Obama selling election spots to media
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 10/23/2008 6:00:00 AM
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet notes the Obama campaign is planning to charge reporters $935 for a package that includes access to a heated file tent, power, cable TV, Internet, and food. The cheapest place a reporter could stand on a riser with a view is $880. Members of the media will also be charged $300 for an unlimited long distance phone line and $275 for high-speed wired Internet.
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According to Sweet, "This is an outrageous pay-to-play plan that caters to national elite outlets with deep pockets." Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Media Institute, agrees.
"Some folks might feel that this shows that Obama doesn't believe in a free press, but one he would charge for," he says, chuckling. "Really, it's kind of funny because the media have done so much to boost his candidacy that you'd think the least he could do is give them a few hors d'oeuvres on the night of his coronation, if he is elected."
Knight says the Obama campaign's "pay-to-play plan" is unprecedented. "In all my years as a reporter and editor, I have never heard of anything like that," he shares, "and I just asked a colleague at a major newspaper if he had [ever heard of such a thing] and he said, 'No.' He finds it very strange."
The media analyst doubts the major media will care about the pricey election night packages because, as he puts it, they "love Obama" and "have deep pockets."
