In an interview, Mr. Brauchli said he had intended to go to the dinner and knew the company was seeking paying sponsors. But he said he did not see the promotional flier, or know that the event might have a single sponsor. Invitations to the event stated it was “underwritten by Kaiser Permanente.”

Sybil Wartenberg, a Kaiser spokeswoman, said that despite what was written on the invitation, “we were in discussions about the event, but there was no final agreement for us to participate.”

Mr. Brauchli said that in talking to The Post’s marketing arm, “we have always been explicit that there are certain parameters that are elemental for newsroom participation” in special events. Among those, he said, “we do not limit our questions, and we reserve the right to allow any ideas that emerge in an event to shape or inform our coverage.”

A few officials at the Department of Health and Human Services had been invited to the gathering, but no senior White House officials, administration aides said. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said during his daily press briefing, “I do not believe, based on what I’ve been able to check, that anybody has accepted the invitations.”

In midafternoon, Ms. Weymouth sent a memo to employees, saying: “A flier went out that was prepared by the marketing department and was never vetted by me or by the newsroom. Had it been, the flier would have been immediately killed, because it completely misrepresented what we were trying to do.” She added that other salon dinners would not involve the newsroom.

The Post recently hired a marketing executive, Charles Pelton, to begin organizing conferences, and executives said the flier came from his group. He did not return calls seeking comment.

The Post’s ombudsman, Mr. Alexander, in his blog, quoted Mr. Pelton as saying that the nature of the events had been “well developed with the newsroom,” but that “what was not developed was the marketing message to potential sponsors.”