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MS NOW rented out Dupont Underground, an arts venue near the Hilton, for a party after the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Photo: MS NOW
White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend has always been a reflection of the changing news ecosystem, but this year's event shows just how fast the media industry is being disrupted.
Why it matters: Washington's traditional media power-brokers are being challenged by independent journalists and upstarts with a less complicated political history.
Driving the news: Stretching from Thursday to Sunday, a dozen parties and events surrounding this year's dinner were thrown by startup news organizations and outlets less than 10 years old.
- Those outlets, such as Punchbowl, Semafor, Axios, Puck, NOTUS, and more, attracted corporate sponsors such as Boeing and Amazon.
- There were also several events this year hosted by independent creators and publishing platforms that support them, such as Oliver Darcy's Status and newsletter platforms beehiiv and Substack.
Meanwhile, some traditional news organizations have peeled back.
- The Washington Post didn't host a splashy brunch, like the $1 million affair it hosted last year, following another year of significant financial losses. It did, however, host a pre-dinner cocktail reception.
- Paramount/CBS News didn't host a major post-dinner reception, although CBS News hosted a pre-dinner reception with Politico.
Zoom out: For many years, it was expected that Administration officials attend the dinner as guests of various news organizations.
- Because this year was the first time President Trump agreed to attend, it also represented the first time in years Republican officials were largely in attendance.
- CBS News, for example, invited defense secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller to be its guests. FBI Director Kash Patel sat with The Daily Mail. Axios hosted Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
Of note: CBS News' parent company Paramount and its CEO and Chairman David Ellison hosted a dinner Thursday honoring President Trump, who spoke at the event. The Justice Department's acting attorney general Todd Blanche was in attendance. Paramount is currently seeking DOJ approval for its $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Between the lines: There were a number of events this year hosted by partisan outlets — a reflection of the growing partisan divide in news consumption in the digital era.
- MAGA moguls hosted a party Friday night at the glitzy Executive Branch club in Georgetown that charges a $500,000 membership fee. Nelly performed to a crowd of a few hundred people, including Administration officials, business leaders, select reporters and media executives.
- Townhall, a conservative site, hosted an event at the conservative bar Butterworth's on Capitol Hill that was in part about "advancing President Trump's AI & Crypto Policy Agenda."
- MS Now hosted its first major WHCD post-dinner event Saturday, directly rivaling NBC News' longstanding event that same evening.
- Crooked Media, the media upstart launched by Obama Administration alumni, hosted its fourth annual pre-WHCD party.
The big picture: Two of the hottest tickets over the past few years have been the two Friday night pre-parties hosted by talent giants CAA and UTA, respectively.
- Both entities, as well as rival WME, have increased their presence in Washington over the past few years as more startups drive opportunities for multi-platform journalists in Washington.
