The relatively new publisher of the Washington Post, Katherine Weymouth, is an attorney who worked for the company for 12 years, and got her education at the Harvard School of Business, so supposedly, she's hardly a naif in running a business.

Yet, she has never been employed to work inside a newsroom, a gap in her resume that may have contributed to her current difficulties.

According to the Washington Post, "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 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."

To some it sounded like a good idea at the moment. Access, and its very close cousin, define the Beltway. Millions of dollars have been spent on having the right lobbyists, flacks and attorneys so that you can end up in a room filled with people who control your destiny.

As reported by the NY Times, "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 dinner hosted by Katherine Graham, the legendary publisher of the Washington Post and Ms. Weymouth's grandmother, was the hottest commodity in the Beltway."

Actually, Ms. Weymouth's idea originated a year ago when, she, along with print and Web editorial staff members visited Harvard University to rethink the Washington Post's image. In response to questions regarding the salon, Ms. Weymouth sent a reply commenting: "I take full responsibility. We will be publishing a not to our readers on Sunday."

To read the entire article from the New York Times, link here:

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