Hollywood Celebrities Mingle With Politicians and Journalists at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The 2014 White House Correspondent's Dinner took place on May 3 at the Washington Hilton. It was the one night only affair where Hollywood celebrities get to mingle with politicians and journalists and regarded as the "most glamorous annual event."
NBC comedian Joel McHale was given the task to entertain the attendees of the event which not only include the first family, White House's dignitaries, journalists, and press people, but the biggest names in the entertainment industry such as Sofia Vergara, Lupita Nyong'o, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Will.I.Am., Kristen Bell, Kevin Hart and Robert De Niro, among many others.
Click here for photos.
The dinner was hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) which is an organisation composed of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The year 2014 marks the association's 100th year since its inception on Feb 25, 1914. Some of the association's past presidents include notable individuals from renowned news outlets such as Fox News, Reuters, USA Today, Bloomberg, The Associated Press and ABC News.
In recent years, the dinner event was somewhat condemned and criticised because its guest list was becoming for Hollywood-ish, which has dwarfed and dominated the intended purpose of the dinner event.
The annual dinner is held in an effort the raise money to fund scholarships programmes for promising journalism students and to present awards for notable and skilled journalists.
Previous Entertainers
CBSNews.com reported that the 2014's entertainer Joel McHale, who stars in Community and The Soup, thought he was "unfit" for the job. "He spends more time mocking the Kardashians on his show than talking politics - so he sought some advice from those who have been there before."
"I called Conan O'Brien, I called Seth Meyers, I called Jimmy Kimmel, I called Craig Ferguson," McHale said.
For the past 10 years, some of the Hollywood celebrities who graced the White House dinner event were Jay Leno, Wanda Sykes, Cedric the Entertainer and Rich Little, aside from the ones McHale mentioned.
2014 Awards
Aldo Beckman Memorial Award (recognises repeated excellence in the coverage of White House) - CNN's Brianna Keilar and Politico's Glenn Thrush.
Merriman Smith Memorial Award (recognises the deadline work both in print and broadcast) - New York Times Peter Baker and CBS' Peter Maer.
Edgar A. Poe Award (recognises coverage of national and regional news) - Megan Twohey/Reuters team and Craig Welch, Steve Ringman/The Times
President's Award (honours exceptional service to the WHCA) - George E. Condon Jr.
MORE NEWS:
Kate Upton's Role in 'The Other Woman' Deemed as the Film's 'Weakest Link'; 'Dumb Blonde' Role Just Plain 'Dumb'?
Media Coverage on Michael Schumacher's Coma Condition Stopped, Manager Sabine Kehm Refuses to Give More Information
Mayweather Contemplates Retirement After Maidana Bout While Pacquiao Ponders Contract Extension with Top Rank