Post Drops Plan to Promote Pentagon Event

[Newsjock]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/15/AR2005081501523.html

By David Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 16, 2005; Page C01

The Washington Post announced yesterday that it will back out of a controversial co-sponsorship of a Pentagon-organized event next month to remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and support the troops in Iraq.

The newspaper notified the Department of Defense that it would no longer donate public service advertising space to help promote the Freedom Walk, an event planned for Sept. 11. At the conclusion of the procession from the Pentagon to the Mall, there will be a performance by country star Clint Black, who recorded the song "I Raq and Roll."

"As it appears that this event could become politicized, The Post has decided to honor the Washington area victims of 9/11 by making a contribution directly to the Pentagon Memorial Fund," said Eric Grant, a Post spokesman. "It is The Post's practice to avoid activities that might lead readers to question the objectivity of The Post's news coverage."

The Pentagon expressed disappointment. "It's unfortunate that The Washington Post has made this decision not to support the Freedom Walk," said Allison Barber, deputy assistant secretary of defense for communications. "But we do welcome their donation to the Pentagon fund."

more

[girl gone mad]

1. They made the right decision.

What were they thinking by supporting this in the first place?

[kodi]

36. only when they were excoriated by their own employees for participating

saying that they made the right decision is like congratulating a thief caught in the act who returns the stolen goods under the eyes of the police.

they, like the caught thief did not act willingly to do the right thing.

[billkurtmeyer]

2. What were they thinking to begin with?

[Tigress DEM]

12. Probably that they give equal space to both sides...

Mayhaps if the DEMS had asked for promotion of Sept 24-26 we would have gotten a free ad too?

Papers used to give equal time type of coverage.. ad space is a kind of donation though.

Still proud they made the right decision. Even if they did need help to get there.

[jsmacdonald]

23. liked the controversy

As someone helping to organize for September 24-26, I kind of liked the controversy.

Oh well...

Jim Macdonald
http://www.septemberACTION.org

[Raster]

3. Give me an f*&*ing break. This isn't a "support the troops" rally, it's

a support * and his stupid policies rally. Lipstick on a pig...

[countmyvote4real]

11. Amen to that. Or a thank you for those that don't amen.

WTF does a 9/11 memorial have to do with supporting the troops in Iraq? These dots don't connect. I can't believe they're still trying and that the "obliging" WP signed-up immediately as a sponsor.

On the surface it would appear that the WP has had an epiphany. I think not. They're just paying their Pentagon masters in real dollars vs. free promotion and endorsements. But fear not. Their reportage and OpEd will continue to be ranked and informed by the WH.

Subscribers should ask, “What has the WP done for me lately?” I’m pretty sure the response will involve a classified ad. It’s certainly not their journalism.

[saigon68]

13. Its a Get your kid to die for HALLIBURTON RALLY

Dreamed up by Rumbdumb and a lot of assorted Military WAR CRIMINALS.

[Roland99]

4. A Momentary Lapse of Confusion

[yorkiemommie1]

5. they came to their senses

this event smacks of those rallies in Moscow and Red Square.

[OKthatsIT]

6. Well GOOD

stop the madness

[rooboy]

7. The Post just realized there's more money in selling the advertising space

than in donating it.

[faithnotgreed]

8. they should never have been involved but im glad there was any sanity

left in the world that many people were upset at this and that the wp actually maybe listened to them

although it was probably because they lost subscriptions if anything

[Ptah]

9. I am confident that the turnout will be much larger Sept 24 n/t

[Cocoa]

10. "It's unfortunate the Washington Post hates freedom"

:-)

[leveymg]

14. Here are the primary supporters, FW website:

WaPo still listed. Washington area viewers urged to contact ABC Affiliate WJLA 7 - News Channel 8 and WTOP radio. Let Subway know you have plenty of fast food choices. Washington Tourism & Convention Corp. is a private development group with a bunch of corporate hotel and restaurant chain honchos.

http://www.asyfreedomwalk.com/sponsors.html
Supporters
We are proud to have the following supporters for the inaugural
America Supports You Freedom Walk:


Pentagon Federal Credit Union

Lockheed Martin

Subway

ABC WJLA-TV Channel 7and News Channel 8

WTOP Radio Network

Here's the main contact info for the WCTC:

Washington, DC Convention and Tourism Corporation
901 7th Street NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20001-3719 TEL.[phone] FAX [phone]
http://www.washington.org/index.cfm?blnNavView=True&idContentType=36&idCurrentPage=7&CFID=15867589&CFTOKEN=33452589


About WCTC: Board of Directors | Member Directory | Staff Directory




EXECUTIVE OFFICE
President & CEO William A. Hanbury [e-mail] 202-789-7017
Executive Assistant Lisa Gerbert [e-mail] 202-789-7016
Executive Vice President Dawn Poker [e-mail] 202-789-7081
Executive Coordinator Katie Berkon [e-mail] 202-789-7027
Special Assistant to the President Leslie Whitlow [e-mail] 202-789-7010

[DeepModem Mom]

15. kick

[democracy1st]

16. sham

And a shame

[rocktivity]

35. Welcome to DU, Democracy1st!

:hi:

According to the registration form, the walk is "free and open to everyone who registers." In exchange for your name, e-mail, snail mail, age group (Adult, 11-17, 10 and under) and phone number, you'll "...receive...a receipt with a registration number...You MUST have your registration number to check-in...The first 1,000 to arrive for screening...will receive the official America Supports You campaign lapel pin."

Screening? SCREENING?

:scared:
rocknation

[BlueStatesForever]

17. Headline should read:

The headline should read:

"WaPo drops overt pro-Bush bias goes back to the covert kind"

Freedom walk? a Pentagon-sponsored event?

Did they get this idea from North Korea?

[nookiemonster]

18. The writing's on the wall.

Better late than never I guess.

This whole charade is just getting batshit crazy.

:crazy:

[jsmacdonald]

19. Operation Ceasefire and the Post

The Post has plenty to be ashamed about with all their pro-war coverage before the war, and while they did the right thing in backing out here, they have a lot to do to regain credibility.

People should consider doing what they can to protest this event.

But, more positively, come to DC on September 24 and join the Operation Ceasefire event (http://www.opceasefire.org ). That's going to be a great show.

And, for all info, I remind you again that you can find it on http://www.septemberACTION.org

Jim Macdonald
DC Anti-War Network (http://www.dawndc.net)

[arwalden]

20. They Must Be Somewhat RELIEVED To Hear The News...

... now they can STOP PRETENDING that the event is something other than what it ACTUALLY IS!

[texpatriot2004]

21. Glad to hear they are backing out. It's the right thing to do. n/t

[paineinthearse]

22. When the Moonies' support is withdrawn

* is in trouble.

Of interest, though, is they made a sizable donation.

[The Night Owl]

29. Washington Times is the Moonie paper. (NT)

[Proud2BAmurkin]

24. Good on them.

.

[underthedome]

25. Washington Post Backs Out of 9/11 Event

WASHINGTON - The Washington Post is withdrawing its offer of free advertising for an organized event by the Defense Department to memorialize the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the newspaper announced.

The Post backed out of the agreement after critics said the event, scheduled to take place four years after the attacks that hit New York and Washington and resulted in the crash of a commercial airliner over western Pennsylvania, would have a pro-war slant and that support of the event by the newspaper would compromise the Post's journalistic integrity.

"The Post has a code of conduct that says employees should avoid a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest," said Rick Ehrmann, a Local representative for the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild. "In this case The Post was sponsoring the Pentagon's Freedom Walk, which ties the attack on Sept. 11 to the Iraq war, and of course, The Post's reporters have proven ... that there is no connection between the two, that that link is false."

Ehrmann said, "The Post has made a very good decision in withdrawing from this event."

The paper said that it instead will make a donation directly to the Pentagon Memorial Fund, which is raising money to build a two-acre contemplation park in honor of the 184 people who died when a plane crashed into the Pentagon in 2001. The decision was reported by the Post in Tuesday's Style section.

"It is unfortunate that The Washington Post has made this decision not to support the Freedom Walk, but we welcome their donation to the Pentagon Memorial Fund," said a Defense Department statement. "Everyone in American will pay tribute and commemorate this important day in different ways."

Critics of media support for the event also pointed to the free concert by Clint Black that is to take place at the end of the march route. Black's Web site, http://www.clintblack.com/songlyrics.html, features lyrics to his song entitled "I Raq and I Roll," including "Our troops take out the garbage/ for the good old U.S.A."

"If this is the person they're going to have representing American freedom, I'd say it's a political event," said Eric Hilton of the pop duo Thievery Corporation, who is part of a coalition that's organizing an anti-war protest concert on the Mall for later in September. Hilton said his concert will be political and he does not expect media sponsorship.

Other organizations scheduled to sponsor the Sept. 11 event included Stars and Stripes newspaper, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Subway, Lockheed Martin, WTOP Radio Network, ABC/WJLA-TV Channel 7 and News Channel 8 and the Washington Convention & Tourism Corporation, according to the Freedom Walk Web site.

"As things stand right now we are committed to honoring our agreement to promote the event," said Stan Melton, director of creative services at WJLA TV and News Channel 8 in Washington. "If we were to find out that it was meant to be a political event, we couldn't support it."

Calls to The Washington Post and to the Defense Department were not immediately returned.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050816/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/sept__11_newspaper

[Zynx]

26. Good.

[Wickerman]

27. If we were to find out that it was meant to be a political event...

we couldn't support it. Come on, Stan, what more do you need to be shown? Lockheed-Martin is supporting it. tool.

[Benhurst]

28. When will the Washington Post ever learn. It's supposed to

publish propaganda, not openly support it.

[Maven]

30. "Everyone in America will pay tribute and commemorate this important day"

Almost like it's something to CELEBRATE.

The word "fetish" comes to mind.

[primavera]

33. I for one...

... will be commemorating the event by making a donation to the ACLU. Dying in a terrorist attack has got to really suck, but even worse has to be having your death used as a justification for the imposition of totalitarian rule - talk about bad karma!

[dchill]

31. Good. I just wonder...

whatever made them decide to sponsor it in the first place.

[The_Casual_Observer]

32. I have gone to subway for the last time.

[ElectroPrincess]

34. I'm with you ... not hard for me because I don't like their food ...

Also, I had to drive into D.C. this A.M. and *was forced* to listen to WTOP for the traffic reports (if you lived in this area, you'd understand).

Lo and Behold, the SINGLE most bizarre commentary based off of one simple study was LAUDED as it promoted the following: Gossip and ostracizing misfits promotes social harmony. :wtf:

Good heavens! The commentator was promoting NAZI conformism.

Beyond the "let's spin everything Pro-Bush Administration" WTOP shamelessly advertises for all the Big BIg BIG defense contractors. WTOP does have an excellent weather and traffic team. Bummer I sometimes have to hear their corporate a** kissing propaganda during the in-between.