The publisher of The Washington Post apologized to the paper’s readers on Sunday after a controversy erupted over the company’s plans to organize sponsored meetings that would include Washington lobbyists, government officials and the paper’s own journalists.

The Post canceled the first of what it billed as exclusive “salons” at the home of the publisher, Katharine Weymouth, after critics accused the paper of seeking to profit from its access to members of Congress and administration officials.

Ms. Weymouth, in a letter to readers that appeared on the opinion page Sunday, wrote that “firm parameters” had not been followed in planning the events. These included having reporters and editors participate as moderators and not setting any limits on what questions they can ask.

“Our mistake was to suggest that we would hold and participate in an off-the-record dinner with journalists and power-brokers paid for by a sponsor,” she wrote.