A Publisher Stumbles Publicly at the (Washington) Post (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

The New York Times ^ | July 4, 2009 | David Carr

[abb]

Katharine Weymouth, the relatively new publisher of The Washington Post, is a lawyer who worked for the company for 12 years and was educated at the Harvard School of Business, so she is hardly a naïf in running a business.

But she has never worked in a newsroom, a gap in her résumé that may have contributed to her current problems.

As first reported in Politico, The Washington Post had sent out a brochure offering sponsorships — a fee of $25,000 for one, or $250,000 for an entire series — for an exclusive “Washington Post salon” at Ms. Weymouth’s home in which officials from Congress and the administration, lobbyists and, yes, the paper’s own reporters could have a quiet, off-the-record dinner, discussions to be led by Marcus Brauchli, the newspaper’s editor. Theoretically, you can’t buy Washington Post reporters, but you can rent them.

I guess it sounded like a good idea at the time. Access, and its very close cousin, influence, define the Beltway. Millions of dollars are spent on having the right lobbyists, flacks and lawyers so that you can end up in a room with people who control your destiny.

And in some respects, the now-canceled salon on health care seems like an attempt to replicate a golden era for the newspaper in which a seat at a dinner hosted by Katharine Graham, the legendary publisher of The Washington Post and Ms. Weymouth’s grandmother, was the hottest commodity in the Beltway.

The difference? Mrs. Graham bestowed legitimacy (Richard M. Nixon never made the cut, even as president). Ms. Weymouth decided to sell it, with her paper’s editorial integrity apparently thrown in as a parting gift.

snip

[abb]

[abb]

ping

[abb]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-jacksonmedia4-2009jul04,0,7030960.story
Jackson media frenzy faulted
Separating truth from rumor and figuring out who represents the singer aren’t easy in an era of nonstop news.

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3if52b9a5b28d70b335d6c0b6bcee952a9
Opinion: Online Video’s Impact Remains Unclear

[GeronL]

it was a pretty close to epic fail

[rod1]

Wow how cute. The newspaper of the fake stories is now calling out the WA Post on Ethics.

[abb]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/la-presse-to-stop-publishing-sunday-edition/article1183448/
La Presse to stop publishing Sunday edition

http://www.edpadgett.com/blog/2009/06/circulation-milestone-at-los-angeles.html
Circulation Milestone at the Los Angeles Times

[abb]

Weymouth may not survive this. She only got the job because she was MeeMaw’s (Katherine Graham) favorite.

[abb]

http://www.buzzmachine.com/2009/07/03/politics-makes/
Politics makes….

[Dr. Ursus]

A whore setting the price-nothing unusual!

[abb]

A whore setting the price-nothing unusual!

Yes, but it's all so unseemly to do the bargaining in public, doncha see?

ROFLMA!!!

[Raycpa]

Katharine Weymouth, the relatively new publisher of The Washington Post, is a lawyer who worked for the company for 12 years and was educated at the Harvard School of Business, so she is hardly a naïf in running a business.

The writer thinks the above qualifies someone to run a business?

[cranked]

NY Times is just jealous that it did not come up with the idea.

The real question here is who at the White House knew and went along with such....

[Joe Boucher]

Neither paper is worthy of wiping ones rear end with.

Both are in the hip pocket of liberals making impossible to be fair or honest.

[rod1]

Absolutely, you are on the mark.

[Carley]

Does anyone believe this hasn’t been going on since Martha Graham?

Nothing new, just got out to the public this time.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Weymouth had to know and approve of the outreach. The soirees were planned for her dining table.

[stevem]

Mrs. Graham bestowed legitimacy (Richard M. Nixon never made the cut, even as president).

I can undersatand this. Yet it begs the question. What politicians, who register just as high on the hack meter, made the cut?

I suppose when you are editorializing you need to get in the dig, knowing that following the thought gets you little except a really deep hole.

[BilLies]

The WA Post needs to come up to Albany, NY to learn how to make money. In May 2007 the Albany Times Union ran a front page article written by a group of journalism interns regarding an audit report by New York state employees which claimed that Verizon was trying to be reimbursed for $230 million IN Federal monies that they were not entitled to. The reimbursement was related to the 9/11/01 terrorist attack on NYC. The report by the auditors was obtained through a FOI request.
Sometime later, an editor, Rex something or other, wrote an editorial where he stated that he had met with the Verizon representatives (code for lobbyists) and everything looked OK. Nary a word in the paper since. Incidentally though Rex met with the Verizon people there is no mention anywhere that he met with the State Auditors. LESSON: DEAL DIRECTLY WITH THE PEOPLE WHO CONTROL THE MONEY AND DON'T SELL YOURSELF CHEAP. The Hearst organization (who at the time owned one of the two newspapers in town) is really good at this type of operation. A Hearst representative made a deal with Willie Brown, then Mayor of San Fransico, to endorse him (but only on the editorial pages /S) if he would not contest the Hearst organization taking over the other paper in town.

[Cboldt]

The Post has been selling it all along, and will continue to sell it. This is simply the first time they used a medium (the flyer) that amounts to being caught red-handed. Lesson learned.

[Ann Archy]

Is this LALLY WEYMOUTH??