper-than-expected’ cuts forecast at BBC News |
The Guardian’s Mark Sweney is out today with a new story about cost-cutting targets that are being set across the BBC. He reports that BBC News “is to cut costs by a steeper-than-expected 15%, with staff told to expect heavy redundancies.” Details here… |
Yesterday morning, Alex Jones’ Infowars “winked offline — displaying a blank page with the words ‘Off Air,’” a shutdown that follows a Texas appeals court granting “an emergency motion filed by Jones’ lawyers to halt the ability of the court-appointed administrator in Infowars bankruptcy case to grant The Onion access to Infowars.com and its name,” Variety’s Todd Spangler reports. “The matter will be sent back to a lower court for further review; a new hearing is scheduled for May 28.” >> Despite the court holdup, comedian Tim Heidecker, who’ll serve as the new Infowars’ creative director, did an “emergency” livestream entirely in his Jones impression. A fake Trump called into the show, and Heidecker hawked unhinged snake-oil products. Watch here. |
>> “More than a third of Post-Gazette newsroom workers are expected to lose their jobs Monday as new nonprofit owners take over, the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh said Friday,” Chrissy Suttles reports. (Axios) >> Blackout watch: Comcast’s Xfinity “has dropped the NFL Network from its lineup, leaving millions of subscribers without access to the league’s dedicated 24-hour channel.” (Cord Cutter News) >> Shares of Roblox plummeted yesterday after the company “cut its full-year guidance as efforts to boost its safety features weighed on its latest quarterly results.” (WSJ) |
‘Netflix plans first wide theatrical release with Narnia’ |
That’s the headline from the NYT’s Nicole Sperling. It’s a big win for director Greta Gerwig and for movie theaters: Netflix is going to release Gerwig’s “Narnia” in theaters on Feb. 12 of next year, a full seven weeks before streaming it worldwide. “Asked if this was a strategy change or a one-time exception, a Netflix spokeswoman said, ‘There’s no change to our theatrical strategy.’ Yet Netflix has shown signs that it is warming to doing wide theatrical releases,” Sperling writes. And, as you know, “theater owners believe these exclusive theatrical windows are crucial to their survival and have been pushing for longer periods.” Speaking of… I’m heading to the theater to see “The Devil Wears Prada 2!” with Jamie now. THR’s Alex Weprin says the film “serves as something of a eulogy for the industry’s sad decline, a biting satire that will hit close to home for anyone in media.” The film is having a very strong opening weekend so far… |
Academy addresses AI in new rules |
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is, for the first time, “addressing the eligibility of films that use artificial intelligence in new rules for the 2027 Academy Awards.” The academy released updates yesterday “across many categories, stressing the importance of human authorship while not banning AI,” The AP’s Lindsey Bahr reports. Read on… |
‘Disappearing before our eyes’ |
Veteran media reporter David Bauder’s final story for The Associated Press (he took the buyout) is about what’s “disappearing before our eyes.” The powerful piece is about photographer Ann Hermes’ “passion project of capturing local newsrooms,” documenting “places and lives endangered by the industry’s collapse over the past few decades.” Check it out here… |