BY MICHAEL S. JOHNSON

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner, a dazzling display of media narcissism, is over. But before it slips into memory, as I suggested last year, too, the Association ought to think seriously about not doing it next year. The spectacle is an embarrassment to journalism and the American Presidency.

It reinforces an awful perception of Washington culture. And, staging this circus under the guise of raising funds for journalism scholarships is just short of fraud. The paltry amount of money the Association gives out in scholarships could be raised with a tin cup at the corner of Connecticut and K streets in DC.  The budding reporters are a thin cover for a week of extravagant, self-indulgent Oscar parties. Continue reading →