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Tom Brokaw lamented the media's coverage of politics on Sunday's "Meet the Press," calling out the White House Correspondents Dinner in particular.
Brokaw was discussing Mitt Romney's potential picks for vice president. He argued that the other half of the GOP ticket would have to capture independents. Then, he proceeded to criticize political coverage for focusing on too much on the extreme ends of the political spectrum.
"As I've gone around the country, a lot of people say to me, 'What's happened with the press? What's happened with political coverage in America. We don't feel connected to it,'" Brokaw reflected. He had expressed similar sentiments earlier in the show, saying that the public is "tuning out of Washington."
He said that the White House Correspondents Dinner exemplified the disconnect.
"If there's ever an event that separates the press from the people that they're supposed to serve, symbolically, it is that one," he said. "It is time to rethink it."
Brokaw continued, "I think George Clooney is a great guy. I'd like to meet Charlize Theron. But I don't think a big press event in Washington should be that kind of a glittering event where the whole talk is about Cristal champagne, taking over the Italian embassy, who had the best party, who got to meet the most people."
In fact, the MSNBC party was held at the Italian embassy after the dinner. Brokaw, who noted that he was a charter member of the White House Correspondents Association, added that the dinner has gone "beyond what it needs to be."
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