Kenneth Bunting, the associate publisher of the PI, wrote a lengthy editorial last week, “New York Times reasserts its principles,” applauding the New York Times for bowing out of the annual correspondents’ dinners at the White House.

Wrote Bunting:

Rhonda Chriss Lokeman, a columnist for the Kansas City Star, opined during the March discussion that the media’s chumminess with Washington power brokers at such black-tie and white-tie spectacles is wholly inappropriate and unbecoming. Perhaps Lokeman was right. Some journalists manage to transform themselves into Washington socialites at such events. Why should the public think they could be arms-length watchdogs, critics and uncompromised observers at other times? But more interesting will be whether any others among the nation’s media elite follow suit. In what we in Seattle call “the other Washington,” hobnobbing is a well-accepted way of life.

The other Washington? I’ve got three creepy words for you Mr. Bunting: Community Development Roundtable.

As you know, since you’re a member, the CDR is an elitist, private membership group of big business power players like Greg Johnson, President, Wright Runstad & Company; Ada Healey, Vice President, Real Estate, Vulcan Inc.; Stephanie Daley-Watson, VP, Secretary, Assoc. General Counsel, Safeco Corp; Jared Smith, Vice President, Area Manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff; and Don Stark, Managing Partner, Gogerty Stark Marriott; and media leaders Mr. Michael Fancher, Editor-at-Large, The Seattle Times; Ms. Jill Mackie, Vice President, Public Affairs, The Seattle Times; Mr. Mark Trahant Editor, Editorial Page Seattle Post-Intelligencer; and Mr. Emory Thomas Publisher Puget Sound Business Journal, that meets for private lunches at the snooty Washington Athletic Center (WAC) on Mondays.

Its explicit purpose since its formation (by the Chamber of Commerce and the publishers of the dailies back in the 1930s) is to bring together the city’s media, political and business elite behind closed doors for off-the-record discussions and, not coincidentally, to cement the Establishment’s hold over civic affiars. It fosters a clubby atmosphere between the rich and powerful movers and shakers and the top editors and executives of Seattle’s newspapers.

Aren’t the power players on this list, the same people you’re supposed to be covering?

The question, Mr. Bunting, is not whether national media will follow the NYT’s example by pulling out of the once-a-year correspondents’ dinners, but if you will follow your own advice and pull out of the clubby weekly CDR.

I’ve linked the membership list below to give readers a real sense of who the media is hanging out with—I see former Port Commissioner Mic Dinsmore on there.

Mr. Scott Armstrong
President & CEO
Group Health Cooperative

Mr. William Bain
Consulting Design Partner
NBBJ

Ms. Ernesta Ballard
Sr Vice President Corporate Affairs
Weyerhaeuser Company

Mr. Randy Bannecker
President
Bannecker & Associates Public Affairs

Mr. Charles Barbo
Chairman & CEO
Shurgard Storage Centers, Inc.

Mr. Stan Barer
Chairman Emeritus
Saltchuk Resources

Mr. Chris Bayley
Chair
Stewardship Partners

Ms. Debbie Bevier
President
DL Bevier Consulting, LLC

Mr. Bernt Bodal
Chairman & CEO
American Seafoods Group

Mr. Jonathan Bridge
Co-CEO/General Counsel
Ben Bridge Jeweler

Mr. Jeff Brotman
Chairman
Costco Wholesale

Mr. Kenneth Bunting
Associate Publisher
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Mr. Phil Bussey
Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs
Puget Sound Energy

Mr. Patrick Callahan
CEO
Urban Renaissance Group, LLC

Ms. Phyllis Campbell
President & CEO
The Seattle Foundation

Mr. Bruce Carter
President & CEO
ZymoGenetics, Inc.

Mr. Bill Center
Past President
Washington Council for International Trade

Ms. Lynn Claudon
Principal
Lynn Claudon Consulting, LLC

Mr. A.M. Clise
Chairman and CEO
Clise Properties Inc.

Mr. Arlan Collins
Principal
CollinsWoerman

Dr. Richard Counts
President & CEO
Puget Sound Blood Center

Mr. Don Covey
Chairman (Retired)
Unico Properties, LLC.

Mr. Russell Crawford
Partner
KPMG LLP

Mr. Andrew Dale
Managing Partner
Buerk Dale Victor LLC

Ms. Stephanie Daley-Watson
VP, Secretary, Assoc. General Counsel
Safeco Corporation

Mr. M.R. Dinsmore
CEO
Port of Seattle

Mr. Bob Drewel
Executive Director
Puget Sound Regional Council

Mr. George Duff
Senior Advisor
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce

Mr. James Dwyer
President & CEO
Washington Dental Service

Mr. Mike Dwyer
Shareholder
Lane Powell PC

Dr. Philip Eaton
President
Seattle Pacific University

Mr. Karl Ege
Chief Legal Officer
Russell Investment Group

Mr. James Ellis
Founding Partner
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP

Dr. Mark Emmert
President
University of Washington

Ms. Joan Enticknap
President & COO
HomeStreet Bank

Mr. Daniel Evans
Chairman
Daniel J. Evans & Associates

Mr. Michael Fancher
Editor-at-Large
The Seattle Times

Dr. Jack Faris
President
Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Assoc.

Ms. Anne Farrell
President Emeritus
The Seattle Foundation

Ms. Patricia Fearey
Chairman & CEO
The Fearey Group, Inc.

Mr. Jon Fine
President & CEO
United Way of King County

Mr. Tom Flavin
President & CEO
enterpriseSeattle

Mr. Mike Flynn
Principal
Mike Flynn & Associates

Ms. Petra Franklin
General Partner
Vault Capital

Mr. Daniel Fulton
President
Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Company

Mr. Jose Gaitan
Managing Partner
The Gaitan Group

Ms. Marcia Garrett
Executive Director
WSU West

Mr. William Gates, Sr.
Co-Chair
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Ms. Donna Giordano
President
Quality Food Centers

Hon. Slade Gorton
Of Counsel
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP

Mr. Mark Gould
Senior VP/Seattle Branch Manager
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Mr. Leo Greenawalt
President & CEO
Washington State Hospital Association

Mr. Frank Greer
Partner
GMMB

Mr. Scott Harrison
President & CEO
BarclayDean

Mr. Randal Hassler
VP, Amgen Washington Site Administration
Amgen Inc.

Mr. Ray Heacox
President & General Manager
KING TV, KONG TV & Northwest Cable News

Ms. Ada Healey
Vice President-Real Estate
Vulcan Inc.

Mr. John Hempelmann
Chairman
Cairncross & Hempelmann, P.S.

Mr. Jerry Henry
Senior Advisor to the Chairman
Puget Sound Energy

Ms. Sheryl Hildebrand
Managing Partner, Seattle
Deloitte & Touche LLP

Mr. John Hough
Chairman
Rockey Hill & Knowlton

Dr. Lee Huntsman
Executive Director
Life Sciences Discovery Fund

Mr. Keith Jackson
Chairman & CEO
Charter Bank

Ms. Sally Jewell
CEO
Recreational Equipment, Inc.

Mr. Peter Joers
President, Bank of America Washington
Bank of America

Mr. James Johnson
President & CEO
Washington Athletic Club

Mr. Gregory Johnson
President
Wright Runstad & Company

Ms. Kate Joncas
President
Downtown Seattle Association

Mr. William Justen
Managing Director, Real Estate
Samis Land Company

Dr. Gary Kaplan
Chairman & CEO
Virginia Mason Medical Center

Ms. Carolyn Kelly
President & COO
The Seattle Times

Ms. Linda C. Killinger
President
Olympic Consulting Partners, LLC

Mr. Ken Kirkpatrick
President, Washington State
U.S. Bank

Mr. Charles Knutson
Vice President, Public Affairs
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce

Mr. H.L. (Skip) Kotkins, Jr.
Chairman & CEO
Skyway Luggage Company

Ms. Kaycee Krysty
President & CEO
Laird Norton Tyee

Mr. Stewart Landefeld
Firmwide Chair, Business Practice Group
Perkins Coie LLP

Mr. Earl Lasher III
Senior Partner
Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson

Mr. Steve Leahy
President & CEO
Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce

Mr. Bill Lewis
President
Lease Crutcher Lewis

Mr. Howard Lincoln
Chairman & CEO
Seattle Mariners Baseball Club

Mr. Gary Locke
Partner
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Ms. Kathy Lombardo
Senior Vice President, Manager NW Region
CH2M HILL

Ms. Jill Mackie
Vice President, Public Affairs
The Seattle Times

Ms. Sandra Madrid
Assistant Dean, Students and Community Relations
University of Washington

Ms. Susannah Malarkey
Executive Director
Technology Alliance

Mr. Jerry McKenna
Vice President, Market Manager
Entercom Seattle

Mr. Herman McKinney
Executive Dir.
Associate Member

Mr. Neil McReynolds
President
McReynolds Associates, Inc.

Ms. Mary McWilliams
President
Regence BlueShield

Mr. Nate Miles
Director of Government Affairs Western US
Eli Lilly & Company

Mr. William Mohler
President & CEO
KCTS Television

Mr. J. Shan Mullin
Partner
Perkins Coie LLP

Mr. Steve Mullin
President
Washington Roundtable

Ms. Carla Murray
Vice President Operations, NW Region
Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Mr. Kirk Nelson
President - Washington
Qwest

Mr. John Nesholm
Partner
LMN Architects

Mr. William Neukom
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP

Mr. Clare Nordquist
Director
Cascadia Capital LLC

Mr. Robert Nuber
Chairman Emeritus
Clark Nuber P.S.

Mr. Roger Oglesby
Editor & Publisher
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Mr. John Oppenheimer
CEO
Columbia Hospitality

Mr. Peter Orser
President
Quadrant Homes

Ms. Patti Payne
Principal
The Payne Group

Ms. Pam Pearson
Vice President & General Manager
KCPQ (Tribune Television Northwest)

Mr. James Peoples
President, Seattle-Cascades District
KeyBank

Mr. Bob Peters
Market Executive, Commercial Banking
Bank of America

Ms. Jennifer Potter
Managing Director, Initiative for Global Development
Initiative for Global Development

Mr. Jim Potter
Chairman
Kauri Investments, Ltd.

Mr. John Powers
Sr. Managing Dir., State of Washington
Colliers International

Mr. Arnie Prentice
Chairman & CEO
Kibble & Prentice, a USI Company

Mr. Tom Pursley
Worldwide Partner
Mercer Human Resource Consulting

Mr. Bruce Pym
Attorney
Heller Ehrman LLP

Mr. Bob Ratliffe
Sr. Vice President, Capital Markets
Kennedy Associates Real Estate Counsel, Inc.

Dr. V. Lane Rawlins
President
Washington State University

Mr. John Rindlaub
CEO, Pacific NW Region
Wells Fargo

Mr. Stuart Rolfe
President
Wright Hotels Inc.

Mr. Skip Rowley
Chairman & CEO
Rowley Properties, Inc.

Mr. Charles Royer
President
The Institute for Community Change

Ms. Judith Runstad
Of Counsel
Foster Pepper PLLC

Mr. David Sabey
President
Sabey Corporation

Mr. Stanley Savage
Chairman, President & CEO
The Commerce Bank of Washington

Mr. David Schooler
President
Sterling Realty Organization

Mr. Jared Smith
Northwest Manager
PB

Mr. Alex Smith
CEO
Kaye-Smith Enterprises

Mr. John Spellman
Of Counsel
Carney Badley Spellman, P.S.

Mr. William Stafford
President
Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle

Mr. Frank Stagen
CEO
Nitze-Stagen & Co., Inc.

Mr. John Stanton
Partner
Trilogy Partners

Mr. Donald Stark
Partner
Gogerty Stark Marriott, Inc.

Rev. Stephen Sundborg, S.J.
President
Seattle University

Mr. Paul Suzman
Owner
OfficeLease

Mr. David Tang
Partner
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP

Mr. Emory Thomas
Publisher
Puget Sound Business Journal

Mr. Mikal Thomsen
Partner
Trilogy Partners

Mr. Mark Trahant
Editor, Editorial Page
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Mr. James Tune
President & CEO
ArtsFund

Mr. Wes Uhlman
President
Wes Uhlman & Associates Inc.

Mr. James Vesely
Editorial Page Editor
The Seattle Times

Mr. Jeffery Vincent
President & CEO
Laird Norton Company

Mr. Wally Walker
President & CEO
Seattle SuperSonics & Seattle Storm

Mr. Robert Wallace
CEO
Wallace Properties, Inc.

Mr. James Warjone
Chairman & General Partner
Port Blakely Companies

Mr. J. Tayloe Washburn
Executive Committee Chair
Foster Pepper PLLC

Mr. Bob Watt
VP, Gov & Community Relations
The Boeing Company

Mr. Stephen Welch
CEO
Todd Pacific Shipyard

Ms. Monica Whaley
Executive Director
National Center for APEC

Ms. Kathleen Wilcox
President & CEO
WSA

Mr. Bruce Williams
Chairman & CEO
HomeStreet Bank

Ms. Colleen Willoughby
President
Washington Women's Foundation

Ms. Kate Wilson
President
Washington Council for International Trade

Mr. Scott Woodward
Vice President for External Affairs
University of Washington

Mr. H.S. Wright III
Chairman & CEO
Seattle Hospitality Group LLC