Dancing In The Dark
ABC News sent out its official announcement for the 4/16 Dem debate in Philly. However, 4/16 has another meaning for a lot of Washingtonians -- it's the night of the annual Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner. The dinner is considered the secondest biggest event of the Washington "prom season" -- right after the White House Correspondents Dinner -- and typically features all the big-name DC media types.
An ABC spokesperson said that date was chosen because it was the night that worked in the candidates' schedules. No word yet on how much of ABC presence there will be at the dinner. George Stephanopoulos is listed as co-moderator of the debate, along with Charles Gibson.
UPDATED: An ABC spokesperson noted that the 4/16 date was chosen because of both the candidates' schedules and the network's schedule. And the spokesperson said that ABC will have a presence at the dinner -- same as it does every year.
And, in case you doubt the dinner's importance, last year's Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner brought about the infamous performance of "MC Rove."
UPDATED 2: Per Steve Chaggaris, director of political coverage for CBS News ... "I'm the chair of this year's dinner, and I just want to say we're still expecting a huge turnout regardless of the debate - or the Pope's visit for that matter (he'll be in town from 4/15-4/17)...we've been sold out for weeks, and we have great entertainment on tap: Mo Rocca, from "The Tonight Show" and CBS News "Sunday Morning" and formerly of "The Daily Show" will be the entertainment this year..."
(EMILY GOODIN)
Shucks, the press might miss an opportunity to schmooze the subjects of their "objective" reporting. That's a shame.