This year's Nerd Prom was nerdier than usual: There was lots less Hollywood, and lots more focus on the First Amendment and a free press — the bedrock beneath the glitz and frenzy of White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend.

Why it matters: White House aides have tried to sideline the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), as part of battling the mainstream press. So President Trump and top administration officials skipped the dinner.

• But when you looked around this weekend, you saw the resilience of American journalism. And Washington partied on with its annual reunion of celebrities, politicians and journalists.

Axios' Alex Thompson, accepting the WHCA's top award, talked about the need for journalistic truth-telling about both parties — and the importance of the media bluntly admitting its own shortcomings.

• "To my bones, I believe that reporting and the White House Correspondents' Association is as necessary as ever," Thompson said as he accepted the Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage.

Thompson was recognized for aggressive reporting on former President Biden. The judges said his body of work "revealed that the president's cognitive decline was impacting his ability to do his job, information the White House tried to conceal."

• Thompson — who is co-author with CNN's Jake Tapper of a book coming May 20, "Original Sin," about Biden's decline — said in his acceptance remarks: "President Biden's decline, and its cover-up by the people around him, is a reminder that every White House, regardless of party, is capable of deception. But being truth-tellers also means telling the truth about ourselves. We, myself included, missed a lot of this story. And some people trust us less because of it."

"We bear some responsibility for faith in the media being at such lows," Thompson added, to applause. "I say this because acknowledging errors builds trust — and being defensive about them further erodes it. We shoulda done better."

• "I believe our mission is vital in a world where people are struggling to figure out what's true — and people with power are not telling the truth."

The Associated Press, in a court battle with the White House over access restrictions, won two big awards: for Presidential News Coverage under Deadline Pressure (winning entry) and for State Government Accountability (full series).

• Zeke Miller, AP chief White House correspondent, said: "We at AP remain committed as ever to accurate, independent, nonpartisan journalism — to carrying light the world over."

ABC's Rachel Scott, honored for her "unflappable and authoritative" coverage from the scene of last July's assassination attempt on Trump, said: "May we continue to uphold the responsibility of bearing witness, no matter where the story takes us."

• Watch Thompson's speech ... Full list of winners.

Doug Mills of The New York Times won for visual presidential coverage with this image of President Biden leaving the State Dining Room on April 24, 2024.

• The judges said: "A somber President Joe Biden ... is centered in the image yet surrounded and visually almost overwhelmed by the physical infrastructure and historic weight of the White House. The only other living human in the picture is looking away from Biden, but the president ... moves under the gaze of a reflective President Lincoln, completing this striking portrait of both a sitting president and the presidency itself."

Mills said in his acceptance remarks: "I had put down a remote camera on the ground and had a wireless transmitter to fire it ... trying to preconceive what was gonna happen and where he was gonna be. And, luckily, that moment happened."

Honorable mention went to Jim Watson of Agence France-Presse for this image of Elon Musk making an electrifying entrance at a campaign rally with President Trump in Butler, Pa., last October.

Actress Alex Borstein, of "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" fame, and Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary walk the red carpet at the Washington Hilton.

Tim Daly, president of The Creative Coalition, is joined by (from left) CEO Robin Bronk, Michael Chiklis, Emily Glassman, Dean Norris, Alex Borstein and Jason Isaacs.

Alok Patel, physician and medical journalist, dives into the dinner.

Ina Fried, Axios chief tech correspondent — who was honored Thursday night with one of the inaugural Guardians of Truth journalism awards from the Human Rights Campaign — posed at a Friday night reception at the British ambassador's residence. (Watch Ina's speech.)

Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil tells me that at the TIME after-party at the Swiss ambassador's residence, scribes and sources clinked champagne, bopped to a DJ and noshed on sizzling raclette cheese over potatoes.

Above: Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) held court, next to a long line of glamorous young people snapping pictures with Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner (left).

• "White Lotus" star Jason Isaacs was the weekend's big celeb, weaving through onlookers with his entourage.

🍾 Earlier in the day, between bites of steak frites, chatty networkers at the 32nd annual White House Correspondents' Weekend Garden Brunch heard Isaacs honor first responders to the Reagan National Airport crash.

• Above: CNN's David Urban (center), flanked by actors Dean Norris (left) and Michael Chiklis. All regularly get mistaken for each other in airports.

Interactive version (gift link).

Typewriters decorated both the Thomson Reuters pre-dinner reception at the Washington Hilton ...

... and "The After Party," from NBC News and Telemundo, at the residence of French Ambassador Laurent Bili.

• The party included a Peacock-branded espresso martini bar. Guests lined up to get portraits from a caricature artist.