It's really hard to overstate the role that "Free Lunch" plays in getting underpaid journalists to cover your event. And the better the lunch, the more journalists who show up. And as Spencer Ackerman writes, all journalists know that the American Enterprise Institute has, by far, the best lunches. And breakfasts. This is also how they attract young talent. If you go to AEI's internship web site, literally the second bullet point, before "conferences and lectures" or "career talks," is "Complimentary breakfast and lunch prepared by AEI’s own in-house gourmet chef, served in our dining room." They know their audience.
