Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said yesterday that a hasty time frame, haphazard planning and miscommunication led to the release of a promotional flier that inaccurately described the newspaper's plans for a series of sponsored "salons" with influential insiders.

"We decided to throw this particular event very recently," Ms. Weymouth said in an interview with the newspaper. "We said, 'Let's not wait. Let's pick a date and let's go for it.' When you rush like that, you make mistakes."

Ms. Weymouth said she takes responsibility for the controversy and took the rare step of writing a letter to readers, which appears today on the paper's op-ed page.

The plan to host a series of off-the-record, sponsored dinners at Ms. Weymouth's home in the nation's capital, and invite Obama administration officials, lawmakers, lobbyists, business leaders, and Post editors and reporters, exploded in controversy when a flier described an effort to sell sponsorships of $25,000 for each dinner or as much as $250,000 for a series of 11 dinners. The flier promised exclusive access to the newsmakers and journalists.

The first of the dinners, billed as salons, was to be held July 21 and focus on health care policy. Ms. Weymouth canceled the dinner after Politico.com disclosed the details of what was being offered to potential sponsors in the flier.

Critics have accused The Post of abusing its journalistic integrity and of attempting to profit from selling access to powerful and influential people.

Ms. Weymouth, the granddaughter of legendary publisher Katharine Graham and niece of The Washington Post Co.'s chief executive, Donald Graham, has said repeatedly that the plan was inaccurately portrayed in the promotional flier, and that the flier was sent out without approval by Charles Pelton, a marketing employee hired two months ago. Mr. Pelton, who Ms. Weymouth said is still employed by the paper, could not be reached for comment yesterday.