Vice President Joe Biden joked about the media's struggles while speaking as a substitute for President Barack Obama at the annual Gridiron Dinner.
Huffington Post reports:
Biden teased the press a bit too, saying, "I understand these are dark days for the newspaper business, but I hate it when people say that newspapers are obsolete. That's totally untrue. I know from firsthand experience. I recently got a puppy, and you can't housebreak a puppy on the Internet."
The dinner, the most well-known event of the Gridiron Club, stages political satire and standup comedy. Obama is
the first president to skip it since Grover Cleveland.
The Club is an invitation-only organization historically for newspaper men and women. Recently, the club has admitted some broadcasters.
Politico reports:
In making light of the financial crisis, several of the journalists' skits paid heed to the depressed state of their own industry. "Will Twitter for food," a sign held by a chorus member read. Dick Cooper, this year's club president, opened the evening's festivities by noting that "the newspaper industry and the Obama administration have one thing in common: They're both deep into deficit spending." He asked the assembled guests to "please stop by our bake sale in the lobby as you leave."
Cooper is one of some 35 editors and reporters at the Tribune Company's Washington Bureau. At the peak, there were a combined 110 staffers working in Washington for print outlets owned by the now-bankrupt newspaper chain.
Related:
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Howard Dean, new CNBC contributor, takes no sides in Cramer vs. Stewart
