Many serious questions have been raised about the unholy conflict of interest created by The Denver Post‘s former news editor and editorial page head Curtis Hubbard moving to a Democratic consulting firm, OnSight Public Affairs.
So far the Post has not disclosed whether Hubbard recused himself from coverage related to his new clients while he was negotiating his employment and partnership at the firm. Based on the slop spewed in his own columns and unsigned Denver Post editorials it certainly seems he didn’t.
We’d like to raise a new question.
Will Hubbard pitch the Post‘s DC-based blogger, Allison Sherry — who he hired — on stories related to his new client, U.S. Senator Mark Udall?
When Sherry was shipped out to Washington, Hubbard was the Political Editor at the Post. He got her that job…is she planning on returning the favor?
As Hubbard has become a full partner at OnSight Public Affairs, which counts Udall as a client, his ties to members of the media should be fairly scrutinized.
When it comes to someone who owes their job to him, isn’t it fair to assume they’re likely to take his calls and pitches more seriously?
As we mentioned on Twitter, aren’t former reporters going to work for political firms the media equivalent of lawmakers getting picked up by lobbying firms? Just as there are laws in place to require a cooling off period for politicians before they can lobby their former colleagues, shouldn’t the same be in place for members of the media?