Nerd Prom (White House Correspondents’ Dinner)
The White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner began in 1920 and evolved into a press comedy roast of the president. Ana Marie Cox, a founding editor of the political blog Wonkette, coined the now-popular name “nerd prom” for the WHCA dinner in her Twitter account in 2009.
New York City’s annual Webutante Ball is also sometimes dubbed as the “nerd prom” or “prom for tech nerds.”
“Government/Politics is sports for nerds” is a related saying.
Wikipedia: Nerd Prom
Nerd Prom may refer to:
. San Diego Comic-Con International, a major international fan convention
. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, an annual dinner involving major political and media figures
Wikipedia: White House Correspondents’ Association
The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend press conferences of President Woodrow Wilson. Among the issues handled by the WHCA are press access to the President and physical conditions in White House press briefing rooms.
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White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The WHCA’s annual dinner, begun in 1920, has become a Washington, D.C. tradition and is usually attended by the President and Vice President. Fifteen presidents have attended a WHCA dinner, beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. The dinner is traditionally held on the evening of the last Saturday in April at the Washington Hilton.
Prior to World War II, the annual dinner featured singing between courses, a homemade movie and an hour-long, post-dinner show with big-name performers.” In recent years the featured speaker has often been a comedian, with the dinner taking on the form of a roast, especially of the President.
Wikipedia: Ana Marie Cox
Ana Marie Cox (born 23 September 1972) is an American author and blogger. The founding editor of the political blog Wonkette, she is currently the Washington correspondent for GQ and is the Guardian‘s lead blogger on US politics. She previously worked at Air America Media.
Washington (DC) Post
Post Politics: Correspondents’ Dinner, Online Comments, Specter’s Future, More
Chris Cillizza
Washington Post Staff Writer and The Fix Blogger
Friday, May 8, 2009; 11:00 AM
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Lots going on with Arlen Specter’s party switch sill roiling the waters and the White House Correspondents Dinner (aka “nerd prom”) coming up tomorrow night.
Washington (DC) Post—The Fix by Chris Cillizza
Twittering Nerd Prom
By Paul Volpe | May 9, 2009; 4:40 PM ET
Tonight is the biggest annual event of the year in Washington: the White House Correspondents Dinner!
All sorts of celebrities turn out and reporters and politicians gawk at them. And, armed only with an iPhone and our wits, the Fix will be doing some twittering from tonight’s dinner—trying to give Fixistas the sights, sounds and smells (you never know!) from an event the incomparable Ana Marie Cox has dubbed “Nerd Prom.”
Time magazine
Tweets From a Washington Dinner (a.k.a. #nerdprom)
By hchuaeoan and ssss1222 Saturday, May 09, 2009
Text Amended: June 8, 2009
TIME.com is following several members of the Twitterati as they attend the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in the enormous subterranean ballroom of the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. (TIME picks the best Correspondents’ Dinner hosts of the Bush era)
The conviviality actually began in the early afternoon, with the pre-party to be at the home of former Hardball Producer Tammy Haddad. Meanwhile, the tag “#nerdprom,” given to the event by twittering dinner attendees “caused confusion” in the wider twittering world, said one outsider-tweet, “as it was scheduled between the #startrek convention and the middle aged basement dwellers meetup.”
Media Matters for America
TONIGHT: Nerd Prom, AKA White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner
May 09, 2009 5:01 pm ET by Karl Frisch
Tonight is the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, otherwise known as “nerd prom.” You can watch all the insidery beltway media festivities on CSPAN - check local listings for time and channel.
Politics Daily
WHCD: Amber Who?
By Patricia Murphy
May 10, 2009
Well played, Obama administration! For a dinner that usually falls short even of its tragic nickname, “Nerd Prom,” last night’s dinner drew so many Hollywood heavyweights that we saw Amber Tamblyn wandering the halls unrecognized.
Google Books
The Daily Show:
The Complete Guide
Pg. 201:
On Friday, June 19, 2009, Hodgman was the headline speaker at the 2009 Radio and Television Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C. Hodgman referred to this event as a “Nerd Prom.”
Geoff Fox: My Permanent Record
May 1, 2011
Seth Meyers Killed At The #Nerdprom
Nerdprom, or more accurately #nerdprom is the Twitter hashtag coined by Ana Marie Cox (aka the original Wonkette) and used to flag tweets about the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. Nerdprom fits perfectly, because you can’t be a White House correspondent without being a nerd!
Mediaite
Jimmy Kimmel Will Host 2012 White House Correspondents’ Dinner
by Alex Alvarez | 9:18 am, November 1st, 2011
Jimmy Kimmel Live host Jimmy Kimmel has been tapped to host next year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner (aka “Nerd Prom”), slated for April 28th.