• The New York Times, Monday, April 9, 2012 2:53 PM

To the dismay of some A-list attendees, this year’s annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is coming with a healthy side of Google. Eric Schmidt, the search giant’s executive chairman, will co-host an event in Washington on April 27 -- the night before the correspondents’ dinner and its swanky after-parties. Alas, “a few media executives, still smarting over the leading role Google played in defeating antipiracy legislation this year, see the technology giant’s sudden presence as a victory lap,” according to The New York Times’ Media Decoder blog.

Regarding Google’s presence, Christopher Dodd, the chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America, told NYT: “Maybe this is a sign. Maybe Google has decided content is important.” Meanwhile, “Adding insult to injury, at least for some in Hollywood: the Motion Picture Association decided to forgo a party entirely,” NYT reports.

Dodd, who hosted the M.P.A.A. party last year, cited his group’s continuing event series as a reason. It recently held a “Titanic” screening, for instance, while an evening party involving Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is planned.

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