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Journalist/Politician/Corporate Coziness on Display at Snowflake Garden Brunch ([link removed])

by Julie Hollar

[link removed] now and then, reporters pull back the curtain a bit and reveal the incestuousness of the Beltway media/politician nexus. The New York Times' Michael Grynbaum (2/3/20 ([link removed]) ) did this in his piece this week, "The National Media Mob Descends on Iowa," describing the charity brunch thrown by a "Washington impresario," the Iowa version of an annual event that Grynbaum describes as "a required stop for reporters, editors, network news anchors and political operatives."
NYT: The National Media Mob Descends on Iowa

The New York Times (2/3/20 ([link removed]) ) reports on "the Snowflake Garden Brunch, a Georgetown-in-the-cornfields gathering in Des Moines on Sunday that attracted a healthy chunk of the visiting political class."

The Snowflake Garden Brunch, now in its second iteration, is an election-year version of former cable producer Tammy Haddad's pre-game "Garden Brunch" gathering for the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, the epitome ([link removed]) of journalist/politician coziness. Attendees this year, according to Grynbaum, included Republican Sen. Joni Ernst ([link removed]) , chatting with news anchor and commentator Greta Van Susteren ([link removed]) , and Pete Buttigieg's communications director, Lis Smith ([link removed]) , who "gossiped" with execs from NBC and ABC. At the 2016 Snowflake Garden Brunch, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump were star attendees, praised
([link removed]) by co-host Hilary Rosen as "charming, engaging and smart."

Rosen, a Democratic strategist, lobbyist and pundit who co-hosted the brunch this year as well, was briefly the Washington editor-at-large for the Huffington Post, before the outlet let her go because she was also helping to manage BP's public relations in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon spill (FAIR.org, 3/7/12 ([link removed]) ). John and Christine Stineman also co-hosted both years; John Stineman's webpage ([link removed]) boasts he has "worked on behalf of more than 20% of the Fortune 100 companies," while Christine ([link removed]) 's touts her work for, among other organizations, the American Medical Association's 2008 healthcare campaign, which vigorously opposed a single-payer solution to the healthcare crisis.

And, of course, there were corporate sponsors, as Grynbaum noted: "The sponsors included Wells Fargo ([link removed]) , the health insurer Anthem and a Washington-based lobbyist for the wind energy industry."

Grynbaum's piece covered the brunch with an air of irony and detachment, but never sharp criticism; he closed with his conversation with the Iowa state AARP director, who advised: “Stand on a sidewalk and just start talking to people. You’ll get a better sense than at a fancy brunch.” Grynbaum observed:

Mr. Anderson happened to say this while kibitzing at Ms. Haddad’s fancy brunch. Be honest: Will he miss the media when it’s gone?

“I will,” he said, laughing. “I love you guys. I’m not being cheesy here, but the media does appreciate the Iowan approach to this process, and that makes me happy.”

Another reporter (Washington Free Beacon, 2/3/20 ([link removed]) ) noted that most of the "A-list" journalists didn't show up—unlike the Washington version of the brunch, which is one of a slew of corporate-sponsored events the weekend of the correspondents' dinner. As a Seimens marketing officer said of the DC events (BizBash.com, 4/30/12 ([link removed]) ), “It’s a good way for us to make connections in government, business and media.”

The journalist/politician/corporate coziness in Iowa certainly does not approach that of Washington, where the hobnobbing has become so normalized that some journalists ([link removed]) appear to have lost any sense of impropriety about it. But the Snowflake Garden Brunch opens a window onto the widespread nature of that corruption, where lobbyists throw parties for journalists so they can schmooze with the politicians they cover—sponsored by the same corporations that fund ([link removed]) (and sometimes own ([link removed]) ) the media outlets the journalists work for.
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Featured image: New York Times depiction (2/3/20 ([link removed]) ) of ice cow at Snowflake Garden Brunch (photo: Chase Castor/New York Times).



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