There's no such thing as a free meal

The White House Correspondents’ Association is clearly bracing for a tough time for its members under a Trump administration. This week, its president Jeff Mason of Reuters fired off its first criticism of Donald Trump since his election victory when it complained that he had slipped out for a family dinner in Manhattan without informing or taking members of the press pool that traditionally follows a president's every move. Let's hope that the association reciprocates the snub and dumps the annual White House Correspondents Dinner where the US president is guest of honour. It is a fawning, sickening display of coziness where journalists inflate their sense of self-importance for a night of rubbing shoulders with the US political and entertainment elite. Coverage of its annual excess on television and online is part of the reason why many Americans feel the media is an extension of the establishment they believe does not care to understand or address their problems. Reuters and many (but not all) news organisations make much of the event and throw money at it. They would do better to stay away. ■