Friday, May 08, 2009

List | White House guests who aren't reporters!

[President Obama, publisher Hunke, celebrity guests Daly, Belzer]

USA Today bought eight tables at $2,000 each for the glittering annual White House Correspondents Dinner -- the price of admission, I argued, for the paper to remain a player in Washington political coverage. But that assumes the chairs will all be filled Saturday evening with reporters and the occasional editor who actually cover Congress, the executive branch and the judiciary.

Quite the assumption! says Anonymous@6:17 a.m.: "You realize that it is $16,000 for the tables, but you did not factor in the 'pre' and 'post' parties hosted by Gannett and USA Today. Those are easily $15,000 each!!! Oh, and did you factor in the expenses we have for getting these 'stars' to sit at our tables?!? William Morris Agency is not cheap!!! This is more than what you suggest! A lot more!!!"

Indeed, @6:17 a.m. proposes a most excellent assignment for anyone at the event carrying a reporter's notebook (like, a reporter!): "Identify the Gannett Management Committee members that will be attending the dinner with all these stars.''

I'll be conservative, and assume only six seats per table, for a total of 48, starting with:

1. and 2. Newly named USA Today Publisher Dave Hunke, plus one
3. Actor Tim Daly
4. Actor Richard Belzer
5. USAT Washington Bureau chief Susan Page
6. ______________ , etc.
48. _____________ .

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.

24 comments:

  1. Wrong again, buddy. Hunke was not invited.

    Check in with Brett Wilson, Myron Masowlski, Lauren Ashburn and Susan Lavington since they are the ones who control all the invites to this.

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  2. 9:20p is correct. Also invited are the following:
    Craig Dubow
    Jeff Webber
    Gracia Martore
    Todd Mayman
    Dave Lougee
    Bob Dickey
    Barbara Wall

    Lauren Ashburn is the ring leader of this event. Supposedly, the fees for William Morris Agency is over $250,000 to source celebs for this event!!!!!

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  3. ALso very wrong on the estimates of the cost of the pre and post parties. Try $50,000 for the room, and $50,000 for the staff, free booze and hors d'oeuvers. Call the Washington Hilton and see.

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  4. Any guests who are stars of the new movie "Outed"?

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  5. Right about Lauren Ashburn and the deal she made for this with William Morris. She also has William Morris peddling her department for USA Today Live. Plus she paid them some major dollars to get her the CBS morning show on Saturday for her reports on good news that USA Today also has to promote.

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  6. I didn't know Usa Today still had a TV division. What are they doing? I thought Lauren Ashburn and somebody named Ginger were transfered down to the TV station in Tampa or Jacksonville. Always heard the the TV division was one big black hole for Usa Today.

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  7. i'm not your buddy, tara

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  8. Ashbun already disclosed fees were $250k. This is not news. But several of these stars have already pulled including Tim Daly and Magic Johnson. Ashburn throws a big party before the dinner tomorrow night and anyone can attend at the Hilton. It is the open USA Today dinner. The only security is where you go to enter into the priate ballroom.

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  9. This is beginning to sound like a $1 million affair for GCI's budget. These are no piddling amounts being tossed around here, and certainly the annual salaries of at least 20 reporters.

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  10. No Hillkirk. Strange.

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  11. I cannot believe fees for celebs. This is suppposed to be a party of Washington reporters who cover the White House, not a celebrity affair. And paying sources is a definite no-no in reporting circles.
    Last point: if GCI paid fees, surely they could have lined up some people better than these second stringers.

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  12. It is Obama Night. It is ALL ABOUT the celebrities!!!

    And how absurd and pathetic this all is at a time when so many good journalists were fired by Gannett - and now they and their Holloywood buddies are all peeing themselves for this Ode to Obama.

    How pitiful it is.

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  13. My God, they have even corrupted the White House reporters. These people who run this company are not just stupid, but they are venal. Paying guests to appear? You could pick up the phone and invite any politician in town to go for nothing but an evening out.

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  14. What does USA Live even do? I can't say I've ever seen their work. I only see them on U-6 facebooking and eating cookies. Either have a TV platform or don't. Producing these crappy shows here and there is worthless. Be a real media company and 'grow a pair'.

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  15. I'm sure Jarret Christensen or Penny Ford in USA TODAY sales event planning can furnish you with a complete list of attendees.

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  16. You guys have this so wrong it's laughable. This us not an Ashburn event, and the vast majority if seats are controlled by the News department. The pre and post receptions are basically a meeting room with some food , expensive but nowhere near the costs being cited here.

    Hillkirk rarely attends these weekend events because he cherished family time and Hunke us no doubt shuttling to Detroit to finalize moving arrangements.

    There is a marketing aspect and corporate does have tables, but Gannett/USA Today's presence is very modest compared to other organizations.

    The seating list is widely available. How bout some reporting instead if people who don't know hitching and making stuff up?

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  17. 11:35 So give us the real costs. You also do not deny that guests are paid to come sit at a USA TODAY table? The "vast majority" of seats being controlled by the news department translates into half of those sitting at USA TODAY tables are from the news office, since the other half are guests -- paid guests. This is just another example of the out-of-control spending at USA TODAY. Why not just one table. How many USA TODAY reporters cover the White House anyway? As for Hillkirk, he's showing the one sign I've ever seen of some smarts by avoiding being associated with this debacle.

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  18. How about some math:
    Table of 12, half USA TODAY reporters and editors. Eight tables means 60 reporters who cover the White House. Really?

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  19. Sorry translates into 48 covering the White House

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  20. Paid guests? You people are delusional. No one is paid to attend.

    The whole thing is on Cspan so you can see the whole thing for yourself.

    As for the 30s-era unionists who think this proves speding is out of control at USA Today, again a laughable remark. Spending is almost nonexistent. This event is costing the News dept. about what a campaign swing would, and silliness aside, it does forge reporting relationships. Among the non-sexy guests of Usat are the new HHS secretary, a former Intelligence official and others few have heard of.

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  21. Yes there are a few celebrities, but Other Usat guests include the Transportation Secretary, the new State Dept. Spokesman, Michelle Obama's policy director, also the deputy chief of staff at the White House and Utah's republican governor.

    None if them, as far as I know, have a sitcom.

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  22. What is the "marketing aspect" 11:35? The White House Correspdents Association sells nothing and markets nothing. It is an association representing journalists who cover the White House. There was a huge fuss when Obama and Biden went for lunch at a hamburger joint, and Obama offered to buy hamburgers for reporters. A few took him up on the offer, and the association now is investigating. This is a group that takes ethics seriously, and so we have USA TODAY marketers piggybacking on top of reporters to bring influential advertisers reps to events, and hire Hollywood stars to liven up the event. Wow. If you don't see ethics issues here, you need to talk to someone.

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  23. Ethics? Laughable. USA Today advertising head Brett Wilson and the untouchable Susan Page treated all the big shot advertising clients attending tonight to a big grand dinner last night at some swank DC restaurant. Way to go Hillkirk -- leaving your ethical mark on USA Today already.

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  24. Brett Wilson should be selling snake oil since he can't sell a fucking single ad page in usa today

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