SNL Member Kenan Thompson To Emcee WHCA Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Association has announced the lineup for its annual dinner, to be held on Saturday, April 25, 2020.

Kenan Thompson, the actor and longest-tenured Saturday Night Live cast-member, will serve as the evening’s host.  Hasan Minhaj, the Peabody award-winning host of Netflix’s Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, will return to the dinner as featured entertainer.

“Kenan and Hasan are two of the most engaged and engaging entertainers in America.  I’m thrilled they’ll help us celebrate the role of a free press in our democracy,” said Jonathan Karl, Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News and president of the WHCA.  “We’re looking forward to a lively evening honoring the most important political journalism of the past year.”

Kenan Thompson

The WHCA will be presenting two new awards at the 2020 dinner: The Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability and the Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage by Visual Journalists.  These are in addition to the longstanding Aldo Beckman Award for Overall Excellence in White House Coverage and Merriman Smith Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage Under Deadline Pressure.

Hasan Minhaj

This year’s dinner will also include the inaugural presentation of the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability, administered by the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications to recognize outstanding statehouse reporting.

This year the WHCA has partnered with Bob Bain Productions, which has produced such events as the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Teen Choice Awards, the Creative Arts Emmys, Miss America and the Trevor Noah stand-up specials.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a non-partisan event that supports the work of the WHCA to protect the role of independent news media coverage of the president. Proceeds fund the organization’s operating expenses and go toward scholarships and awards aimed at promoting aspiring journalists and recognizing excellence in the journalism profession.