Jul
3
Payola 2009 Style
Filed Under American Politics
By Israel
Everyone here has had a comment on the Nico Pintey question on Iran asked in the White House press room last week. The outrage of the established media (known to those on the outside who don’t land on the cocktail party circuit as “The Village”) who sniffed at the intrusion and claimed collusion, the main protagenist being former MSNBC commentator Dana Milbank who tried, and failed, to confront Pitney on Reliable Sources with Howard Kurtz over the weekend. Apart from Milbank being called out for his hypocrisy and pearl clutching (the man had a chance to ask Obama anything he wanted when he had almost unfettered access before the election, and what did he do with it? HE ASKED WHY THERE WERE SO MANY PHOTOS OF OBAMA WITH HIS SHIRT OFF) it was really interesting to watch the reaction of the supposed “liberal media” in Washington as, true to form, they move from the deaf/dumb/blind status which they had been stuck in for eight years and start asking questions again, and the fear they have that outside elements would have the temerity to ask questions they are too scared themselves to ask just in case they lose that “access” they value so highly. It’s like 2006 and Stephen Colbert didn’t happen (point made from 5 minute in on the video).
So what has happened in the last week? Well we found out this about the Washington Post, who Milbank writes for:
Mike Allen of Politico discovered that The Post were organising a series of “salons” at the home of CEO and publisher Katharine Weymouth with the hope to sell “access” to the powerful few in the Obama administration. According to the piece, “For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post is offering lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to “those powerful few” — Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and the paper’s own reporters and editors.
Read the above again.
This is from the paper of All The President’s Men fame, and now they are reduced to this act of tacky payola, this coming days after one of it’s main columists decries what he sees as a lack of journalistic integrity on the part of a blogger from an online news source? It will be interesting to wait and see if Milbank’s outrage leads him to resign from The Post in protest at this disgusting action or if his ire is only raised by one considered an outside to the Washington Cocktail circuit who asked a better question.
The full Politico story is here and a follow-up from Melinda Henneberger detailing all the painful convoluted excuses from The Post is here.
NB: Talking Points Memo rightly pointed out that this could be good for Politico in terms of business, and that a lot of the Politico staff are ex-Washington Post, but they also rightly say that The Post has to answer a lot of questions on this no matter who originally asked them.
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8 Responses to “Payola 2009 Style”
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Israel
Agreed the WaPo thing was so so dumb. One question that you didn’t refer to though. Why were the Obama administration allowing themselves to be lobbied in this way? Payback for friendly WaPo reporting perhaps.
And the Obama administration were allowing people with between $25,000 and $250,000 access that no-one else was allowed. More of that change I suppose.
Israel,
Good post.
My favorite newspaper has always been the Washington Post even though I knew they were unfair in their political coverage…but thought they were less unfair than most US newspapers.
It’s so completely obvious that the media is in love and is being bedded by Obama…that I believe some of the reporters are feeling a little embarrased about their brazen indiscretions. Some of them are now making some noises to appear fair minded…Sorry, I’m not buying it…its too late.
The US media is comatose and is now on a ventilator…and when it dies, Obama will be doing the morning, afternoon and evening news from his White House…kind of like his amigo, Hugo Chavez.
Actually Cabbie this story is about what the publisher and CEO of The Post was doing.
There is nothing in the story that shows that the Obama administration were in any way connected to this idea more than that she said she could get lobbyists in to see them.
What you are doing is taking two and two and making five.
An American:
The Post under Bill Bradley had some integrity, something it has lost since. watching Woodward who used to be a journalist go through the motions so that it doesn’t affect his pension is pretty sad considering what he was. The two puff pieces he did on Bush showed just how far he had fallen. Maybe you should move to Venezuela for your news. The US backed anti-Chavez stations make Faux look like Olbermann on MSNBC. I’m sure they would be more to your liking.
Reporters brain dead for eight years you say Israel, obviously under Bush…it took 8 years to get them like that and only 6 months with Obambi.
Israel
Is that why Kathleen Sibelius was still deciding whether or not to attend? If it was nothing to do with the administration, wouldn’t she have knocked it on the head straight away. And why jim Cooper, one of Obama’s earliest congressional endorsers was planning to attend?
http://www.courant.com/la-na-washington-post3-2009jul03,0,2704232.story
Israel,
Glad to see you back…I think.
Gosh, can’t you think of a better comeback than that? The US press is so in awe and or cowed by Obama, the Chicago thug, its gone the way of the dodo bird.
An American:
Sorry, being on my hols has put me off my game. I’m also in the middle of a 24/7 mode on Smackdown vs Raw 2008 as well as trying to sit through Palin’s announcement.
i promise to do better next time.
Hugs and kisses.
Cabbie, directly from the article you link to:
Lawmakers who had been invited said they were not told the events would make money for the newspaper. BUT THE POST HAD SEPERATELY SENT FLIERS SEEKING SPONSORS who would pay $25,000 for a single “salon” or $250,000 for 11 events.
The concept raised questions about journalistic ethics.
Rep. Jim Cooper’s office said the Tennessee Democrat received an invitation this week to attend a dinner on July 21 at the house of Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, a Maine Republican, was also among those asked to attend.
IN BOTH CASES, THE INVITAITIONS CAME AS PERSONAL EMAILS FROM WEYMOUTH’S OFFICE.
Cooper accepted, BELIEVING THE DINNER WOULD BE A LOW-KEY CHANCE TO EXCHANGE IDEAS ABOUT HEALTHCARE AND OTHER PUBLIC POLICY MATTERS, according to his staff. Snowe turned down the invitation.
BOTH COOPER’S AND SNOWE’S STAFF SAID THERE WAS NO MENTION THAT THE DINNER MIGHT BE A MONEY-MAKING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE POST.
But the fliers to potential sponsors spelled it out:
“Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table,” the flier read. “Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders.”
The fliers described an “intimate and exclusive Washington Post salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth.”
The email invitations to Cooper and Snowe (the republican who, for some reason, you failed to mention was also invited) made no mention of the lobbyists being paid to attend. The seperate flyers sent out to the lobbyists did.
You may wish there is a link but sadly for you there is none. Again l say that there was no collusion with the Obama campaign in this and you are taking two and two and making five.