Newspapers scrap like old times

In olden times, before they got so cozy, The Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal blistered each other in print. The editorials, in those days, gave you the impression they were not just competitors, but really didn't like each other.

Years of cohabitation, joint operating agreements, and profit-sharing have taken the edge off. So it has been fun to see a little spat develop lately, with The Capital Times reporting on what it sees as an ethical violation by its neighbor across the hall.

At issue: WSJ's new business publication offered $25,000 sponsorship packages which included a seat on the publication's advisory board, where members could hobnob with WSJ editors. That sounds like selling access, and a Cap Times story pointed that out, quoting ethicists and journalists. That prompted the WSJ publisher to write a memo to the staff defending the policy, saying there was no need for those sponsors to buy access since, " I see these people at meetings, functions and on the golf course frequently." That's comforting, isn't it?

Next, a group of activists protested the WSJ policy and met with the editor and publisher. The CT's coverage included an exchange with the WSJ editor calling the earlier CT story wrong and CT Managing Editor Phil Haslanger defending it. Kinda like old times. Here's the first story and the latest one. Some fun now, hey?