‘Lazy Saturday’
courtesy of ‘InspirationDC’
Hey WaPo, when lobbyists are questioning your morals, it may be time to stop and reflect on your direction. Politico reports this morning that the Washington Post is essentially selling access to important policy-makers and its own reporting staff to lobbyists and organizations. The Post plans a series of dinner talks, entitled “Salons,” to be held at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. A flier advertising the Salons promises off-the-record debate and access to the roughly 20 dinner party guests, at an underwriting cost of $25,000 a pop. Firms and associations that wish to subscribe to the whole series of 11 Salons can pony up $250,000. The first Salon, which is slated for July 21, will open the debate over health care. The flier calls it “an exclusive opportunity to participate in the health-care reform debate among the select few who will actually get it done.” Yikes, Post — are things that bad for print media? Maybe its too much to hope that someone over there would raise their hand and object on moral and public interest grounds, but you’d think you would at least foresee the public relations nightmare.
“Yikes, Post — are things that bad for print media?”
Yes.