American Prospect: “On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Football Team lost to the Dallas Cowboys, and Punchbowl News was there to see it. The D.C.-based scoop shop, a newsletter-based online publication, partnered with the scandal-plagued and still nameless sports franchise to secure a luxury skybox from which to watch the game. And they invited some friends—in their own words, an ‘exclusive group of D.C. decision makers.'”
“On its face, the event looks like a flagrant violation of journalistic ethics. Basically every single lobbyist listed represents a firm that has lobbied legislators on the text of the Build Back Better, bipartisan infrastructure, and American Rescue Plan acts over the last ten months…”
“Over that same ten-month period, which makes up the entirety of Punchbowl’s existence, the publication has covered those pieces of legislation breathlessly. Build Back Better, in particular, has been the object of an overwhelming percentage of the outlet’s journalistic output. For the publication to then host the very same lobbyists who were attempting, and often succeeding, to take down multiple provisions in that bill as special guests at a free skybox event raises serious questions about whether Punchbowl has been doing journalism or simply laundering industry talking points.”
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