Washington-based publication The Hill has opted out of attendance at future White House Correspondents’ Dinners. “In short, there’s simply no reason for us to participate in something that casts our profession in a poor light.”
The Hill drops out of future White House Correspondents Dinners: “In short, there’s simply no reason for us to participate in something that casts our profession in a poor light. Major changes are needed to the annual event.”
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 1, 2018
Following Saturday night’s controversial dinner, The Hill chairman James Finkelstein penned a letter to Steven Thomma, Executive Director of the White House Correspondents’ Association explaining why.
Here’s the full letter James Finkelstein, chairman of The Hill, sent to the WHCA pic.twitter.com/bCVrvAf5Fw
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) May 1, 2018
Finkelstein noted that the tone of the event, particularly the set delivered by comedian Michelle Wolf, was “out of line” rather than “fun and fair” as dinners have been in past years. Wolf was so vulgar, he said, that for the first time in WHCD history, C-SPAN had cut the radio feed during the event.
“Comedians headlining those dinners were sharp and made fun of both the media and the Commander-in-Chief in a way that could induce laughs while not being so offensive and vulgar that C-SPAN actually cut off its radio broadcast, as was the case this year for the first time ever.”
A number of other journalists responded to Wolf’s set as well, saying that they were ashamed of the tone and direction the event had taken.