It is pretty commonplace for high-demand speakers to receive an honorarium, accept payment for expenses or require a fee for speeches. However, The Washington Post requires its employees to screen speaking engagements with the editors before accepting fees. David Broder and Bob Woodward recently came under scrutiny for accepting such fees.

In Broder’s case, it seems that he actually did have a personal benefit from the speaking engagements (especially where free trips, etc. were concerned), and there is a reasonable argument for conflict of interest.

In Woodward’s case, however, the money he received for speaking went into a family foundation for charitable purposes. While it would have been better for him to run the speaking invitations by the editors to be on the safe side, at least he was not receiving funds for his personal use.

Both Broder and Woodward have retired from full-time employment with the Post but are still on the roster as contractual writers. As such, they should have followed the policy of letting the editors know when they had speaking-for-payment opportunities.

Howell, Deborah. “When Speech Isn’t Free.” The Washington Post. June 22, 2008. B06