NEW YORK -- The Washington Post asked lobbyists to pay $25,000 to attend a dinner discussion with government officials and journalists at the home of its publisher, and then canceled the event after the invitations became public.
The paper's top editor, Marcus Brauchli , says the newsroom had not vetted the invitation and its journalists will not participate.
“You cannot buy access to a Washington Post journalist,” Brauchli told Politico, which broke the story. Brauchli was named on the flier as one of the salon’s "Hosts and Discussion Leaders."
The offer, writes Politico's Mike Allen, "is a new sign of the lengths to which news organizations will go to find revenue at a time when most newspapers are struggling for survival."
The invitation promised "an evening of intelligent, news-driven and off-the-record conversation" at a dinner party for 20 people or less at the home of Post CEO and Publisher Katherine Weymouth.
Brauchli says the "salon" was inconsistent with the values and principles of the paper.
The paper's ombudsman, Andrew Alexander, called the episide a P.R. disaster on his blog Thursday.
Attempting to explain the embarrassment, Alexander wrote:
"For a storied newspaper that cherishes its reputation for ethical purity, this comes pretty close to a public relations disaster.
Politico reported this morning that The Post has been soliciting lobbyists to pay from $25,000 to $250,000 to underwrite off-the-record “salons” at the home of publisher Katharine Weymouth that would provide access to administration and congressional leaders and the paper’s reporters and editors.
The story, accurately reported by Politico reporter Mike Allen, is based on a flier being circulated by a new marketing arm of The Post that has been created to host conferences and events.
The problem: The Post often decries those who charge for access to public officials. This raised the specter of a money-losing newspaper doing the same thing -- and charging for access to its own reporters and editors as well.
Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli says he never saw the flier and would not have approved it. 'I had no idea,' he said.
The Post scrambled to limit damage and immediately canceled the first scheduled event.
Brauchli immediately sent a staff note saying: “We will not participate in events where promises are made that in exchange for money The Post will offer access to newsroom personnel or will refrain from confrontational questioning. Our independence from advertisers or sponsors in inviolable.”
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