Eagerly Anticipating the Mother of All Blogger Ethics Panels

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We’ve come to bury WaPo, not to praise it. Mike Allen in Politico:

For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post has offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to “those powerful few”: Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and — at first — even the paper’s own reporters and editors.

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

With the newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli said this morning that he was “appalled” by the plan and said the newsroom will not participate.

“It suggests that access to Washington Post journalists was available for purchase,” Brauchli told The Post’s media reporter, Howard Kurtz. The proposal “promises we would suspend our usual skeptical questioning because it appears to offer, in exchange for sponsorships, the good name of The Washington Post.”

Josh Marshall in TPM:

It’s worth noting the obvious competitive backstory behind the story. Politico is lead on the editorial side by a team of ex-Posties and it has targeted a big part of the paper’s business. But facts are facts. And Politico seems to have gotten some that the Post really needs to explain.

Gautham Nagesh at Ta-Nehisi’s place:

I’m sure in the coming days we will find out that this was the brainchild of Weymouth or one of the other suits that have little if anything to do with the daily news operation. But that’s what makes it so reckless and irresponsible. With one poorly-worded flier they have left their editorial staff vulnerable to questioning as to whether sponsors will have an influence on their reporting, questions that no reporter who is simply doing their job should ever have to face. I have a great deal of sympathy for the Post’s editorial department and I applaud their response. But someone upstairs should have to answer for this, preferably before the first Washington Post Salon on July 21st.

Michelle Malkin:

So: We are supposed to believe that WaPo chief and publisher Katharine Weymouth did not know that her business division was planning to use her home to hold lucrative salons cashing in on her connections and and celebrity.

Ouch, stop, stop. Sides. Splitting.

Ed Morrissey:

OK, OK, perhaps it isn’t fair to call the Washington Post a pimp for the White House.  Maybe it would be better to call this what it is — prostitution of the press in order to gain cash and sell itself out for access, both for itself and for its clients.  After all, with the Post grabbing between $25K-$250K for these soirees, it won’t do to risk its cash flow by being too critical of the White House and its occupants, would it?

James Joyner:

There are two obvious stories here.  First, the Post is going down a very steep, slippery slope to losing all journalistic credibility.  Second, the Post’s management seems to think that they have senior White House staff at their beck and call.  If there’s merit to this, it may be a bigger story than the first.

Matt Y

Atrios brings out the “emergency” for this blogger ethics panel here. Another post here.

Doug J. asks “What will Dana Milbank say?”

Tim F. “It looks like Dan Froomkin got out just in time.”

Doug J. again

UPDATE: Ezra Klein, who is, as we know, now at WaPo.

I had the unhappy experience this morning of waking up to a story about my news organization offering lobbyists the opportunity to chat health reform with government officials and Washington Post reporters — for $25,000 a seat.

There are two things I can say about this. One is that I think it appalling. The second is that I was never informed of, or invited to, any such salons (nor do I know who, if anyone, was). If I had been, I would have refused to attend.

UPDATE #2: Charles Kaiser:

The Washington Post died today.  It was five months short of its 132nd birthday.

Jennifer Rubin:

There is simply no explanation for the appalling judgment that led the newspaper to leap from journalism to pimping access, like some low-rent lobbyist that lacks even the proper disclosure for its actions. In a perfect world, those responsible should resign.

For those who decry the downfall of mainstream journalism, this suggests that the response is: “Not fast enough.”

Iain Murray at The Corner

The Post has canceled the salons.

UPDATE #3: Michael Calderone in Politico

Emptywheel

Atrios

And on a different note, Gabriel Sherman at TNR

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