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

[jalowe1957]

Katherine Graham must be spinning herself into butter in her grave after all this.

[marxmarv]

I thought she was right at home with ideological editing.

[apolloguide]

A perennial right wing rag that Wash Post. It didn't start with Katherine Graham. They were the paper of Dewey against Truman.

[kgeakin]

Have you read the WaPo lately? I have stopped reading it completely. I am sure the flier was EXACTLY as intended and the response now is just a lot of cya action. Just look at their current opinion and editorial contributors and you will see what I mean.

[CaptainVideo]

Ronald Reagan got it wrong. The government is not the problem. Greedy corporations are the problem.

[FrictionSoul]

Reagan wasn't wrong, just providing everyone with a red herring.

[apolloguide]

Do you get loaves with the fishes?

[CaptainVideo]

"An evening with the right people can alter the debate"

against ordinary Americans and in favor of the corporations. Fortunately the truth managed to get out.

[CaptainVideo]

If there was any doubt that this once great newspaper has morphed into a right-wing rag, here is the smoking gun. Time for subscribers to cancel their subscriptions and drive it into the bankruptcy that it has so rightly earned. Washington only needs one right-wing rag and the mooney paper fills the slot.

[barkrudedog69]

What about the government members that were going to hang out with all these people? You know all the left wing people in the White House staff? What are they?

[raker]

Reading about clinking glasses among administration officials and lobbyists pimped by the Washington Post in a lovely Georgetown townhouse, I can't help but think of former reporter and Bush era stenographer Bob Woodward, a pioneer in this new triangle trade. (Doing it unashamed and out in the open is new, anyway.)

[Knowitall]

Actually not new at all. Didn't you ever see any of those "book" and "cocktail" parties on C-Span. Senators, Congressman, Supreme Court Judges, hill and White House staffers, cabinet members, Newspaper columnist, lobbyists, businessmen, clinking glasses and having a bit of innocent conversation on a night out. These "get togethers" are legend in Washington. There is nothing hidden or "unashamed" about it. In fact, so many newspaper people attend these things, that there's nobody left to report about it, because these gatherings are where they receive much information and many "scoops". One such gathering is taking place on the Potomac right now.

[fcsakes]

See, all those 'one voices' can make a difference. We sort of already knew that, sort of.

[JiminNC]

Too late - we saw the genie.

[sosi]

All in the name of democracy...

[bayside]

Sell access to congress..Conservatives have taken it over..

[Margaretpoa]

Maybe the WaPo fired Froomkin because they knew he'd publicize what Weymouth and thw WaPOo editorial staff are doing. "An evening with the right people can alter the debate"? Seriously. Can there have been any better admission that what the Washington Post's mission is to DRIVE the debate rather than report on it? Notice how they are pointing out that the dicument wasn't "properly vetted", which I'm certain is their only regret. That shouldn't have been released to the public and had it not been, can there be any doubt that the schmoozing and changing of the debate wouldn't be taking place as scheduled? This is why I avoid traditional media. They got us into two wars of choice and now they are trying to prevent holding down health care costs.

[CypressTree]

What have I become? My sweetest friends. Everyone I know, goes away in the end. And you can have it all, my empire of dirt. I will let you down, I will make you hurt.

[smchp]

another nail in the coffin. Nobody will miss that paper.

[piloto]

The Administration is looking for revenue streams so they will miss them. Can we finish that NYT and LAT meltdown so real news papers get the needed viewership boost?

[DuckofDeath]

Perhaps this is why the Post tried to create a tempest in a teapot about Nico Pitney?

This is nothing new, the Washington Post loses money, however it has a holding called Kaplan Inc that makes up about 90% of the Washington Post COmpany's profits and Kaplan specializes in helping teachers teach to the tests made mandatory by No Child Left Behind. I believe it is the biggest reason the Post acted as cheerleader for the Bush administration. Prior to No Child Left Behind, Kaplan was also a money loser.

The question is, who from the Obama admin was going to be there, or rather, who was the Post claiming would be there from the Obama admin? Were these people from the admin aware of the nature of the 'salon'?

For those of you waiting for firings....please, they don't even make corrections anymore. The Washington Post has been a fraud for a long time to those in the know, now everyone knows it. Good riddance.

[dukeitout]

This confirms what many of us have suspected. News can be created for a price.