HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Radio and Television Correspondents' Association of Washington, D.C. (RTCA) is an American
broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...
group of news reporters from around the world who cover the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
.About Us
RTCA official website. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
Founded in 1939, RTCA is best known for holding an annual dinner in Washington, D.C.,Associated Press, ''A President walks into a journalists' dinner'', March 29, 2007
/ref> not to be confused with the higher profile
White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
Dinner.


Chair of the Association

* 2008-2009: Heather Dahl, ''Feature Story News''. * 2009-2010: Linda Scott,
The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the prog ...
* 2010-2011: Peter Slen, C-SPAN * 2011-2012: Jay McMichael, CNN News Photographer * 2012-2013: John Wallace, III, FOX News photographer * 2013-2014:
Lisa Desjardins Lisa Desjardins (née Goddard; born January 29, 1972) is an American political journalist. She is a correspondent at ''PBS NewsHour'' and has previously worked for the Associated Press and CNN, CNN Radio. As of 2018, she has reported on five Unite ...
, CNN * 1998-1999: Jim Mills, Fox News


Awards

*David Bloom AwardAwards
RTCA. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
*Jerry Thompson Award *Joan Shorenstein Barone Award *Lifetime Achievement Award


RTCA Dinners

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. ''RTCA Field Report: Geraldo Came To Party'', Jossip.com, March 29, 2007
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. Hamilton Nolan, ''Joke is on the press at annual DC dinners'', PRWeek, April 3, 2007


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 1995, President Bill Clinton''''. In 1996, speaker
Don Imus John Donald Imus Jr. (July 23, 1940 – December 27, 2019), also known mononymously as Imus, was an American radio personality, television show host, recording artist, and author. His radio show, '' Imus in the Morning'', was aired on various sta ...
made coarse jokes about President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...
and
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, which White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry termed "tasteless". During the 2004 dinner,
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
George W. Bush mocked himself in a slideshow including images of him searching under furniture in the
Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped roo ...
for
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
i
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...
, which liberal commentator
David Corn David Corn (born February 20, 1959) is an American political journalist and author. He is the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for '' Mother Jones'' and is best known as a cable television commentator. Corn worked at ''The Nation'' from 1987 to 20 ...
termed a "callous and arrogant display". In 2007, President George W. Bush attended the event for the third time, and
JibJab JibJab is an American digital entertainment studio based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1999 by brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it first achieved widespread attention during the 2004 United States presidential election, 2004 US pres ...
premiered its latest satiric animation, ''What We Call The News'' On Tuesday, June 16, 2009, president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
and humorist, author, and actor John Hodgman were the headline speakers at the 2009 RTCA Dinner. At the dinner,
JibJab JibJab is an American digital entertainment studio based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1999 by brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it first achieved widespread attention during the 2004 United States presidential election, 2004 US pres ...
premiered its animated video, "He's Barack Obama."


Brief timeline of recent dinners

*1995:
Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show '' Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar ...
*1997:
Darrell Hammond Darrell Clayton Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 2009, and has been its announcer since 2014. Upon his departure, Hammo ...
and
Norm Macdonald Norman Gene MacdonaldThe capitalization of Norm Macdonald's surname has been inconsistently reported in publications such as ''TV Guide''. Books that discuss him, such as ''Shales'' (2003) and Crawford' (2000), as well as other sources such as ...
* 1999: President Clinton attends just six weeks after his Senate Impeachment Trial. Jackie Judd wins award for reporting on Monica Lewinsky. Jim Mills of Fox News MC's the event. * 2001: President Bush makes fun of his own grammar. * 2002: No one from White House attends. * 2003: Vice President Cheney jokes about President Bush's flight suit. * 2004: President Bush jokes about WMDs. Controversy erupts. * 2005: Vice President Cheney talks about then recently deceased Pope John Paul II. * 2006: Vice President Cheney jokes about hunting. * 2007: "
MC Rove Karl Christian Rove (born December 25, 1950) is an American Republican political consultant, policy advisor, and lobbyist. He was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration until his resignation on August ...
" performs rap onstage. *2009 John Hodgman * 2010: Comedian Joe Wong performs at RTC Dinner. *2011:
Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Corresp ...
*2012:
Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
*2013:
Nick Offerman Nicholas David Offerman (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, writer, comedian, producer, and carpenter. He is best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'', for which he received the Television Criti ...
*2015:
Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...
* 2016:
Hasan Minhaj Hasan Minhaj ( ; born September 23, 1985) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host of Indian descent. His Netflix show ''Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj'' won two Peabody Awards and two Webby Aw ...
*2017:
Roy Wood Jr. Roy Norris Wood Jr. (born December 11, 1978) is an American humorist, stand-up comedian, radio personality, actor, producer, podcaster, and writer best known for his correspondent appearances on ''The Daily Show with Trevor Noah''. A native of M ...
{{Cite web, title=2017 Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, Part Two {{! C-SPAN.org, url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?436009-4/2017-radio-television-correspondents-association-dinner-part, access-date=2021-09-26, website=www.c-span.org, language=en-us


See also

*
White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
*
Gridiron Club The Gridiron Club is the oldest and among the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C. History Frank A. De Puy (1854–1927) was one of several who met January 24, 1885, at the Welcker's Hotel in Washington, D.C. – ...
*
National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Pre ...


References


External links


Official website
Broadcast journalism Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. American journalism organizations Journalism-related professional associations Professional associations based in the United States Organizations established in 1939 1939 establishments in Washington, D.C.