WaPo to Lobbyists: You Give Us $25,000, We Give You Access

Photo courtesy of
‘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.

Acacia has lived in DC since graduating from Vassar College with degrees in English and Italian. She cries daily at the thought of her imminent departure from this beloved city, as she will begin a Fulbright teaching grant in the Campania region, Italy come October. She’ll be blogging that experience too. Get at her: acaciaO@welovedc.com or follow her on twitter.

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