I read with interest yesterday's story about the selection of a new artistic director for the Studio Theatre.  In a detailed article, which tells you everything and more about the national search that was conducted, the writer mentions, in almost an afterthought "the application process ... included interviews of the finalists by the search committee in a room at the Washington Post ..." 

You may wonder, as I did, why they were done there, instead of say, the theater itself or another off-site location.  The presumption is that the newspaper had a hand in the selection.  The paper's principal theater critic has been negative of late of Studio's more recent productions (not the current one, however, which is directed by the new appointee).  This has not gone unnoticed by the Helen Hayes Awards Committee which turned a blind eye to the Studio's accomplishments (which were many, in my estimation) over the last season.  Perhaps the theater was looking for his blessing, as they move forward.  By all accounts they got it.

This is not to say the new artistic director is not accomplished or that a theater critic couldn't have something important to say about the qualifications of such a candidate.  But ask yourself this: "Does it seem right that a major newspaper, essentially the only one in town, should be involved in the hiring of a theater manager?"  Is the Post going to provide this service to other candidates, in other venues?  How will their coverage of the Studio's future productions - either unavoidably positive or potentially negative, to compensate - be affected?  This looks like a prima facie case of conflict of interest or at the very least a practice of dubious merit.  I would have thought the newspaper's internal procedures would have eliminated such activity, since it has been brought unpleasantly to their attention twice in just the last year: selling access at "salons" and the media coverage of one of its columnists, in the words of their ombudsman "that is at odds with Post rules."   This way of doing business in a very political town has now apparently found its way into the theater.