Powered by Max Banner Ads
Washington Post Announces Pay To Play Business Model
The joke that is the mainstream media just became a little funnier today. The Washington Post circulated a flyer to health care lobbyists promising access to high level Obama administration officials for between $25,000 and $250,000.
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 flyer itself reads in part:
"Underwriting Opportunity: An evening with the right people can alter the debate," says the one-page flier. "Underwrite and participate in this intimate and exclusive Washington Post Salon, an off-the-record dinner and discussion at the home of CEO and Publisher Katharine Weymouth. … Bring your organization’s CEO or executive director literally to the table. Interact with key Obama administration and congressional leaders."
…“Spirited? Yes. Confrontational? No. The relaxed setting in the home of Katharine Weymouth assures it. What is guaranteed is a collegial evening, with Obama administration officials, Congress members, business leaders, advocacy leaders and other select minds typically on the guest list of 20 or less. …
“Offered at $25,000 per sponsor, per Salon. Maximum of two sponsors per Salon. Underwriters’ CEO or Executive Director participates in the discussion. Underwriters appreciatively acknowledged in printed invitations and at the dinner. Annual series sponsorship of 11 Salons offered at $250,000 … Hosts and Discussion Leaders … Health-care reporting and editorial staff members of The Washington Post … An exclusive opportunity to participate in the health-care reform debate among the select few who will actually get it done. … A Washington Post Salon … July 21, 2009 6:30 p.m. …
"Washington Post Salons are extensions of The Washington Post brand of journalistic inquiry into the issues, a unique opportunity for stakeholders to hear and be heard," the flier says. "At the core is a critical topic of our day. Dinner and a volley of ideas unfold in an evening of intelligent, news-driven and off-the-record conversation. … By bringing together those powerful few in business and policy-making who are forwarding, legislating and reporting on the issues, Washington Post Salons give life to the debate. Be at this nexus of business and policy with your underwriting of Washington Post Salons."
After Politico reported on this stunning situation, the WaPo immediately began making excuses and blaming the business division.
"The flier circulated this morning came out of a business division for conferences and events, and the newsroom was unaware of such communication. It went out before it was properly vetted, and this draft does not represent what the company’s vision for these dinners are, which is meant to be an independent, policy-oriented event for newsmakers.
"As written, the newsroom could not participate in an event like this. We do believe there is an opportunity to have a conferences and events business, and that The Post should be leading these conversations in Washington, big or small, while maintaining journalistic integrity. The newsroom will participate where appropriate."
First of all, the print media has no journalistic integrity. They work for Obama and will continue to work for Obama. The only difference is that now for the right price they’ll work for other people also.
Now that we know their price, conservatives need to start buying front page stories from time to time on issues the American people should know about.
I wonder if conservative bloggers pooled their money together and handed the WaPo a cash payment of $250,000 we could get a front-page story about the thousands of leading climate scientists who think global warming is phony?
Something tells me it would probably cost upwards of a $1 million for a story like that — provided the White House allowed it to be printed at all.
UPDATE:
WaPo has officially canceled the pay to play events:
Washington Post Publisher Katharine Weymouth today canceled plans for a series of policy dinners at her home after learning that marketing fliers offered lobbyists access to Obama administration officials, members of Congress and Post journalists in exchange for payments as high as $250,000.
“Absolutely, I’m disappointed,” Weymouth, the chief executive of Washington Post Media, said in an interview. “This should never have happened. The fliers got out and weren’t vetted. They didn’t represent at all what we were attempting to do. We’re not going to do any dinners that would impugn the integrity of the newsroom.”
It’s incredible the way Weymouth talks about this like an outsider looking in. She just can’t understand how something like this could happen — never mind that it was supposed to happen at HER house.
The only thing she’s sorry about is that it became public. I have no doubt the The New York Times has been doing this kind of thing for years, they’re just not dumb enough to draft up flyers advertising it.
The only thing this incident does is reinforce what we’ve known for a long time. The media in this country is corrupt beyond all repair. Nothing you read in the paper should be taken as fact.
Every story and every column has an agenda behind it. The idea of journalism as a public service meant to inform the public died years ago. Journalism is now the vehicle by which progressives attempt to shape public policy and remake America into a socialist utopia.
Video: Obama Defends Bush From Liberal Spin
This is one of the greatest recent examples of the left-wing media at work. Listen to CBS’s Harry Smith put an appalling spin on president Bush’s recent public comments.
It was such a gruesome distortion by Smith that even Obama couldn’t let it slide and was forced to defend president Bush.
I have to give credit to president Obama on this one. He showed real class by not letting Harry Smith get away with that.
Had the president not corrected Smith, the vast majority of viewers at home would never have known what Bush actually said and just assumed he had publicly attacked the president.
Most citizens only pay passing attention to the news and current events. So the constant lies and distortions put out by the liberal media in both print and on TV are taken as fact when they’re anything but.
Lefty Media In Love With Fox’s Shepard Smith
Normally the only thing directed towards Fox News by television media, print media, online media, or any other media are smears and attack pieces.
Recently however, the liberal media has found a Fox News hero and it’s Shepard Smith.
Comments he’s made over the last year or so and as recently as last week have earned him numerous glowing reviews in the NY Times, Esquire, and other liberal venues.
Liberals have love for Smith because some of his comments have been perceived as being antagonistic towards conservatives.
The truth is that Shepard Smith has more credibility in a single strand of his perfectly quaffed hair than Brian Williams has in his entire body.
What the left quickly forgets is that Shepard Smith has a history of incensing people on both sides of the aisle.
Here’s one of my personal favorite Shep clips. It’s from February of last year, and Smith rips into radical leftist kook Naomi Wolf.
Wolf is the author of possibly the craziest left-wing conspiracy book ever written called “The End Of America.”
Hey, what happened? I thought Shepard was a tool of the left? I thought he was all about attacking right-wingers? What the hell is going on in this crazy world?
-Chris Jones
ABC Employees Donated To Obama Over McCain By 33-to-1
Employees of ABC donated more than $160,000 to Obama’s presidential campaign. Employees donated to Obama/Biden over McCain/Palin by a staggering 33-to-1 margin.
Moreover, not a single journalist at ABC donated to McCain — unless you count Elizabeth Hasselbeck as a journalist.
Knowing this, we’re actually supposed to believe they’re going to be honest brokers during next week’s ABC ObamaCare infomercial?
The same ObamaCare infomercial that ABC claims will provide “diverse” viewpoints on the matter, while at the same time denying the GOP the right to even advertise their viewpoint during commercial breaks?
Yeah, right.
-Chris Jones
ABC Becomes The All Barack Channel
ABC News has announced that on June 24, the network will be broadcasting live from the White House to shill for Obama’s health care plan.
This from Drudge:
ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.
The network plans a primetime special — ‘Prescription for America’ — originating from the East Room.
Here’s the funny part. In an effort to reassure critics, ABC News says they’re committed to “thoughtful” and “diverse” points of view on the health care debate.
However, that assurance is meaningless because ABC’s primetime special will include no opposing points of view.
“Thoughtful” and “diverse” means shilling for the Obama administration and repeating whatever the Dear Leader says.
The media has always been in the tank for democrats, but the difference this time around is they’re not even trying to hide it.
-Chris Jones
(picture via Michelle Malkin)
Video: Ziegler Locks Horns With Brewer On MSNBC
Nothing is more entertaining than watching John Ziegler appear on MSNBC. He’s the only one with the stones to call out MSNBC for their horrific bias, Obama cheerleading, and Palin smears.
Oddly enough, no matter how many times he rips into MSNBC live on the air they always invite him back.
Two things stand out to me about this interview. The first is how Contessa acts like it’s so strange that anyone would take offense to being called a slut on national TV.
I suspect she would’ve had a far different view on the matter had someone said Michelle Obama looked slutty.
The second highlight of this is the end when she pretends to be insulted by his attacks — then cuts his mike.
MSNBC accusing someone of losing objectivity — now that’s funny.
Video: The Economy Then And Now
Here’s how the media treated a recovering and then soaring economy under Bush and how they’re treating the economy under Obama.
(hat tip Gateway Pundit)
Michelle Malkin: The U.S. Department Of Injustice
Michelle Malkin’s syndicated column today looks at the corrupt and politicized Justice Department under Attorney General Eric Holder.
It’s a great piece that everyone should read.
-Chris Jones
Video: The Merging Of Lefty Blogs With The Mainstream Media
Take a look at this fantastic analysis of the cozy relationship between the mainstream media and left-wing blogs.
(hat tip Hot Air)
Surprise: The Liberal Media Elite Have Secret Dinners
Howard Kurtz has an interesting piece in the WaPo today about lavish secret dinners the liberal media have with White House big wigs hosted by David Bradley, owner of the Atlantic.
As with their secret email list, the liberal media swears this is all innocent conversation with good friends and even better food.
Yeah, right.
Shocker: NY Times Buries Story About Success Of Enhanced Interrogations
The NY Times gleefully trumpeted the release of the so-called “torture memos” ringing every last drop of ink and pixel out of the story as it could, while quietly burying the story about the success of enhanced interrogations. One would think acknowledgment by Obama’s own intelligence director that “High value information came from interrogations in which those methods were used and provided a deeper understanding of the al Qa’ida organization that was attacking this country” would be news. However, the NY Times chose to put that part of the story online only.
Their excuse for this is simply that the paper ran out of room. Yeah, sure it did. The NY Times has relentlessly flogged the “torture” narrative for years and written 100+ front page stories on it. So it’s mighty convenient that The Times would run out of room in their paper on the very day an Obama official confirms what the Bush administration has been saying for years — that the enhanced interrogation program was a big success.
-Chris Jones
Video: Chris Wallace Calls Out NY Times For Liberal Bias On CIA Memos
Here’s a great demonstration of liberal bias from Fox New’s Chris Wallace:
