AAR: Boston Glob Reporter Forgot American Hero, but Knew Who Cindy Sheehan Was (WHCA FReep, 4/29/06)

bttt

My reply to the WHPC - YOU HAD 8 YEARS TO WATCH CNN - I DON'T SEE THAT IT HELPED YOU GET TO THE TRUTH.

I would not have changed the TV. If they can't stand watching FOX - they can PAY FOR THEIR OWN PLANE.

Precisely, CA.

Wonderful AAR, 'Pod! Now I get it...

Thanks Gate2Wire - This story can't be told often enough.

"Was Saturday, "Take your daughter to work" day?

I'm not sure about THAT, Doctor, but I'm sure this picture needs to be re-posted.

This was the first year that I have attended this famous FReep, and I must say to anyone considering it next year, it was an inimitable chance to remind the media elites that real people are hearing and reading what they dish out. We had a perfect sunny day with a light breeze and clear skies, the better to see all the high and mighty from the White House Correspondents Association and their celebrity guests arriving for their annual dinner and roast of the President, a Washington tradition since 1914.

Here are some of the notable moments that struck me during our 4-hour FReep of the arriving media people:

The event was for 2,700 guests, and possibly as many as 35 to 40% passed by the southeast corner where most of us stood. It is a five-points intersection at Connecticut and P Streets NW, with vehicles converging from four directions and fancily-dressed pedestrians from all five directions to get to the hotel. Doctor Raoul, lurker Lauren and BStein80 (as David "Crybaby" Gregory) captured more of the traffic from their northeast corner.

There were long lines of cars, cabs and limos, most of them black, carrying the formally-dressed press revelers. Many of the cars and limos had the names of news organizations affixed to the dash or front window, such as "Newsweek Car 3", Newsweek Car 5", "Reuters", "Daily News", et cetera. This made it easier for us to FReep certain news outlets, such as shouting "Bring back John Leo!" at all the U.S.News&WorldReport cars. Personally, I enjoyed giving the thumbs-down to the many Newsweek cars, which had black windows completely obscuring who was inside, as did most of the stretch limos. Many of the other vehicles had lightly tinted or regular windows, and we spotted Wolf Blitzer and various other talking heads as they passed.

Some of the exceptional FReep signs included one collage of all the damaging stories Newsweek has run during the War on Terror (whoever did that one should take credit on this thread - it was terrific), including the inflammatory Koran-flushing misinformation that resulted in multiple deaths in the Middle East. Another sign by FReeper Exit148 said "BLOGS (Up arrow) MSM (down arrow)." StayTrue had made half a dozen wonderful signs, including a huge enlargement of the incredibly decadent photo of the sunglassed Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson riding in a convertible originally published by Vanity Fair, with the caption "ABC NEWS PIMPED MY RIDE." My sign said, "MSM: Don't let FACTS interfere with your LEFTIST BIAS." Someone else had one that said, "LOSING SHARE? TRY THE TRUTH."

I was very impressed with the patient way that DC Chapter co-leader Angelwood explained what we were doing to surprised passersby who were not attending the event. She pointed out that readers want the facts and all sides of a story on the news pages, and opinion confined to the op-ed pages, so we can make up our own minds about issues. A journalism student who stopped to talk to Angelwood was incredulous at the idea that the media bias problem has arisen, in part, because the top journalism jobs such as those held by the White House Correspondents are all graduates of the top journalism schools, which reflect the leftist bias of their university settings.

Some passersby were interested and supportive; others were skeptical, sourpussed or openly scoffing at our signs. To a few of them we shouted, "Get this man (woman) a pacifier!" or "Waaa-waaa-waaa! Boo-hoo!" I lost it at one carful of imperious sneerers and yelled, "Wipe those condescending smiles off your face, media elitists!" and "We don't care how you FEEL; we don't care how WE feel; we just want the FACTS!" Another time when the corner became congested with evening-clothes-wearing invitees trying to get through our khakis-and-polo-shirts FReep line, I yelled, "Step aside, scum, and let the elites pass!" These remarks earned me a rebuke from Sauropod, who correctly noted that it's better to keep it funny at a FReep. But then he landed his "race hustling" bomb on Julian Bond, so I guess we were even.

A very enjoyable part of this FReep for me was when non-English-speaking European tourists passed by, wanting to know what was going on. I admit it, I took several foreign languages in school and college to get out of math and science, so I had the pleasure of speaking with Italian and French tourists, who seemed surprisingly interested in the idea of the people standing up to the leftist press.

One of the funniest things to me was Doctor Raoul, dressed as Boris Badinov, waving with his large, white-gloved hand at the long line of limos and cars full of tuxedoed and gowned press mavens, snaking slowly into a huge traffic jam at the hotel entrance. They were a captive audience as he shouted, "WELCOME, COMRADES! WELCOME, COMRADES!" If looks could kill, we'd be attending his wake this week.

When the surrounding police got word that the Presidential vehicles would be arriving, they moved us farther away and cordoned off the block with yellow tape. We could only glimpse the motorcade and armored Cadillac limos with the official seal on the side, as well as Secret Service intelligence-gathering equipment, vans of agents, and even an ambulance arriving, but the President was whisked into the building out of our sight.

No matter; we went into the same hotel and sat in the bar, ordered dinner, and watched the event taking place a few yards away in the ballroom on the bar's big-screen TV monitors, cheering for the President, booing his snide, crass, tasteless detractors, and passing pacifiers around the tables to the amusement of the wait staff.

After the broadcast of the event, we flowed out into the lobby with the bejeweled guests, also leaving en masse. Exit148 and I were walking together, but were rudely separated by Mayor Ray Nagin, who might better have been home reviewing levee repair plans instead of hobnobbing with the elites in DC.

I was thrilled to run smack into Fred Dalton Thompson, the former U.S. Senator who now plays the District Attorney on the television show Law and Order.

Mr. Thompson also works as a media advisor, and he helped Judge Sam Alito prepare for his Senate confirmation hearings. I'm sure he gets told he is loved by television viewers all the time, and I'm afraid I gushed and told him again.

I also got a glimpse of the beautifully gowned and coiffed actress Doris Roberts, who played Marie Barone on the family TV series Everybody Loves Raymond.

She was gorgeous in person, like a peach ice cream sundae with sparkles and whipped cream on top, getting into her limosine.

There was a time in my career, before I had a family, when I actually got invited to galas such as this. It's so much better being a born-again conservative gadfly, out on the sidewalk to remind our media overlords who pays their way.

Great personal report. Thanks.

[Mr] T

Great post, great work to all the DC FReepers involved, and thanks for the ping.

Thanks Albion. Outstanding synopsis!

ha-ha-haaa! Great report, thanks.

Best costume nomination! haaa!

bttt

A most descriptive and funny report, AW! Thanks:)

Kudos

'pod, excellent post and Freep as befits your senior status among Freepers.

I watched some of the red carpet coverage on CSPAM early Saturday evening. It struck me that part of the event captures precisely why the WHCA in particular and the DBM are slowly dying dinosaurs. They really believe its all about them and not the news...