Greta Van Susteren’s husband John P. Coale sitting between Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian at the 2012 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

She was famous for escorting the famous around Washington, DC during White House Correspondents’ weekend. But this year, Fox News host Greta Van Susteren is taking a pass on the dinner April 27. “I made another commitment out of town that weekend,” she writes on GretaWire.

I am sure everyone will have fun – it is the one day of the year that the media, politicians, entertainers etc. socialize together – but it can also be a bit exhausting as it is a 2 1/2 day affair.

In recent years Van Susteren has played host to Kim Kardashian, Ozzie Osborn, and last year, Lindsay Lohan

But there was a backlash following last year’s star-studded dinner, by none other than NBC’s Tom Brokaw on “Meet the Press.”

“I think George Clooney is a great guy,” said Brokaw. “I’d like to meet Charlize Theron. But I don’t think the big press event in Washington should be that kind of glittering event where all the talk is about Cristal champagne, taking over the Italian Embassy, who had the best party. That’s another separation between what we’re supposed to be doing and what the people expect us to be doing.”

Greta tells Politico she will likely attend the annual brunch put on by Tammy Haddad on the day of the dinner.

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TVNewser spotted Fox News chairman Roger Ailes giving a warm hello to Susan Axelrod and Arianna Huffington as David Axelrod gave his remarks. The Axelrods established CURE: Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy as the family struggled to come to terms with their daughter Lauren’s epilepsy. Now 31, Lauren experienced her first seizure at seven months old.

We chatted with “CBS This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose, who, with his co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell, is treating the “This Morning” staff to a holiday party next week. “It takes two jobs to be able to do it, but we’ll do it,” joked Rose, who also hosts “Charlie Rose” on PBS and Bloomberg TV.

Also at the event, organized for the most part by Tammy Haddad: “Good Morning America” and “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos and his wife Ali Wentworth, ABC political analyst

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Last year it was Sarah Palin.

This year, FNC’s Greta Van Susteren and her husband John P. Coale have outdone themselves. FishbowlDC reports the couple has invited Lindsay Lohan as their guest to this weekend’s White House Correspondents Dinner festivities. If history is any indication, this means LiLo will make the rounds at Tammy Haddad‘s Garden Brunch, the pre-Dinner cocktail parties, the dinner and an after party or five. But if anyone can chaperone an oft-busted starlet around DC, it’s Greta. At least we hope so.

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Sarah and Todd Palin along with Greta Van Susteren and Bill Press.

Last year at the annual pre-White House Correspondents Dinner Garden Brunch, Greta Van Susteren brought Kim Kardashian as her guest. This year, Greta looked beyond Hollywood and headed straight for Alaska bringing along Sarah Palin who really had brunch-goers turning their heads.

Tammy Haddad‘s annual brunch — which has outgrown its original location in Haddad and husband Ted Greenberg‘s backyard — was held this year at the historic Beall – Washington House, with its expansive yard, larger patios, and multiple watering holes. Haddad, a former MSNBC, CNN and NBC executive and producer shuttled the A-listers around the event — which is always a diverse mix of politicians, actors and journalists.

In addition to Palin, “Glee”‘s Matthew Morrison dropped in, as did Jesse Tyler Ferguson, of “Modern Family” and Chace Crawford of “Gossip Girl.”

We chatted up ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Chris Wallace of Fox News, Pete Williams of NBC News, and Ed Henry and Jessica Yellin of CNN and also spotted MSNBC’s Ed Schultz and Lawrence O’Donnell, FNC’s Bret Baier, CNN’s Dana Bash and Suzanne Malveaux (and twin sister Suzette) and NBC’s Savannah Guthrie.

Susan Axelrod, wife of Obama adviser David Axelrod, and Wendi Murdoch, wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch (both right, with Matthew Morrison) co-chaired the event which was a fundraiser for CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy).

More photos after the jump…

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Joe Scarborough and Ron Reagan hosted the late-night show "After Hours" on MSNBC during the 2004 RNC & DNC. Here with guest, the late Ron Silver.

Video after the jump…

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There were a lot of tvnewsers in attendance: NBC anchor David Gregory, journalist Maureen Orth and her son NBC correspondent Luke Russert, NBC correspondent Savannah Guthrie, NBC chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd, CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger, senior PBS correspondent Gwen Ifill, former MSNBC executive and founder of Haddad Media Tammy Haddad, NBC news analyst Howard Fineman, ABC News’ Ann Compton, NBC Washington bureau chief Mark Whitaker, and MSNBC producer Pam Stevens.

Other notable newsers included, former Newsweek, now NBC News’ Mike Isikoff, The New York Times‘ Maureen Dowd, TIME.com’s Jay Newton-Small, as well as The Washington Post‘s Mary Ann Akers and Jonathan Capehart.

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Greta Van Susteren blogs about meeting Maddow for the first time and about who else was there:

Jake Tapper of ABC and his wife were there (my money is on Jake for getting the job as anchoring This Week on ABC now that George has gone to GMA and Jake would be great at it)….former CNN colleagues Wolf Blitzer, Ed Henry, Sam Feist (Sam was a student of mine at Georgetown Law School…he earned an A!).

Gloria Borger…Tammy Haddad (who knows everyone in Washington and more….Tammy worked at CNN years ago…and here is more trivia, I was an intern years ago for her date, her husband Ted.)…Betsy Fisher (exec producer of Meet the Press)…. executives from Fox Business Channel.

Wendell Goler…Bret Baier told me earlier in the day he was going but I never saw him….Bill O’Reilly likewise said he was going but I never saw him (and to think he is about 6’5 and I never saw him!)…Mike Emanuel and his wife….I was told there were many hosts from NBC there but missed them (I am short, remember? I don’t get to see everyone!)”

• After the jump, a couple more photos courtesy of CNN contributor Roland Martin‘s Facebook page…

(Photo of Ailes and Maddow from CNN political director Sam Feist.)

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Norah O’Donnell with husband Geoff Tracy at Tammy Haddad’s Garden Party in April 2008. In addition to twins Grace and Henry, Norah gave birth to Riley last July.

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With Gov. Sarah Palin in Alaska, Palin was flying solo. But Politico writes Palin “was being led around [Tammy Haddad's annual] brunch by Fox’s Greta Van Susteren, who is apparently his host AND handler.”

Carol E. Lee writes she “started to chat with Alaska’s ‘first dude’ when Van Susteren intervened. The host of On The Record told us this brunch was ‘off the record.’”

As CNN’s Kate Bolduan reported from the red carpet last night, Palin and Susteren b-roll played at one point, leading anchor Don Lemon to ask about the duo. “That is a very odd date,” said Lemon. “Not sure about that journalistic…presidential candidate’s husband, vice president.”

(image via HuffPost)

> Update: Greta responds on her blog, calling the Politico reporter “print paparazzi,” before going after CNN:

Here are some of CNN’s guests: Ashton Kutcher, Demi Moore, Val Kilmer, Kyra Sedgwick, Brad Cooper, Tyra Banks…but Fox is the one with an “odd date?” Are they kidding? The CNN anchors should do some homework before they make cracks about others…to quote CNN, “not so sure about the journalistic…” Yeah, right, CNN…keep kidding yourself. No one else is fooled.

…and here is a really fun “tongue in cheek” thought, CNN must still want me on CNN, they are still trying to get viewers with me because they are still putting me on their air and talking about me!! That is very funny. I accept the complement.

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Haddad just launched a new Website, WHCInsider.com, that keeps track of all the events surrounding the upcoming White House Correspondents Association dinner, as well as the White House press corps in general.

“We thought we’d shine a little spotlight on it, because the White House correspondents association, the sponsor of the event…they don’t want to do anything to promote themselves,” said Haddad of the reason behind the launch. “They don’t want to look like they’re making money off covering the President off covering the United States.”

Once the WHCA dinner ends after this weekend, Haddad says the Website will continue its focus on the correspondents themselves. “When we started talking about the site, it was all about the weekend,” she said. “What we found is this great big wide open space that’s uncovered.”

So how does she think the press corps are doing during Pres. Obama’s first 100 days? “I think they’re doing a terrific job in explaining why the decisions are made,” Haddad said.

Also discussed: how the economic situation is affecting the WHCA dinner and events (hint: not much), her “challenge” to White House press corps doubter Ana Marie Cox and her role in the new Newsweek.com.

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One tvnewser who graced the Gridiron stage was NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who appeared “in a bear costume introducing a number that lampoons her husband, former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, to the tune of ‘What I Did for Love’ from ‘A Chorus Line.’”

Another was CBS’ Bob Schieffer, who “donned a Stetson to play George W. Bush.” “He’s in the White House now — not my problem now,” he sang to the tune of “In the Jailhouse Now.”

FishbowlDC has more highlights from the event, including some shots by VP Biden at President Obama.

(image of ABC Charlie Gibson and Tammy Haddad by Dominic Bracco II — The Washington Post)

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The overriding focus was Twitter. BBC’s Rome Hartman, who says he’s “somehow been branded the Howard Beale of Twitter,” has mixed feelings. “As a newsgathering tool it’s hugely important,” he said. But, it furthers “mass self-absorption.”

ABC News’ Rick Klein thinks it’s necessary. “I think if people are getting their information in new, different ways, then we should be a part of it,” he said.

NBC’s Jim Long, who’s very active on Twitter, said, “If used properly…it gives you the opportunity to feel and understand the people you’re trying to serve.”

As for the Web-based panelists, Michael Meyers said the Web will have it’s own “niche.” “We’re going to own breaking news,” he said, while traditional media will have “highly synthesized well-thought out content.” The point was argued by members of the panel.

Rachel Sterne talked about the monetary possibility on the Web. “A news audience is probably the best audience you can get online,” she said. “It’s an attractive demographic.”

“The audience has to get bigger, and it has to get different,” said Klein.

At the end of the session, Haddad presented Hartman with a parting gift. Take a look:

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And my camerawork notwithstanding, we’re videotaping this with broadcast quality cameras as well and will be making the entire summit available on-demand.

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Also on the panel are Rachel Sterne (@RachelSterne), Michael Meyers (@MichaelEMeyers) and Jim Long (@NewMediaJim).

So with all this Twitter chatter and no way for Hartman to defend himself (since…he’s not on Twitter), we emailed him. “Don’t these people have any WORK to do? Do they spend ALL day in the birdcage?” he responded.

Also, get your Twitter questions in to us (@TVNewser) for our second panel with FBN’s Alexis Glick. A lengthy Q&A, which you can participate in by submitting questions, will take place following her keynote.

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“It’s incumbent upon us as broadcasters, Webcasters, to get ahead,” she said. “We want to ride the wave, we don’t want the wave riding us.”

Haddad thinks social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are key to the more traditional media. “It’s naive for anyone to think that they can look at social networking and say ‘I’m not going to be part of it’ if you want to win,” she said. “And that’s the question: Do you want to be #1?”

We also talked about the future of network news. “I think anyone who thinks network news is going to die off doesn’t get it, because at network news, what they’ve learned in all of these years…is what people want,” said Haddad.

Also discussed: why David Gregory and George Stephanopoulos are tweeting, the enjoyment of the “Robert Gibbs Show” and what happened when she met Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg in Davos (the story behind the picture above).

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