Ryan Seacrest, NBC Election Coverage Contributor?

[Lkeller]

And those press dinners have taken on a more higher profile ever since Obama was elected President. You certainly didn't hear anything about them when Clinton, Bush, Bush Jr., Reagan, etc. were President.

Actually, not true.  I don't remember them in Reagan or Bush I, but I remember these dinners during the Clinton Administration.  Bubba wasn't such a good sport, and didn't really appreciate being the butt of jokes from comedians, but he would laugh with a pained look on his face.
Here's a clip from the 2000 event featuring a video that lampoons Clinton's final days in office:

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blclintonfinaldaysvideo.htm

And here's Stephen Colbert at the event in 2006 roasting "W," who doesn't look all that comfortable either:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-869183917758574879#

[recto101]

Yes, the world of entertainment and politics seem to be coming together.  Notice all the coverage of The White House Correspondents dinner, something that has been building over recent years.  So does this mean our President needs to be an entertainer as well as a politician, as well as a statesman, as well as the head of our armed forces?  My head is spinning, frankly.

Entertainment and Politics came together when Ronald Reagan ran for Governor of California in the 1960's and 1970's and for President in the 1980's. Entertainment and Politics came together again in 2003 and 2006 when Arnold Schwartzenegger ran for Governor of California.

Actually, Reagan was not the first. In 1964 - two years before Reagan's run for Governor, former actor and song-and-dance man George Murphy (Republican) ran for US Senate from California and won - serving one six year term.  And if you go WAY back, in the 1940s, actress Helen Gahagan Douglas was the first woman Congressperson from California.  Her political career ended when she ran for US Senate in 1950, and was beaten by Tricky Dick Nixon, who smeared her as "the Red Lady" (communist).

In 1965, satirist Tom Lehrer wrote a funny song about George Murphy that mentions both  "Helen Gahagan" (her name as an actress) and Reagan.  At that time, Reagan was considered a bit of a joke by the liberal intelligensia.

Here's a link to the Murphy song on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rSNQlsR5Pc

I forgot Bob Dornan Congressman from (R-Orange County) he was an actor in the 1970's before he was a congressman in the 1980's and 1990's. I do know he was on Fox News Channel as a pundit in its infant years and I don't know what happen to him ever since.

[Lkeller]

Actually, Dornan was a TV talk host in the 70s - on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles, but he did act as a younger man - in the 1950s, I think.  He still does talk radio - at least as a fill-in, I think, as does his son.

[Pat Cook]

Since TV began, former disc-jockeys have become reporters and anchors. One of the San Francisco Bay Areas most beloved TV news anchors - the late Dave McElhatton - started his career as an all-night, then morning-drive disc-jockey. When his radio station (KCBS) switched from music to all news in the late 60s, he became morning anchor, then moved to TV a few years later.

Steve Kelly lasted SEVERAL YEARS on KOA Radio as a news anchor after leaving the original KIMN before moving onto TV where became the morning anchor at KDVR 31 when it was under Fox ownership

Now he just does commercials (Something he's also done for years)

Cheers

[DToTheJ]

I wonder what political affiliation Dick Clark was while he was alive and well and would he have done the same thing as Ryan Seacrest and hosting election coverage. I really doubt that Dick would have done something like this but then again times are changing...

Conversely, we have comedian Kathy Griffin appearing on CNN every New Year's Eve - of course, the luster has worn off that news channel over the last dozen years, so they could use all the help they can get...