Washington Post Bags It

There's a circular firing squad at the Washington Post where everybody's shooting from the lip over the pay to play in publisher Katherine Weymouth's "salon."

"I'm disappointed," bleats Katherine Graham's namesake granddaughter after the enticement fliers for the first event later this month were leaked to Politico.com.

 Weymouth had visions of luring corporations, lobbyists, anyone with 25 grand to $250,000 to buy access to government and media bigwigs at "intimate dinners" hosted by Ms. Weymouth, who is quite hot by the way.

Rival New York Times in "Pay-For-Chat Plan Falls Flat at Washington Post" loftily snipes: "The New York Times, too, has considered holding paid business-sponsored forums involving Times journalists, but only on conditions that would avoid any real or apparent conflicts of interest, company officials said.What has made The Post’s proposed events different is the setting — in the privacy of the publisher’s home — and that they were aimed at connecting lobbyists, trade associations and other influential capital players.... For generations, The Washington Post has been a scrupulous watchdog over the capital’s cozy world of power networking. For a short time, it almost became the network’s host."

What's worse? U.S. influence peddlers paying what amounts to chump change for access or the NYT selling out by taking a $250 mil bailout from sleazy Mexican media baron Carlos Slim?

The fall guy is the Post's new marketing director...