Wash Post sells out. Literally.

As someone who loves to read--and has a fierce obsession with democracy--what is happening to the media landscape makes me unbelievably sad.

As someone who makes a living writing, what's happening makes me worry late at night.

Reading this story in Politico this morning makes me feel enraged.

Here's an excerpt, but you need to read the whole thing to believe it:

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 astonishing offer was detailed in a flier circulated Wednesday to a health care lobbyist, who provided it to a reporter because the lobbyist said he felt it was a conflict for the paper to charge for access to, as the flier says, its “health care reporting and editorial staff."

With the newsroom in an uproar after POLITICO reported the solicitation, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli said this morning that he was "appalled" by the plan and said the newsroom will not participate.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24441.html#ixzz0K7XPq5HU&D

Note to the mainstream media/print newspapers: Don't blame your downfall on the Internet and bloggers. It's shite like this that makes you fail as an institution. Shame.

I anxiously await an update to the story, which promises to include comment from folks at the Post.

UPDATE: here's an update from Politico, which includes a memo from Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli.

UPDATE 2: From the Post itself: Publisher cancels policy dinners. And that's why newspapers should spend less money on their marketing staff and more money on their reporters and photographers. How about a business model that focused on funding investigative projects, paying reporters a living wage, having on-staff photographers and just doing great work? If newspapers consistently put out quality products--instead of investing in stupid ideas like this one--maybe they wouldn't be disappearing.