WashPost Reporter Makes Unauthorized Appearance at Secretive Leftist Confab

Brent Scher at the Washington Free Beacon reports that Washington Post political reporter Janell Ross participated without her newspaper’s knowledge in a November 16 panel discussion at a secretive California meeting of the leftist Democracy Alliance. It was a lunch panel titled “Getting the Economic Narrative Right.” Ross was the only reporter on the panel. The program explains progressives needed Ross to help explain how to shape “our” narrative:

Progressives were knocked flat in 2016, but in our scramble to understand and react to what happened, we run the risk of forcing ourselves into false divides,” the agenda writes. “We risk losing focus on the deep systemic flaws in our economic and social frameworks that leave vast numbers of Americans vulnerable and insecure….

What do progressives stand for? How do we grapple with the tough issues? What story are we trying to tell and how does it play out in communities across the country? How do we translate what the polls and research tell us into the compelling narratives that will build the public will to reorient our economy and combat inequality?

The panel was sandwiched on the schedule between socialist billionaire George Soros and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). When Scher called the Post for comment, they replied:

“We’ve only now learned about her participation in this event,” said a spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that Ross has been “reminded” that the paper “discourages” involvement in events that may be “perceived as partisan.”

“The Washington Post policy discourages participation in any activity that could be perceived as partisan,” the spokesperson said. “She has been reminded of that.”

The Post has published no story on the Democracy Alliance get-together. Ross said she attended independently for a book project she’s working on. She’s listed in the Special Guests section of the program and her bio explains “Janell is currently writing a book about the real causes – official policy and social practice – of the yawning racial wealth gap for the [leftist Unitarian publisher] Beacon Press.”

But first, it says Ross is “a national reporter for the Washington Post covering the social and political implications of demographic change. She wrote rapid fire political analysis for the Post during the 2016 election focused on race, gender, and immigration.”