Just checked out the lists posted for the White House Correspondents Dinner. What a change from previous years! The guests look like they’re going to a bad version of the Emmy Awards. What ‘s happened is the main network news divisions have recruited TV stars from their companies.
Actual movie stars? Even though 20th Century Fox released Academy Award Best Picture “12 Years a Slave,” the movie’s Oscar winners are not sitting with Fox News. Can you imagine? Lupita Nyong’o and Steve McQueen are sitting with TIME Magazine, owned by News Corp rival Time Inc. Of course, Fox News would be hard pressed to find appropriate employees to sit with this Oscar winning duo.
And the rest of it? “Jesse’s Girl” singer Rick Springfield? Actors from “Revenge,” “Glee,” “Nashville” and “Scandal”? I’m trying to figure out how Diane Lane (she’s very nice) is the only actress CNN could rustle up? JC Chasez? He’s the one from ‘NSync who’s not famous.
How about The Hill? They’re hosting– are you ready for this?– Connor Cruise, the teenage deejay son of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
This is why Tom Brokaw has refused to attend this event. It’s only gotten worse and worse. But now the big movie stars are gone. And this is what they’re left with. I’d rather stay home and watch the Kentucky Derby.
ABC NEWS
Connie Britton, “Nashville”
Chip Esten, “Nashville”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Modern Family”
Tony Goldwyn, “Scandal”
Hayden Panettiere, “Nashville”
Kelly Ripa, “Live with Kelly and Michael”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”
Michael Strahan, “Live with Kelly and Michael”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Bellamy Young, “Scandal”
M.C. González Noguera, director of communications for Michelle Obama
Jeh Johnson, secretary of Homeland Security
Jack Lew, secretary of the Treasury
Lisa Monaco, deputy national security adviser to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism
Elizabeth Sherwood Randall, White House coordinator for defense policy, countering weapons of mass destruction, and arms control
Christian
Broadcasting
Network
Todd and Sonja Burpo, “Heaven is for Real”
Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins
CBS
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
David McCallum, “NCIS”
Brad Paisley, singer-songwriter
Kimberly Williams-Paisley, actress
Gloria Estefan, singer-songwriter
Emilio Estefan, musician
Spike Jonze, director
William Bratton, New York Police Dept. commissioner
Shaun Donovan, secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)
Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
CNN
Diane Lane, actress
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Mary Pat Christie
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R)
Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chairman
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Deborah Dingell
Josh Earnest, White House special assistant to the president
Mo Elleithee, Democratic National Committee communications director
Creative Coalition
Jaimie Alexander, “Thor”
Drake Bell, “Drake & Josh”
Tim Daly, “Private Practice”
Omar Epps, “Resurrection”
Peter Facinelli, “Nurse Jackie”
Sean Giambrone, “The Goldbergs”
Jonathan Groff, “Frozen”
Cheryl Hines, “Suburgatory”
Emile Hirsch, “Into the Wild”
John Leguizamo, “Ice Age”
Rose McGowan, “Charmed”
Wendi McLendon-Covey, “The Goldbergs”
AnnaSophia Robb, “The Carrie Diaries”
Michael Shannon, “Boardwalk Empire”
Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”
Jeffrey Tambor, “Arrested Development”
Dean Norris, “Breaking Bad”
Marlon Wayans, “A Haunted House”
Mae Whitman, “Parenthood”
Constance Zimmer, “The Newsroom”
Fortune
Armie Hammer, “The Lone Ranger”
Elizabeth Chambers, “The Game Plan”
Patrick Duffy, “Dallas”
Fox News Channel
Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys, and Candice Romo
Matthew Morrison, “Glee,” and Renee Puente
Sir Patrick Stewart, actor, and Sunny Ozell
JC Chasez, singer
Jeremy Irvine, “War Horse”
Chace Crawford, “Gossip Girl”
Ryan Kwanten, “True Blood”
Will Poulter, “We’re the Millers”
Rick Springfield, singer
Katharine McPhee, “Smash”
Richard Marx, singer
MSNBC
Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
NBCUniversal
News Group
Samantha Power, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations
Kevin Hart, comedian
Eniko Parrish, model
will.i.am, singer
Sage Kotsenburg, professional snowboarder
Denis McDonough, White House chief of staff
People
Scott Foley, “Scandal”
Joe Manganiello, “True Blood”
Lindsey Vonn, professional skier
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
The Hill
Andy Roddick, tennis player
Brooklyn Decker, model
Spike Mendelsohn, chef
Nancy O’Dell, journalist
Connor Cruise, deejay
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)
The Huffington Post
Anna Kendrick, “Pitch Perfect”
Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
Questlove, musician
Kristen Bell, “Frozen”
Thomson Reuters
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings Olivia Munn, “The Newsroom”
Darren Criss, “Glee”
Madeleine Stowe, “Revenge”
Ron Dermer, Israeli ambassador to the U.S.
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
Jack O’Connell, “Unbroken”
Ray Mabus, secretary of the U.S. Navy
Jeremy Bird, political strategist
Christine Fox, acting deputy secretary of Defense
Courtney O’Donnell, Jill Biden’s former director of communications
Oliver Luck, director of intercollegiate athletes at West Virginia University
Time
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Steve McQueen, director
Travis Kalanick, Uber CEO
Alfonso Cuarón, director
USA Today
Jessica Simpson, singer
Freida Pinto, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Jeff Goldblum, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Josh Gad, “Frozen”
Rosario Dawson, “Cesar Chavez: History is Made One Step at a Time”
Taylor Schilling, “Orange is the New Black”
Uzo Aduba, “Orange is the New Black”
The Washington Post
François Delattre, French ambassador to the United States
Anthony Foxx, secretary of Transportation
Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles mayor
B. Todd Jones, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Leon Panetta, former secretary of Defense
Tim Pawlenty, former Minnesota governor
John Podesta, White House counselor
Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator
Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY’s List
Garry Trudeau, “Doonesbury” creator
Yahoo News
Marissa Mayer, Yahoo CEO
Katie Couric, journalist
Bobbi Brown, Yahoo beauty editor
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley
David Karp, Tumblr CEO
Jon Huntsman, former Utah governor
Matt Olsen, National Counterterrorism Center director
Cody Keenan, assistant to the president and director of speechwriting
Kathy Ruemmler, assistant to the president and counsel to the president
Eric Holder, U.S. attorney general
Sam Kass, “Let’s Move” executive director
