WHCD news and schmooze from DC.
Former "Reliable Sources" producer Jamie Maglietta reports from the panels and the parties on the WHCD weekend circuit.
I produced CNN’s coverage of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner for years but this was my first time attending the weekend’s events in person. I wanted to reconnect with former colleagues, make some new connections, and find out how the media plans to cover the next election in a few months.
Here are some highlights from my busy weekend in Washington.
I attended a discussion titled “In the Crosshairs: Protecting Journalists in 2024,” hosted by The John Hopkins Bloomberg Center and The Committee to Protect Journalists.
One panel focused on Evan Gershkovich, the WSJ reporter currently being “wrongfully detained” by Russia. Dow Jones General Counsel Jason Conti is currently working to release him.
Conti said the U.S. government is not doing enough to help. He told me that when a member of the news media has been taken and wrongfully detained, “there should be automatic sanctions that kick in.” Conti believes that if the U.S. does not, “create a downside, we may see this happen more and more.”
During the panels, I realized I was sitting behind Debra Tice, the mother of freelance journalist Austin Tice, who has been held in Syria since August, 2012. Austin surprisingly, was not a focus of the discussion. Debra Tice is clearly still hurting over Austin’s absence and has found it extremely challenging to keep Austin’s case in the media spotlight for more than a decade.
“Every time I reach out, the question I get is, ‘What's the pitch?’ Well, I'll tell you this is the pitch - the sun rose today and Austin is dying another day in Syria. That's my only pitch,” she said.
“Our government is an impediment to Austin's return,” she added, saying she has received assurances that her son is alive but can not reveal more for the sake of his safety. Mrs. Tice shared that she has six grandchildren but has not been the, “let's go the park grandmother,” because of her work to get her son back home.
Tice and Bill McCarren, the executive director of The National Press Club are hosting a press conference May 3rd to discuss both Tice and Gershkovich.
On Saturday night, I watched the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on CNN. In one stand-out moment, President Biden took on former President Donald Trump telling the audience at the Washington Hilton, “I'm sincerely not asking you to take sides. I'm asking you to rise up to the seriousness of the moment.”
Is it possible to cover a Biden/Trump matchup without taking sides? As journalists we lean on facts, but even the facts selected can paint a particular picture that may be one-sided. I wanted to know - can the siloed media world cover the election match-up fairly?
Republican Strategist, Naysa Woomer, told me she believes Biden and Trump should agree to debate. “I think they need to,” she said. A debate would help highlight their differing policies and plans for viewers.
Vitus “V” Spehar, host and creator of “Under the Desk News” on TikTok, says fair “depends on your definition of bias.” The TikTok star with more than three million followers added: “I think to cover Trump in a particularly positive light, you have to suspend a lot of things that he did towards the end of his term. And to cover Biden right now, you have to suspend the fact that he would be the oldest president that we ever elect. So, I think the media isn’t going to be objective on those two facts and it will come down to picking your favorite team in some ways. I think that’s where independent journalism, and journalism, really has a place to factor in, where we can learn from folks who like to exclusively cover abortion bans and what either presidency will mean for policy.”
Spehar, who also hosts the podcast “American Fever Dream,” with media company Betches, also believes: “When it comes to the 24-news cycle, we get a lot of punditry. We don't get a lot of deep dives on the policy. So, I'll be looking at independent journalists for those policy differences.”
Despite my TV news connections, I still had to hustle for party invitations.
On Thursday night I hit “Bytes and Bylines” at the Irish Ambassador’s residence on Embassy Row. One of the organizers, former CBS News executive Eric Kuhn, welcomed me to the spectacular venue with bars in every room, drinks and dance music. I caught up with the Washington Post’s Josh Rogin; foreign policy commentator, Samantha Vinograd; Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin; Axios’ Sarah Fischer and CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan, and I made some new connections too.
My favorite experience of the weekend was the CAA WHCD kickoff party at La Grand Boucherie. I stood outside to make sure I reconnected with my former colleagues, many of whom I spoke to, or emailed regularly but never had the chance to meet, like CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Jeff Zeleny and Ana Cabrera.
Thankfully I bumped into Brian Stelter. This was the first time I have seen him in person since the end of “Reliable Sources.” I will always appreciate him because he gave me the courage to write more, push harder to book unique guests, and anticipate the news even more than I already did. While outside CAA, I also had the chance to see former CNN executive Janelle Rodriguez, now running NBC News Now among other roles. She was part of the reason I left Fox News Channel to join CNN. I loved her energy. Outside La Grande Boucherie other journalists were busy putting together lists of who they spotted.
While making the rounds I asked a few news junkies what they had to say about media bias.
Actress and singer Joely Fisher, out with a documentary short titled, “Reagan/Quigley ’85,” says the media cannot cover this race fairly, saying, “absolutely not.” “Why are we even looking at him [Trump]?” she asked.
Mark Ein, part owner of the Washington Commanders, was chatting with former colleagues of mine, so I asked his thoughts. When asked about whether the news media can cover the two sides fairly, Ein said, with a worried expression, “I sure hope so.”
I went to the Substack party at the Willard InterContinental hotel where I was greeted by head of politics Catherine Valentine, who recognized me and said she reads my Substack. I said a quick “hello” to Megan McCain and chatted with the one and only journalist and biographer Sally Bedell Smith, who has a Substack as well.
I asked co-founder Hamish McKenzie if he believes the media can cover the Biden/Trump matchup fairly? “Traditional media has sort of separated itself into ideological lanes, which makes it difficult for outside and dissenting voices to get through.” That is where he says Substack can play adding how he wants to, “see more of these outside voices and more of these dissenting voices and that will make the media better.”
Whatever the media outlets are planning, social media will play a bigger role in how this race is perceived.
Season Three of The Media Mix podcast is returning. Got a guest booking? Try me or executive producer Jamie Maglietta.
If you are looking to create your own podcast, Situation Room Studios Inc. are my production partners. Check out their other podcasts. If you are interested in sponsorship of the podcast, the newsletter and our events please drop us a line at TheMediaMixUS@gmail.com.
Create and distribute press releases on EZ Newswire. You can find partner content that supports this newsletter here. Please check out the PR tab above.