There was no president. There was no comedian. What remained at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association\u2019s annual dinner on Saturday night were the journalists and the First Amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The stripped-down festivities were a reflection of the somber tone in Washington at the beginning of President Donald Trump\u2019s second term, in which he has battled with the press on multiple fronts and wrested from the correspondents\u2019 association the power to decide which outlets have the most access to Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s deeper involvement in politics began after then-President Barack Obama roasted the New Yorker\u2019s presidential ambitions during the 2011 correspondents\u2019 dinner. He skipped the annual gala during his first term, and his absence had been widely expected this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The association scrapped a scheduled appearance at this year\u2019s dinner by comedian Amber Ruffin after she referred to the new administration as \u201ckind of a bunch of murderers\u201d on a podcast last month. The organization, a nonprofit that helps White House journalists provide robust coverage of the presidency, decided to forgo the event\u2019s traditional levity and focus on celebrating journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Association President Eugene Daniels said in an email to the organization\u2019s 900 members last month that the dinner was meant to \u201chonor journalistic excellence and a robust, independent media covering the most powerful office in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event, which raises money for journalism scholarships, remains a highlight of the Washington social calendar. The ballroom at the Washington Hilton was still packed with journalists, newsmakers and even a few celebrities. Daniels singled out Debra Tice, whose son Austin has been missing for a decade since disappearing in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been tested and attacked. But every single day our members get up, they run to the White House \u2014 plane, train, automobile \u2014 with one mission, holding the powerful accountable,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He later showed a video of past presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden, who addressed the dinner, saying that the association invites the president to demonstrate the importance of a free press in safeguarding democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump counter-programmed the last dinner during his first term, holding a rally to compete with the event in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic canceled the 2020 dinner. This year, Trump had just flown back from Pope Francis\u2019 funeral in Rome and had no events Saturday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration has had multiple skirmishes with the press in recent months. The FCC is investigating several media companies, the administration is working to shut down Voice of America and other government-run outlets, and The Associated Press has sued the administration for reducing its access to events because it has not renamed the Gulf of Mexico in line with Trump\u2019s executive order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction ordering the administration to stop blocking the AP from presidential events. In response, the White House adopted a new press policy that gives the administration sole discretion over who gets to question Trump and sharply curtails the access of three news agencies, including AP, that serve billions of readers around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For many years previously, the correspondents\u2019 association determined which news organizations had access to limited space events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alex Thompson of Axios, who won The Aldo Beckman Award for his coverage of the coverup of Biden\u2019s decline while in office, addressed complaints from some on the right that the press had gone too soft on the Democrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe \u2014 myself included \u2014 missed a lot of this story, and some people trust us less because of it,\u201d Thompson told the room of journalists. \u201cWe bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saturday\u2019s dinner also recognized the winners of a number of journalism awards, in addition to Thompson. They included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014The Award for Excellence in Presidential Coverage Under Deadline Pressure (Print): Aamer Madhani and Zeke Miller of the AP, for reporting on the White House altering its transcript to erase Biden calling Trump supporters \u201cgarbage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014The Award for Excellence in Presidential Coverage Under Deadline Pressure (Broadcast): Rachel Scott of ABC News, for her coverage of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014The Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists: Doug Mills of the New York Times, for his photograph of Biden walking under a painting of Abraham Lincoln.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability: Reuters, for its series on the production and smuggling of the deadly narcotic fentanyl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Collier Prize for State Government Accountability: AP for its series, \u201cPrison to Plate: Profiting off America\u2019s Captive Workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014Center for News Integrity Award: Anthony Zurcher of the BBC for his coverage of the fallout from Biden\u2019s handling of the Gaza War.<\/p>\n\n\n\n