Washington Post Sells Access To Obama, Others To Lobbyists
By Nicole Belle Thursday Jul 02, 2009 4:00pm
Apparently the Very Serious People™ in the Village have a very different idea of journalism than they led us to believe. After their own columnist Dana Milbank lost his marbles and dignity over a DFH blogger asking a question, the Washington Post hits an all new low:
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 in a staffwide e-mail that the newsroom would not participate in the first of the planned events — a dinner scheduled July 21 at the home of Publisher and Chief Executive Officer Katharine Weymouth.
The offer — which essentially turns a news organization into a facilitator for private lobbyist-official encounters — was 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.
And it's a turn of the times that a lobbyist is scolding The Washington Post for its ethical practices.
So they're decided that the new business model for newspapers is to effectively pimp their access and reputation to the highest bidder. No wonder they got so pissy about Nico's question. They figured they could hit up some Iranian for some serious scratch to ask their question.
Apparently red-faced at being caught with their metaphoric pants down, WaPo announced this morning that they were canceling these pay-for-access salons.
UPDATED: Howie Kurtz puts out the typical CYA article: We're horrified to find pimping going on around here!
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Crooks, Liars and whores?
... I'm partial to Hookers! :)
Helen Thomas: Not Even Nixon Tried to Control the Media Like Obama.
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article...
5... 4... 3...
But where the F**K was Helen the last eight years?
Bush made a point of not taking her questions.
I don't know, when it comes to trust the lady with a 40+ yr track record, or the new comer which took him less than 1 day to reverse his promise regarding lobbyist (for example).... I'd go with the old lady, even if Obama has a winning smile.
There is clearly more to Obama than meets the eye, and there have been plenty of accusations regarding Obama team and their astroturfing efforts. If that is the case, they are doing a piss poor job since they are not controlling the message at all...
Also Obama, unlike Bush, ran on a platform promising among other things transparency. This not one thing Obama sycophants can spin using the "but he did not promise that" excuse.
I'm not bashing Thomas, but it seems Bush was just as guilty as what she's complainging about, and yet, heard nary a peep about it. And yes, I believe Obama was all pretty much an act to get into office with no intention of a true followup if it damages the status quo. So the press can only find it's metaphorical balls when it's not a admitted Repub in office I guess.
I am tending to think she chose her words poorly. I am terrified about the option that she knows what she is talking about, and we're in for a bumpy ride... and we're just witnessing a bad cop (Bush) good cop (Obama routine). Just because the good cop smiles does not mean they both have the same objective in mind...
BTW, Helen Thomas was quite vocal regarding Bush.
But due to the nature of the "librul" media, ya never heard much of it.
Bush had her moved a couple of rows back and they made sure not to call on her. The Bushes didn't like her.
That being the charitable explanation.
See here, for example. Or here, for that matter.
Here's the exchange between Reid, Glib & Thomas.
Reid asks about the pre-screening of attendees and questions at the Town Hall.
Glib is .. glib and ineffectual.
Thomas jumps in and takes him to task.
The first 30 seconds is fluff.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT NOW! Helen Thomas White House Daily Brief
fer dat!
(I had not seen that video yet) !
... However Gibbs comes off as a bit of a pompous douchebag. Holy condescending non-answer Batman!
I am starting to get fairly worried with Obama and his team actions. I gave him until the town hall "debate" on health care, and now the benefit of the doubt is pretty much gone. He is too interested in having everything both ways to implement any effective change.
Great campaign slogan though...
Can you say wingnut attempt at legitimacy?
period
to PimPo.
PimpHo?
Pimps Up, Hos Down!
How LOW can you GO ???
NYTimes.
and manufacturing consent.
Ditto teevee "news."
C&L, BuzzFlash et al are the REAL news media.
He came across as snarky, privileged and arrogant. I never had a problem with him up until his attack on Nico. Never cared for him but never really had a problem with him.
a picture of the new administration "giving change" or is that the taxpayer showing how much "change" he has left?
That's just ridiculous. Come on...
WaPo announced this morning that they were canceling these pay-for-access salons
Great!
This is a great time to be an independent news agency. Time to start one up. Imagine real news and real questions from real reporters with real accountability!
This is terrible. I don't care who it is these newspapers are suppose to look out for the citizens. Shame on anyone trying to buy the news.
Those year end bonuses aren't going to generate themselves people. Won't somebody think about the bonuses?
This from the newspaper of Ben Bradlee, Woodward and Bernstein?? WTF? Another nail in the coffin for the teeming unwashed who have lost another of the dwindling public sources for some measure of objectivity in their attempts to make sense of their country. Time to put Mussolini on the dollar bill??
are only good for the new new puppy in your home.
The Washington Post has offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few":
That's what they've been doing for many years. They just thought now "hey, let's charge for it".
This line reads like WaPo's manifesto. It should have said...
For $25,000 to $250,000,The Washington Post offers lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few".You're not supposed to be so blatant about accepting bribes, but some people have no dignity or shame.
I'd expect this of some news organizations, but the Post? Next we'll find that the NYT hired Bill Kristol.
Helen Thomas was routinely ignored by Dubya and the Press Secretaries . She was eventually moved to the back of the room to make way for the cable news hacks.
The Fourth Estate is dead - and that is a very dangerous thing, kids
....this little revelation puts one more nail in the coffin.
The Fourth Estate is Dead.
We are in deep deep crap folks , our last hope is an independent and free Internet which they are now trying to shut down and get control of . Greed is fast becoming the only " virtue " left in this country .
support Amy Goodman at DemocracyNow.org
or try LinkTV.org
Seems to me, this matter came up in 2003, when the media persuaded the public that Saddam Bin-Laden and the other 19 Iraqis caused the twin towers to crumble.
Whether it's an oligarchy, like we have here, or a communist or fascist regime. or the theocracy of Iran, the government knows that if they control what you see and hear, they control what you think and say.
I'll bet he's glad as hell to be out of there now. No wonder the WaPast wanted him gone...even though he was a columnist, he wouldn't have played that game.
what shell has the pea-nut .
I keep hearing this song in my mind , it gets louder every day and it IS such a shame b/c there was so much hope but now " the thrill is gone " .
Be happy , dont worry , im far beyond worry , give us another great speech and then turn around and walk away .
Are you looking forward , if you are walking backwards ? .
The MSM has been pimping for a long time. Not just wapo but the whole MSM. I dropped my NYT subcription and quit watching the "TV news" in 2003. It became painfully obvious that the only things being reported were the corporate/GOP line, needed to keep the big bucks rolling in until everything was about to collapse. All the while telling everyone the economy was sound, the basics were great, that Iraqi's tried to kill us on 911, that the American government under republican control did not spy on Americans, did not torture people, and that the best thing they could do is to put social security into the stock market. While they new the stock market was just a Ponzi scheme.
Here is a list of elected people taking payoffs to cheat the American people and the amounts of bribes being taken. This is just from health care and insurance.
It is mind boggling to think how much these people are taking from others!
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $4,026,933)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $2,833,731)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $2,758,468)
And when you just go right to Big Insurance, the non-presidential candidates who got the biggest legalized bribes were the 7 senators who have been tasked with the job of killing single-payer:
Ben Nelson (DLC-NE- $1,196,799)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $1,184,113)
Joe Lieberman (DLC- CT- $1,036,302)
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $1,035,530)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY- $981,400)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $929,207)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA- $884,724)
We need to investigate and prosecute these criminals now. Severe jail terms are in order for these criminals!
WE need to clean up our country. We need to do it soon.
republicanism is a mental illness!
My Two cents.
Influence peddling is older than the hills. And our famously "Free Press" is a myth.
Kick Fred Hiatt in the nads for $25,000. A surefire winner!
when bush was president and fox sold access.oh yeah there was none from the 'protectors' of freedom.nor when haliburton sold out our troops by overcharging,the money came form money for troops in iraq they stole,no outcry there.its funny how you people can now say the words nation of laws. a phrase absent form right wing nuts for 8 years. as bush wiped his ass with the constitution.
bush had 8 years to fix the economy and in the end failed. you want even give obama 1 day,people were calling it a failure after he was sworn in. guess what every indicator is its working and who do you think the voters will remeber in nov 2010.not the just say NO republicans.
Thank you Washington Post pimps, for placing your profits above my family's health and well-being. I suspected lobbyists would sell me out, but now I know you are one and the same. WaPo - Eat sh*t and die.
Somehow the Reslug lowlifes didn't understand that Obama killed them in the election and they are feverishly drinking their Kool-aid and wetting thei pants to no avail.
At least the Washington Post is smart enough to whore it out to the right industry.
All that money flowing into the coffers of the health insurance companies. They need to spend a lot of it to catapult the propaganda to the people. Otherwise, we might wake up, realize that they are nothing but a source of human misery, and demand the government to give us a real health care system.
Is it any surpise the "news" organizations recognize this fact and line up to milk it? Why be a cheap whore when you can be a classy one?
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