Organizers of Washington’s annual glitzy journalism dinner, snubbed by President Trump and his team, said Monday that Watergate sleuths Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein will be the headliners who will give a top journalism prize to the author of stories critical of Trump.
The White House Correspondents’ Association said that reunited duo will inject the scaled-back event with journalistic independence.
@WHCA announces 2017 award winners; Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein to present at White House Correspondent’s Dinner – https://t.co/QYqtOOz0HU
— WHCA (@whca) April 10, 2017
“No one is better suited to speak about the importance of a free and independent press than Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. We are delighted they accepted our invitation to present these prestigious awards,” said Jeff Mason, president of the association and the White House correspondent for Reuters.
The dinner is typically known for jokes told by the sitting president, the comic hired by the group to poke fun at the president, and the multiple media parties often populated with Hollywood stars.
I will not be attending the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this year. Please wish everyone well and have a great evening!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2017
This year, however, Trump has decided to skip out and several media party hosts have followed suit.
That will likely lead to a greater focus on the journalism prizes handed out and there Woodward and Bernstein will play a big role. “The WHCA congratulates our award winners and looks forward to honoring them at our annual dinner, which will be a celebration of the First Amendment and good journalism,” said Mason.
@WHCA announces 2017 award winners; Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein to present at White House Correspondent’s Dinner – https://t.co/QYqtOOz0HU
— WHCA (@whca) April 10, 2017
The Association announced Monday that two Washington Post reporters will be awarded. One of the top prizes of $2,500 will go to David Fahrenthold who compared Trump’s promises of big charity donations to the sometimes skimpy checks that followed. He also won the Pulitzer Prize today for national reporting.
He detailed the investigation in a well-read Washington Post magazine story. In it, he referred to a story about Trump crashing a 1996 charity event for a nursery school for children with AIDS. Trump took the seat saved for a “big donor,” and left without writing a check.
Fahrenthold then quoted Trump’s co-author of their “Art of the Deal.” From the story:
“All of this is completely consistent with who Trump is,” Tony Schwartz, Trump’s co-author on his 1987 book “The Art of the Deal,” told me. “He’s a man who operates inside a tiny bubble that never extends beyond what he believes is his self-interest.”
“If your worldview is only you — if all you’re seeing is a mirror — then there’s nobody to give money to,” Schwartz said. “Except yourself.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
