Radio and Television Correspondents' Association
Encyclopedia
The Radio and Television Correspondents Association (RTCA) is an American
journalism
group best known for holding an annual dinner in Washington, D.C.
, not to be confused with the higher profile White House Correspondents' Association
Dinner.
Also as is true of the WHCA Dinner and Gridiron Club Dinner, the RTCA Dinner has been subject to criticism that it encourages journalists to engage in undue coziness with the political officials they are supposed to fairly cover, and also that the public spectacle of "playing footsie" with reporters' main subjects is bringing the political press into disgrace.
made coarse jokes about President Bill Clinton
and Hillary Clinton
, which White House Press Secretary
Mike McCurry termed "tasteless". http://www.c-spanstore.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=70684-1
During the 2004 dinner, President
George W. Bush
mocked himself in a slide show including images of him searching under furniture in the Oval Office
for Iraq
i weapons of mass destruction
, which liberal
commentator David Corn
termed a "callous and arrogant display".
In 2007, President George W. Bush
attended the event for the third time, and JibJab
premiered its latest satiric animation, "What We Call The News."
On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, president Barack Obama
and humorist, author, and actor John Hodgman
were the headline speakers at the 2009 RTCA Dinner Jun 19th http://www.areasofmyexpertise.com. At the dinner, JibJab
premiered its animated video, "He's Barack Obama."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
group best known for holding an annual dinner in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, not to be confused with the higher profile White House Correspondents' Association
White House Correspondents' Association
The White House Correspondents' Association is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend...
Dinner.
Officers
The chair of the association for 2008-2009 is Heather Dahl of Feature Story News. The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer's Linda Scott serves as 2009-2010 chair. Peter Slen of C-SPAN was elected as 2010-2011 chair.RTCA Dinners
The 65th Annual RTCA dinner will be held June 19, 2009 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. As is the case with the similar but more exclusive WHCA Dinner, the attention given to the Association's activities are far outweighed by the focus on the dinner's guest list and pre-dinner receptions and post-dinner parties hosted by various media organizations.Also as is true of the WHCA Dinner and Gridiron Club Dinner, the RTCA Dinner has been subject to criticism that it encourages journalists to engage in undue coziness with the political officials they are supposed to fairly cover, and also that the public spectacle of "playing footsie" with reporters' main subjects is bringing the political press into disgrace.
Notable RTCA dinners
In 1983, the RTCA compiled a videotape of various bloopers made in the news, and even music videos about the news, entitled "Tapes of Wrath". A sequel, "Tapes of Wrath II", followed in 1991. In 1996, speaker Don ImusDon Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
made coarse jokes about President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and Hillary Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, which White House Press Secretary
White House Press Secretary
The White House Press Secretary is a senior White House official whose primary responsibility is to act as spokesperson for the government administration....
Mike McCurry termed "tasteless". http://www.c-spanstore.org/shop/index.php?main_page=product_video_info&products_id=70684-1
During the 2004 dinner, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
mocked himself in a slide show including images of him searching under furniture in the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...
for Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
, which liberal
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
commentator David Corn
David Corn
David Corn is an American political journalist and author and the chief of the Washington bureau for Mother Jones. He has been Washington editor for The Nation and appeared regularly on FOX News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, and BloggingHeads.tv opposite James Pinkerton or other media...
termed a "callous and arrogant display".
In 2007, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
attended the event for the third time, and JibJab
JibJab
JibJab is a digital entertainment studio based in Venice, California. Founded in 1999 by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it was noticed during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing "This Land is Your Land" became a hit. The company creates,...
premiered its latest satiric animation, "What We Call The News."
On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, president Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and humorist, author, and actor John Hodgman
John Hodgman
John Kellogg Hodgman is an American author, actor, and humorist. In addition to his published written works, such as The Areas of My Expertise, More Information Than You Require, and That Is All, he is known for his personification of a PC in contrast to Justin Long's personification of a Mac in...
were the headline speakers at the 2009 RTCA Dinner Jun 19th http://www.areasofmyexpertise.com. At the dinner, JibJab
JibJab
JibJab is a digital entertainment studio based in Venice, California. Founded in 1999 by Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it was noticed during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing "This Land is Your Land" became a hit. The company creates,...
premiered its animated video, "He's Barack Obama."
Brief timeline of recent dinners
- 1999: President Clinton attended just six weeks after the Senate Impeachment Trial> Jackie Judd won award for reporting on Monica Lewinsky. Jim Mills of Fox News MC's the event
- 2001: President Bush makes fun of his own grammar. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/03/30/bush.correspondents/index.html
- 2002: No one from White House attends. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0203/22/asb.00.html
- 2003: Vice President Cheney jokes about President Bush's flight suit. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0306/05/ip.00.html
- 2004: President Bush jokes about WMD. Controversy erupts. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A24883-2004Mar25¬Found=true
- 2005: Vice President Cheney talks about then recently deceased Pope John Paul II. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32837-2005Apr6.html
- 2006: Vice President Cheney jokes about hunting. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR2006033000003.html
- 2007: "MC Rove" performs rap onstage.
- 2010: Comedian Joe WongJoe Wong (comedian)Joe Wong , is a Chinese American comedian and chemistry engineer. He was born to a Chinese Korean family in Baishan, Jilin, China. His family moved from Korea to China three generations ago. He graduated from Jilin University and Chinese Academy of Sciences, before he came to further study...
performs at RTC Dinner
See also
- White House Correspondents' AssociationWhite House Correspondents' AssociationThe White House Correspondents' Association is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend...
- Gridiron ClubGridiron ClubThe Gridiron Club and Foundation, founded in 1885, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C. Its 65 active members represent major newspapers, news services, news magazines and broadcast networks. Membership is by invitation only and has...
- National Press Club