A who’s who of some of the most powerful people in media dined alongside Democrat politicians on Wednesday night to “celebrate” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The rationale for which they were celebrating Jean-Pierre, also present, is unclear. The group included at least two major corporate media network heads: Rashida Jones, president of MSNBC and Kim Godwin, president of ABC.
Also in attendance were NBC’s chief Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell, Hakim Jeffries chief of staff Tasia Jackson, far-Left MSNBC host Joy Reid, Biden White House deputy chief of staff Jen O’Malley Dillon, CNN political correspondent Kasie Hunt, CBS News producer Shawna Thomas, CBS’s Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan, Obama advisor Stephanie Cutter, radical LGBTQ Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson, and Chanelle Hardy who serves as the Head of Civil Rights at Google.
With public trust in the media near a record low, the dinner’s guest list certainly further fuels concerns about partisanship in corporate media. While senior White House staff and major media figures might rub elbows at galas and events like the White House Correspondents Dinner, having so many present at an intimate – yet nondescript – dinner for a White House press secretary is more unusual.
The attendance of Chanelle Hardy, who serves in senior management at tech-and-internet-giant Google, at a dinner with at least two senior White House staffers raises ethical concerns as well. Google is being sued by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice for violating U.S. anti-trust laws.
