My impression is that journalists not on tv or NYT best seller list have to sell plasma to survive. Thus the mere fact that a think tank is serving rubbery chicken might be a problem, as it attracts starving journalists who will be more likely then to cover the event. However, if all of these kinds of events serve food as a matter of custom, that should lessen the concern.

The real ethics concern here is the fact that you appear not to be tipping the bar staff even though it’s an open bar. Unless your guzzling decades old cognac and single malt scotch, the liquor you drink won’t amount to that much per person. But you should tip the bar staff. Assuming, that is, it’s professional and not interns.

One might argue that you ought to be held to a different standard considering that you’re working in the opinion journalism field and that your ideological tendencies are well disclosed. I could buy that. Eating Heritage’s food isn’t going to make you start digging federal funding for marriage classes, is it?

But if any of those pals of yours are real reporters, then yeah they are definitely violating various ethical codes. Is an ethics code binding even upon those who do not accept it? How specific ethics codes are varies from news organization to news organization. Usually, people learn from their peers and mentors. If they see everyone else scarfing down the freebies, they’ll figure it’s OK regardless of what some ethics code says.