The Gridiron Club and Foundation - founded in 1885 as The Gridiron Club of Washington, D.C. – is the oldest and one of the most prestigious journalistic organizations in Washington, D.C.
History
was one of several who met January 24, 1885, at the Welcker's Hotel in Washington, D.C. – 721 15th Street, N.W., between New York Avenue and H Street – to form the Gridiron Club. De Puy was the last surviving founder of the club. Its 65 active members represent major newspapers, news services, news magazines and broadcast networks. Membership is by invitation only and has traditionally been offered almost exclusively to Washington newspaper bureau chiefs. Recently, however, it has begun opening its doors to such non-newspaper media figures as Tim Russert of NBC News, Bob Schieffer of CBS News, Mara Liasson of National Public Radio, and Judy Woodruff of PBS. In 2008, the club merged with its charitable arm, the Gridiron Foundation, to form the Gridiron Club and Foundation. It is a 501 organization and makes annual charitable contributions and provides scholarships to a number of journalistic organizations and colleges, including the University of Maryland, George Washington University, and Norwich College.
Officers
The presidency of the club rotates annually. In 2013, it was held by Chuck Lewis, of Hearst Newspapers. In 2011, it was held by Susan Page, USA Todays Washington bureau chief. Page's husband, Carl Leubsdorf of the Dallas Morning News, had been president in 2008, making them the first married couple to have each served as Gridiron president.
Gridiron Club Dinner
The Gridiron Club is best known for its annual dinner which traditionally features the United States Marine Band, along with satirical musical skits by the members and remarks by the President of the United States and representatives of each political party. The skits and speeches by various politicians are expected to be self-deprecating or otherwise sharply comedic. Through 2016, every U.S. President since 1885 except Grover Cleveland has spoken at the dinner. Bill and Hillary Clinton have both spoken at Club dinners, and the 2008 dinner marked the sixth time that President George W. Bush attended during his presidency. The 2013 dinner was the 125th Gridiron Club and Foundation Dinner, but technically only the fifth Club and Foundation dinner. The dinner is held in the spring, usually in March. Between 1945 and 2006, the dinner was held at the Capital Hilton. In 2007, it moved to the Renaissance Washington. It is one of the few remaining large-scale, white-tie affairs in Washington. It offers a neutral ground on which members of the press and various elected officials and political operatives can break bread together. The only time the club held its dinner and skits outside Washington was in November 1967 when it was held in Williamsburg, Virginia. As is also true of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner and the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, the Gridiron Club Dinner has been subject to criticism that it encourages journalists to engage in undue coziness with the political officials they are supposed to fairly cover, and also that the public spectacle of "playing footsie" with reporters' main subjects is bringing the political press into disgrace. For example, at the 2007 dinner, columnistRobert Novak impersonated Vice President Dick Cheney while satirizing the Scooter Libby case, which Novak helped initiate. President Barack Obama attended the 2011, 2013, and 2015 Gridiron Club Dinners. President Donald Trump attended and addressed the 2018 Gridiron Club Dinner.
