Pay For Play
Posted on | July 3, 2009
The Washington Post, like most newspapers today, seems to be strapped for cash. Journalistic standards having long ago fallen by the wayside, it must have seemed like a fine idea to sell its political influence to lobbyists:
Reporting from Washington — The Washington Post’s publisher abruptly canceled a series of policy dinners Thursday that were to have been underwritten by lobbyists or corporations willing to pay thousands of dollars to be in the same room as journalists and lawmakers, saying the marketing department had misrepresented the newspaper’s intent.
Lawmakers who had been invited said they were not told the events would make money for the newspaper. But the Post had separately sent fliers seeking sponsors who would pay $25,000 for a single “salon” or $250,000 for 11 events….
Rep. Jim Cooper’s office said the Tennessee Democrat received an invitation this week to attend a dinner on July 21 at the house of Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican, was also among those asked to attend.
In both cases, the invitations came as personal e-mails from Weymouth’s office.
Cooper accepted, believing the dinner would be a low-key chance to exchange ideas about healthcare and other public policy matters, according to his staff. Snowe turned down the invitation.
Both Cooper’s and Snowe’s staff said there was no mention that the dinner might be a money-making opportunity for the Post.
But the fliers to potential sponsors spelled it out:
“Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table,” the flier read. “Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders.”
The fliers described an “intimate and exclusive Washington Post salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth.”
News of the fliers was first reported by Politico, which said it obtained a copy from a healthcare lobbyist.
The Post canceled the dinners after the disclosure.
The LA Times story makes it clear that when newspapers empires grow enormous, only another enormous empire can effectively check that power.
