The Washington Post's "salon" debacle will go down, fairly or not, as a symbolic nail in the coffin of mainstream media. Far from a big-picture conference like the Fortune Global Forum, the Post was offering pay-to-play Georgetown dinner parties on high-stakes issues that are the subject of active legislation. And the Post's abjectly careerist editor participated in the planning.
Leaving aside the desperation of the business model, which is no secret, it makes a mockery of the MSM's contention that only it -- not the blogosphere or twitterscape -- can do the credible news coverage essential to protect democracy.
It's a shame, coming right after the Post newsroom's excellent coverage of the DC Metro crash and vital on-the-ground reporting from Afghanistan that casts light on how power really flows, with real implications for US strategy. The Outlook section continues to churn out intellectual scoops. The Post's business side, however, seems to view the flow of power as a short-term business opportunity.
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