Journalists Agree to Keep Mum on Conservative Donors at Koch Brothers Event

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Sunday, August 02, 2015

by Common Dreams

Journalists Agree to Keep Mum on Conservative Donors at Koch Brothers Event

Major media outlets granted access to Koch Brothers' affair in exchange for their silence

by Sarah Lazare, staff writer

In a rare move, journalists from a handful of major media outlets were granted access this weekend to a private and well-heeled gathering of Republican benefactors, sponsored by the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, on one condition: that they do not name any of the 450 donors attending, unless given explicit permission.

The three-day event, hosted by the Koch brothers-backed nonprofit organization Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, is being held at at the St. Regis Monarch Beach luxury resort in California. A small number of reporters confirmed they are attending the events on the condition that they keep mum.

"The Washington Post is one of nine news organizations allowed in to cover the traditionally private confab, on the condition that the donors present not be named without their permission," wrote Post reporter Matea Gold on Saturday.

Politico reporter Kenneth P. Vogel also confirmed on Saturday that his outlet was one of the select few invited "on the condition that the donors present not be named without their permission."

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/08/02/journalists-agree-keep-mum-conservative-donors-koch-brothers-event

[benld74]

1. Suck ups

[Fearless]

2. Traitors

[Octafish]

3. Says it all about today's press corpse.

Kochs call the shots. I wonder how much a certain government works for them, as well?

[Uncle Joe]

6. The Walking Dead

[malthaussen]

4. For alleged Christians, these donors seem strangely unacquainted with John 3:20

"The evil-doer doth fear the light."

Or rather, maybe they are very well-acquainted with it.

-- Mal

[Moral Compass]

5. Then what is the point of their attendance?

If these supposed news organizations are going to allow something as crucial as the identities of the people at the conference to be held "off the record" then what kind of stories are they going to be filing?

Indeed, what's the point of going at all? Is it just to suck up to rich people?

It seems that these days most prominent news organizations exist only to be stenographers to the wealthy. They live forever in fear that they are going to lose access and so don't report the things that they should be reporting on.

Money has become the poison that flows through the veins of the body politic and is slowly choking the life out of it.

So many reporters have become slavish sycophants that do nothing but curry favor from their masters.

[silvershadow]

7. If they are complicit, I suggest they no longer are journalists. ? nt