When you think of the White House Correspondents’ dinner, you might envision the media elite gathering to honor the first amendment and discuss the catastrophic barriers facing contemporary journalism. You don’t necessarily think of TikTok, YouTube, and Substack, despite the role new media platforms may play in information distribution. Unless, of course, you’re Adam Faze—the producer behind TikTok creative studio Gymnasium, and general guy about town (just look at his dating history). This past weekend, Faze hosted the first New Correspondents’ Dinner in D.C. and gave us the download.
Thursday
Nicolaia Rips: So, what happened?
Adam Faze: I went to D.C. to throw the first inaugural New Correspondents’ Dinner with my friend Jessica Hoy at the Watergate Hotel. The New Correspondents’ was a private dinner celebrating journalists and creators shaping the future of media. Guests included Jordan Meiselas (co-founder of MeidasTouch), Liz Plank, Suzanne Lambert, Peter McIndoe (Birds Aren’t Real), Jack Joyce (Chuppl on YouTube), Taylor Lorenz, Astead W. Herndon (NYTimes), Jess Testa (NYTimes), Katherine Finnerty (WSJ), Elizabeth Booker Houston, Mosheh Oinounou (Mo News), and Ari Melber (MSNBC).
How did this come about?
My friend Jessica Hoy gave me a call last month asking if I’d want to co-host a dinner with her the night before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. I came to WHCD Weekend for the first time two years ago, but I strongly feel it’s even more important to champion journalism now while we have a White House administration who is openly hostile to the idea of a free press.
Friday
Tell me about the dinner.
There’s always a celebration of journalism during WHCD Weekend, and I wanted to celebrate a new generation of journalists and creators who are reporting on YouTube, Substack, TikTok, and beyond— where the majority of our generation regularly gets their news.
What is the significance of this type of “new journalism”?
Social feeds and YouTube are the new TV. Our job is to use them to explain what’s happening and why it matters—as some creators are already doing. Newsrooms that aren’t built for social have to pivot fast, or we risk drifting further into a world where fact and fiction look the same. Do it right, and the next Walter Cronkite will be on TikTok, not CBS.
Saturday
A lot of the people on your list of attendees are part of legacy media. Tell me about that intersection.
TikTok and YouTube aren’t magically going to become trusted sources for news—they will only get there if real journalists bring real reporting to those platforms. A lot of our guests have already started leading that shift, whether it’s Tara Palmeri, who just left Puck to launch her own YouTube channel, or Astead W. Herndon, who made sense of the 2024 election cycle on The Run-Up podcast for the New York Times. It’s exactly this kind of intersection that will lead us to the world we want to live in.
What are your White House Correspondents’ Dinner essentials?
A tuxedo, a great date to run around with (and crash the parties you’re not on the list for), and Liquid IV to survive the morning after.