Washington Post cancels $25,000 "salon" with lobbyists

The Washington Post asked lobbyists and business leaders 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 newspaper's executive editor, Marcus Brauchli, said Thursday that no one in the newsroom had vetted the invitation and its journalists would not participate.

"The Washington Post's name is not for sale," Brauchli said. "The Washington Post's reputation is not for sale."

Existence of the flier shows the pitfalls faced by news organizations trying to find ways to make money in tough business times. The Washington Post Co.'s newspaper division reported an operating loss of $54 million during the first three months of the year.

The flier advertised a "Washington Post salon" on health care reform at the home of Publisher Katharine Weymouth on July 21, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press. The Web site Politico first reported its existence.

The dinner party was to have 20 or fewer guests, including Obama administration officials, members of Congress, business leaders and lobbyists, according to the flier. Brauchli and other Post journalists, including those who cover health care, were promised as hosts and discussion leaders.

Participants were offered a chance to "build crucial relationships with Washington Post news executives in a neutral and informal setting," the flier said.

Each salon would have one or two sponsors who would pay $25,000 to underwrite the event and invite guests. The Post envisioned a series of 11 salons that could be sponsored for a total of $250,000. Weymouth on Thursday canceled the whole series.

Another invitation obtained by the AP identified Kaiser Permanente as a sponsor of the health care discussion.

Beverlie Brinson, a spokeswoman for Kaiser Permanente, said her company was approached by the Post to underwrite the event but had not yet agreed to do so. She said she did not know what amounts of money were discussed and said she could not explain why Kaiser Permanente was listed as an underwriter.

"It's not as if we were going to pay for access to the Post, it wasn't about that at all," she said. She said attending would have allowed Kaiser Permanente to be "at the forefront of the discussions" about health care.

Brauchli said he knew about the event but no one in the newsroom had seen the flier ahead of time. The newspaper said that an employee working out of a division trying to build a business out of conferences and events had sent it out without getting approval from senior management.

"I was surprised and disappointed with the way it was framed," Brauchli said. "It was completely inconsistent with the values and the principles of the Washington Post."

Brauchli said he has made clear that newsroom employees would not participate in anything that is effectively an advertorial - a combination ad and editorial. Journalists would not agree to limit any questions and reserve the right to use information gleaned from such discussions in their stories. The flier called the health care salon an "off-the-record conversation."

He said it's possible for news organizations to make money by setting up events where journalists question prominent sources. The New York Times, for example, hosts a series of discussions involving prominent people in many fields, which the public can attend by paying an admission fee that's usually $35.

Brauchli sent a memo about the flier to his staff Thursday, promising that "our independence from advertisers or sponsors is inviolable."

Convening events that promise exclusivity breaks a bond with readers, said Kelly McBride, ethics group leader at the Poynter Institute journalism think tank.

"It sort of pits the newspaper's loyalty to its entire audience against the loyalty of a handful of people who have a lot of money and access," McBride said.

Despite tough financial times, "we can't allow our desperate need to make money to undermine our core credibility," she said.

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AP Washington reporter Alan Fram contributed to this report.