Washington Post Cancels Off The Record Salons Following Uproar Over Pay To Play Access

Update: The Washington Post has canceled its planned salon at Katharine Weymouth's home based on the uproar over the sale of access to government officials and members of the Washington Post staff. The publisher spoke to her own paper's Howard Kurtz:

"Absolutely, I'm disappointed," Weymouth, the chief executive of Washington Post Media, said in an interview. "This should never have happened. The fliers got out and weren't vetted. They didn't represent at all what we were attempting to do. We're not going to do any dinners that would impugn the integrity of the newsroom."

Original Post: The Washington Post is responding swiftly to a Politico report that the paper is selling off the record access to administration officials and newspaper editors and reporters for $25,000 and up.

Politico reported Thursday morning on a flier being circulated offering an "underwriting opportunity" for "Washington Post salon," where, for $25,000 per sponsor, organizations and lobbyists can cozy up to administration officials:

"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate," says the one-page flier. "Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. ... Bring your organization's CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders ...

Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli sent the following email to staffers at 10:33 AM Thursday distancing the newsroom from the event:

Colleagues,

A flyer was distributed this week offering an "underwriting opportunity" for a dinner on health-care reform, in which the news department had been asked to participate.

The language in the flyer and the description of the event preclude our participation.

We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable.

There is a long tradition of news organizations hosting conferences and events, and we believe The Post, including the newsroom, can do these things in ways that are consistent with our values.

The Washington Post made a similar statement to Politico, saying that the flier circulated was merely a draft and that, as presented, it would preclude participation from the Washington Post newsroom:

The flier circulated this morning came out of a business division for conferences and events, and the newsroom was unaware of such communication. It went out before it was properly vetted, and this draft does not represent what the company's vision for these dinners are, which is meant to be an independent, policy-oriented event for newsmakers.

As written, the newsroom could not participate in an event like this.

We do believe there is an opportunity to have a conferences and events business, and that The Post should be leading these conversations in Washington, big or small, while maintaining journalistic integrity. The newsroom will participate where appropriate.

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Comments

[alfredo1]

So it just wasn't "vetted properly". How do you vet something like that properly?

[Whitley2009]

Adult supervision?

[nancy50]

This story is indicative of the sorry state of journalism in the US. I turned on Hardball at 5pm expecting to hear more on this story, or perhaps the unemployment numbers that came out today or even something about the escalation of combat in Afghanistan. Boy, was I way off base! They led with 15 minutes on the "breaking news" of Michael Jackson's death, followed by some insipid story about Sarah Palin and the third story was where I turned it off - Joe the Plumber. I briefly turned it over to CNN where they were covering the "breaking news" of Michael Jackson's death. UUUGHH!

[bostonbean]

Nancy50, you are hilariously insightful. I need to believe sooner or later, integrity will return to journalism and media. Because we are now vested in the information age with the technology to back it, the truth will be difficult to manipulate.

[BadHaBritt]

THE TRUTH WILL BE DIFFICULT TO MANIPULATE
Wow I don't know what your taking but I think I need some too

[Maizie James]

Sorry. But, I DO NOT believe publisher Katharine Weymouth's denial about not being aware of the 'marketing' fliers.

SHAME ON YOU ... WASHINGTON POST!!! And just when I was beginning to believe that integrity was restored to the publisher giants when the NEW YORK TIMES refused to report all the specific details regarding reporter, David Rohde's kidnapping ... choosing Rohde's safety and security over profits.

[gatboy3]

Your fault Maizie. ..."beginn­ing to believe that integrity was restored..­."

How long was your coma?

[newyorkid]

Read Noam Chomsky and the Media. Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies. There's even a film you can download trough torrent.

[unitron]

"Washington Post Cancels Off The Record Lobbyist Salons Following Uproar"

I spent several moments trying to figure out exactly what it was that the Washington Post cancelled off, until I finally realized that the headline writer didn't know enough to hyphenate "off-the-record".

[vanron100]

This is typical Washington beltway media group think...
the news at WAPO is 'for sale'...
only $25,000 per column inch.
Let the bidding begin!
Conclusion: the sooner the beltway media disappear, the better we'll ALL be.

[jonjon66]

Re-LIE-able Sources

[apolloguide]

The Post was always a right wing rag even when it appeared to be left wing. It was just a clever masquerade. Until its demise the Washington Evening Star was the real left, pro-union paper. The Post was regularly staffed by scabs who crossed picket lines all through the 1950's to the early 1970's.

The Times Herald was also left of the Post so they bought it out and became Eisenhower and Nixon supporters.

Former WaPo employee.

[lapdogs]

This isn't the first time the media has been caught red handed.

Watch the first segment of "Buying The War". Bill Moyers gives a short opening and then President Bush has a Press Conference, two weeks before the start of the Iraq War.

All the questions are scripted, as Bush himself says.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/btw/watch.html

[WindySailor]

Katharine Weymouth is lying through her teeth in her statement. Following is an extract from an email of hers from December 10, 2008, sent throughout the Washington Post:

"To expand our revenue base and diversify our business model, we must look for opportunities to create new products, especially in the areas where business and policy intersect. These may include the hosting of specialized conferences for business decision makers with a stake in Washington policy-making, and the development of premium subscription products for business clients."

Quote courtesy of Politico.com by way of AdPulp.

[flurryup]

Weymouth's statement reminded me of Claude Rain's character in Casablanca, 'I'm shocked, shocked, that gambling is going on in this establishment'! What a li ar.

[mirza]

Excellent point!

[VotingPresent]

Isn't the media supposed to be an unbiased watchdog of the administration and Congress? WaPo is pimping them out to the highest bidder. Still believe how unbiased they they are?

Hope, Change and Transparen­cy........­.you still buying that?

[nellie]

It was a very silly idea, and to publicize it was even sillier.

Let's see what they come up with next.

[Knowitall]

Actually, the WashPo thought they could use this Administration to get away with what they'd been doing for at least the last 8 years. Until last year, the lobbyist and beltway bandits ruled Washington and could do whatever they wanted to do. Even court the press or be courted by the press.

How else do you explain the supposedly liberal Post's lame editorials about their support for conservative initiatives like most of the ill-conceived tax cuts that bankrupted the country, and most aggregiously, their support for the Iraq war. The Post's support HAD to have been bought because the editorial supporting that war was absolute nonsense--gobbledy gook. They were then put in the position of having to constantly defend the war, and eventually the surge, which effectively prolonged the war.

In recent years, particularly since the death of Katherine Graham, the Post has been whatever the Washington establishment wanted it to be. The Bush people tried to push the paper right of center and succeeded. During that period the paper's editorial page regularly published letters from disgruntled subscribers decrying their change from center left to center right.

They shouldn't have been surprised that subscriptions have gone down, not only because of new technology , but because, not withstanding all the Bush/Texans in town the last few years, the Washington area IS NOT conservative, and not all about unbridled greed.

[Village]

First we lost the NYT to the Scooter/Judy collusion, and now we've lost the WaPo to avarice. What journalistic standards?

The MSM has died. Long live the NEW MSM, the bloggers.

[nancy50]

When the 4th estate becomes the news instead of covering the news, who do you trust to give you the truth on a story? As a kid growing up, I worshiped Woodward and Bernstein and the work they did on Watergate. Who is doing that kind of pounding the pavement type of journalism today? I'm sorry to say, the only answer I could come up with is TMZ, and they don't cover politics.

[masha2008]

i'm sure people in the media have been doing this. it's just wapo that got caught.

[arvay]

We all know what this is.

The fact that they are too smart to put a piano player in the sitting room, and everyone has to keep their money in their pockets -- is just a wink at "morality.­"

[JackStarDC]

With apologies.­..

What lobbyist of any note in DC would need to pay the WaPo for simple access to any administration or member of congress? What they were peddling was access to themselves.

To paraphrase John Mitchell, "it looks like Katie's tit has finally gotten caught in that wringer!"