August 19th, 2009 
joel The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Weymouth had to wipe off a significant number of figurative egg yolks off her face last month when she cancelled a series of “salon” meetings. They were proposed informal gatherings of reporters, editors, and US Congressmen, along well-heeled private company executives and lobbyists who paid tens of thousands of dollars for the right to join the party. The Post was trying to recreate (while shoring up some profits in the meantime) a bygone era when the hottest invitation inside the beltway was one to the late WP owner Katharine Graham’s home, where the elites would argue politics and policy in a causal off-the-record fashion. Needless to say, the newsroom went in an uproar and the whole deal was nixed.
Well, there will be no high-paying corporate types, or even gourmet fixin’s, but you now have the opportunity to have a informal sit-down with the reporters, editors, photographers and other staff members who bring your daily newspaper to you in a series of breakfast meetings beginning Thursday, from 7:30-8:30 AM. The Erie Times-News is holding these chats as a kind of salon, Erie-style, so that readers can connect with the content creators. First in line is Gerry Weiss, who was doing dirty jobs around Erie before Mike Rowe made it famous nationally. To go, call the paper at 814-870-1824 by end of business Wednesday to reserve your place.
No roast duck, fancy wine, or White House staffers, but you might get coffee and a danish and a chance to learn about what it takes to keep up with the things happening in our town. Meanwhile, the paper builds a more person-to-person connection with readers, allowing for vulnerability while creating loyalty, and building their social network.
And that’s what it takes to survive in today’s media culture.
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