Because he’s running an outsider presidential campaign, it makes sense that Fred Thompson is focusing on local media in key states like Iowa rather than on the big boys inside the Beltway. But why is the Republican candidate snubbing Fox News Channel, which is so influential in the GOP primaries?

Political insiders are asking that question after the former senator’s decision to shove aside the respected Jim Mills, who left his plum post as the network’s Capitol Hill producer this summer to become Thompson’s press spokesman.

What: A silent auction and benefit party hosted by Transformer Gallery—and something of a holiday party for the Washington art scene. The auction featured more than 125 works donated by area artists, many of whom have shown at Transformer or otherwise benefited from the gallery. Proceeds from the event support Transformer’s exhibitions and programming. The 14th Street, Northwest, nonprofit serves as an incubator for young artists and curators and an exhibition space for emerging artists, with a focus on local artists working in a variety of media. For $100, attendees enjoyed food and fellowship, hip music, drinks, and the opportunity to bid on artworks.

Where: John Dreyfuss’s sculpture studio, at Halcyon House, 34th and Prospect streets, NW.

When: Saturday, November 17, 7 to 9:30 PM.

Who: A who’s who of young talents from the Washington area, including many of the artists who contributed works to the show. Auction cochairs Philippa Hughes and Allison Cohen, both collectors, were among a number of collectors prowling the auction for new work. Plenty of boosters and scenesters were on hand.

It’s official: The Washington Post Company now gets more than half of its revenues from teaching people how to take tests, not from providing them with news. The company founded as a home for a Washington daily newspaper is now mostly an educational enterprise.

The Post reports in its latest financial statement that Kaplan, its educational division, brought in 50.3 percent of the company’s revenues. The newspaper division, essentially the Post, brought in 21 percent of revenues. The rest came from cable-TV systems, television stations, and Newsweek magazine.

One of the most redeeming aspects of the young party-hard crowd in Washington is that the carrying-on is often done to benefit one of thousands of charities located here. That was the case Thursday night, when more than 200 young professionals poured into the Galleria at Lafayette Center for the Blues Ball, the second annual “gala” event for Friends of St. Jude, the DC chapter’s young-membership group.

Everyone knows St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Memphis institution dedicated to helping children across the country living with devastating diseases such as cancer, regardless of their families’ ability to pay for care. Many know the hospital from their commercials, even more so now that Jennifer Aniston has been appearing in them, kissing a small boy on the nose.

It was questionable whether many of the attendees at this year’s Blues Ball knew much about St. Jude’s mission or if they volunteered regularly for the charity, but there was an open bar and live entertainment. The younger set may be a bit more shameless about it, but don’t many of the important galas in Washington follow the same sort of “drink for a cause” formula? When host-committee member Coventry Burke sent e-mails to friends encouraging them to buy tickets, she knew to mention the “crucial aspect”: an open bar (underlined and in bold) courtesy of Christiania vodka and Hook & Ladder beer. It’s a formula that works: Guests shelled out at least $85 per ticket, while others paid $100 for a VIP slot that granted them a goodie-filled “swag bag,” including a $20 gift certificate from Georgetown boutique Sherman Pickey. Once there, the crowd continued to give: The silent auction alone raised $3,800 and featured items including a year’s supply of Diet Coke—otherwise known as “water” to many a twentysomething woman.