Tina Brown Talks Diana and More

What: This season's last Q&A Cafe session with owner, Carol Joynt

Where: Nathan’s of Georgetown 3150 M Street, NW

When: Thursday May 14, 12:30pm

Who: Tina Brown, author of The Diana Chronicles and former editor of Vanity Fair and the New Yorker sitting across from Carol Joynt, and (dining with) Jack Nargil of the Hay Adams Hotel and Jim McCarthy of McCarthy Communications.

The Food: Seafood medley with bitter greens and raspberry sorbet with a mini cookie platter.

The Drink: Bar, mixed with numerous orders of ice tea.

The Scene: A room filled with die-hard Di-fans, reporters,as well as the Q&A regulars.

Tina Brown’s second visit to the Q&A Cafe revealed her ins and outs with the royal family. Brown appeared on "Charlie Rose" the night before, and after a few minutes of chatting with guests, she sat down with Joynt for an interview about her new book, Tony Blair, and the state of the newspaper industry. She just began her book tour, which is due to wrap up in London.

“So you’re fresh?” asked Joynt.

“So fresh, it’s dangerous,” replied Brown.

She talked about the secrecy of the photos after the fatal car crash, the Princess’s deteriorating family relations and her feelings towards Dodi Al-Faed and Charles. Joynt asked her about Diana’s feelings towards Charles’ marriage to Camilla.

“[Diana] couldn’t understand why he preferred Camilla,” Brown said.

“Neither can we!” shouted a customer.

As for newspapers, Brown said she sees them becoming the “smaller factor” in the dynamic duo between new media and old print. She admits that she’s always wanted to run a small newspaper, “but now is not the right time. The romance of newspapers is sort of gone.”

Moving on from Diana, Joynt probed Brown on her thoughts on whether we would ever come to see another Princess Diana-—Paris Hilton, perhaps?

“Diana and JFK were the last of the classy genuine people,” she said, “and now they’re gone and we’re left with hopeless wannabes.”

Tina Brown and Carol Joynt talk at Nathan’s Q&A Cafe

Shefali Kulkarni