Patterico's Pontifications

7/2/2009

Washington Post: Your Paper of Ill-Repute

Filed under: General — Karl @ 6:10 am



[Posted by Karl]

From the Politico (via Allahtwitter):

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off the record, non-confrontational access to “those powerful few” — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors.

The astonishing offer is detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health-care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he feels it’s a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff.”

Well, yeah.  Not that the WaPo isn’t stocked with fawning fans of Obama who would promote his agenda for free.  But perhaps someone might ask White House flack Robert Gibbs at today’s presser why WaPo madam Katharine Weymouth is getting to pimp out members of the Obama administration for a series of high-priced circle jerks.

—-

Update: The WaPo’s sputtering response.  I would still like to know which Obama officials and Congressmen the WaPo was / is planning to sell.

Update x2: The WaPo’s executive editor said today he is “appalled” by the plan, which is your Captain Louis Renault Award winner for the day.

Update x3: Cathouse canceled.

–Karl

25 Responses to “Washington Post: Your Paper of Ill-Repute”

  1. Great minds think alike — I’m having breakfast with Tom Blumer of Bizzyblog, and he had the same words for the WashPost. Well, actually he had a more Anglo-Saxon description.

    Unbelievable.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R., (ce7eb1)

  2. The Wapo is selling influence with Congress and administration officials? WHAT?

    SarahW (fdd722)

  3. I really don’t know why the press expects us to respect them in the morning when they’ve been off on an epic whore bender since Teh ONE ™ declared for the White House.

    Vivian Louise (eeeb3a)

  4. At least the whores are now admitting their real stock – in – trade to the world. They’ll do whatever you want, just as long as you pay up first.

    Dmac (f7884d)

  5. Dmac – that makes Teh One “Pimp in Chief”?

    Vivian Louise (eeeb3a)

  6. Well, that’s one way to deal with the newspaper business’s revenue issues…

    PCachu (e072b7)

  7. Sounds good. What’s the weekday rate for two for lunch at the WH and then take the chopper to some reasonably nice beach club somewhere close to a good Eastern Shore crab shack? I’m not all that picky about locations, but can I book online and will I get double miles if I use my VISA card?

    Ropelight (e36d4f)

  8. U.S. Const. (September 17, 1787) art. I-VII

    Published: Sep. 17, 1787
    Revised July 2, 2009 by Washington Post

    We the People of the United States (limited to those who can pony up at least $25,000), in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

    etc. etc. etc.

    Fred Smith (a980e6)

  9. Dmac – that makes Teh One “Pimp in Chief”?

    Of course, Vivian – and that also makes that pompous twit David Broder his main Beyootch.

    Dmac (f7884d)

  10. Jeff Gannon and Teh Ghey Porn Cock of Lies … I am just saving the trolls the effort.

    JD (d4c559)

  11. Geez, what does this make Helen Thomas?

    AD - RtR/OS! (b9e569)

  12. Geez, a lobbyist has more ethics than the WaPo? Surely a first.

    Dana (8d88ef)

  13. Geez, what does this make Helen Thomas?

    Gollum – but she’s been that way for years now. “My precious…”

    Dmac (f7884d)

  14. Does anyone know where we can see the actual flyer?

    LTEC (d48be1)

  15. Here I thought that my favorite joke that compares journalists unfavorably to pimps, prostitutes, and politicians was an exageration.

    Barsinister (9171c6)

  16. The press has become a parody of itself, at least in Washington.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  17. Won’t matter.
    See End22, a “grassroots” effort to end the 22d amendment. Probably get a lot of ACORN money. If not direct from Soros.
    It’s over. Nice two and a quarter centuries we had here.

    Richard Aubrey (a9ba34)

  18. as someone refered to them else where, they’re ‘presstitutes’……

    as a side bar, the Slimes called again yesterday, bragging that they had a new publisher, and would i please consider signing up for a year of Th-Sun papers for only $39? that’s about $0.19 a day.

    interesting buisness model they’ve got….

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  19. Does anyone know where we can see the actual flyer?
    Right here!

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R., (85e6bb)

  20. What an amazing story (well done, Karl), and thanks to Bradley for the flyer link. From the intro:

    “An evening with the right people can alter the debate.”

    This was clearly about influence, not information.

    DRJ (cdbef5)

  21. Wow. How does the WaPo recover from this – denial only goes so far… but on the upside, the NYT must be loving this.

    It will interesting to see exactly who sold out “Key Obama administration and congressional leaders” are. Eventually it’ll be disclosed by someone not on the guest list, or perhaps another lobbyist with a conscience.

    By the fact that the invitation/program flyer had already been designed, printed, distributed, one could reasonably conclude that this would not be in a such final stage without having first secured prior acceptance and commitment from those most important, uh, guests of honor.

    Dana (8d88ef)

  22. I don’t buy that this was just the case of a poorly-worded flier.

    Katharine Graham’s granddaughter (Weymouth) used to work for a prominent DC law firm that’s basically a lobbying operation.

    steve (035677)

  23. “as someone refered to them else where, they’re ‘presstitutes’……”

    “Foreign Whorespondents”

    daleyrocks (718861)

  24. #20, thanks for the link to the flyer. Well, I notice WaPo CEO and Publisher Katherine Weymouth, and Executive Editor Marcus Brauchi are listed as Hosts and Discussion Leaders. Also attending will be key Obama Administration officials and Congressional leaders.

    I understand the WaPo now says the flyer went out without proper vetting, but it sure seems to me like it would take a bit of advance planning to get all these big shots scheduled. Key Administration officials and members of Congress are busy folks, and a guest who had to pony up $25K to meet with such movers and shakers might want to know in advance just who it was he was paying big bucks to hob-nob with.

    Too bad those eager beavers in the Business Department jumped the gun and scheduled these symposiums in Publisher Wymouth’s living room without proper vetting, then to go ahead and distribute such a nice looking flyer announcing the wonderful opportunity to privately shape the national Health Care debate all before getting the go-ahead from the hostess. Can you believe that?

    It just goes to show how difficult it is these days to get good help.

    Ropelight (bb3af5)


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