Washington Post Quote of the Day
[Guest post by DRJ]
By Andrew Alexander, the Washington Post ombudsman:
“The Washington Post’s ill-fated plan to sell sponsorships of off-the-record ’salons’ was an ethical lapse of monumental proportions.”
Alexander notes that ethics questions were raised months ago and that the “blame runs deeper” than previously revealed.
It also sounds like nepotism is an issue.
UPDATE: According to “most ethics lawyers” consulted by Politico, the proposed Washington Post salons would not have violated Obama Administration ethics rules. Politico says this is contrary to a statement by WH spokesman Ben LaBolt that the Post salon idea “was not consistent with the administration’s ethics policy.” Hot Air has more.
– DRJ
These guys kill me. All the senior execs were briefed and responded on email. Then when it goes to hell, they pass the buck saying “It sounded dodgy but I assumed they had built in the necessary protections”.
Umm, the WaPo ran a conspiracy to whore out the home of their owner/publisher along with the reputation of the entire paper. And the senior execs were confident that the legal niceties would be worked out? I think they are missing the point. They have been exposed as dishonest whores, and their owner/publisher did it to them.
Also, I sense they feel that tough economic times relieve them of some of their hitherto “rigorous” ethical standards. Would that they were as understanding of others.
What if we found out that leading dems and prosecutors were offered a chance to have a nice dinner with Deep Throat at Kay Graham’s house for a large fee?
Comment by Jack Moorman — 7/12/2009 @ 4:43 am
It wasn’t an ethical lapse. As anyone familiar w/the WaPo knows all too well, it was part of their ethical continuum.
Comment by Scott Kaufer — 7/13/2009 @ 2:23 am