U.S. paid TV commentator to push policy
By EUNICE MOSCOSO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/08/05
WASHINGTON ? Government watchdogs, media groups and lawmakers are raising new questions about White House efforts to shape news coverage after the disclosure Friday that the Bush administration paid a syndicated columnist and TV commentator $240,000 to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.
The new revelation comes on the heels of a government report that blasts the Office of National Drug Control Policy for distributing commercials that were broadcast as news reports. The Department of Education was criticized last year for paying a public relations firm to produce commercials that aired as news items on television stations across the country, including some in Atlanta.
Conservative Armstrong Williams said 'I think I crossed' a fine line by taking money from the government.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the administration's efforts make her "extremely nervous and uneasy."
"At first I thought it was an aberration, but now ? certainly with the Education Department ? it appears to be a pattern, and I'm definitely wondering who else is on their payroll," she said.
Dalglish said she was "blown away" when she learned that commentator Armstrong Williams accepted $240,000 in government funds through his public relations company to promote No Child Left Behind, a major Bush administration initiative to boost the performance of poor and minority children and punish schools that don't show positive results.
Williams is a prominent black conservative voice who is host of the TV and radio show "The Right Side." He writes op-ed pieces that are distributed by Tribune Media Services to newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, USA Today and The Washington Times.
The lucrative deal negotiatedl between the Department of Education and public relations giant Ketchum Inc. paid Williams' firm to produce ads that promoted the administration's initiative and ran during his shows.
The contract also required Williams to regularly comment on the No Child Left Behind Act during his broadcasts and to urge other black journalists to do the same, according to USA Today, which obtained the contract though a Freedom of Information request.
Williams, a South Carolina native and former staff aide to the late Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, said Friday he regretted the deal.
"My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again and I learned from it," he said in an interview. "There's a thin line. There's a gray area and I think I crossed it."
He said that although he is a commentator and not a journalist, he still should abide by the same ethical standards.
Williams disclosed during his show that the Department of Education was paying for the ads, which featured Education Secretary Rod Paige.
Williams would not say whether he knew of other commentators who had similar contracts with the government.
On Capitol Hill, three members of the Senate, including Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, wrote a letter demanding that the White House recover the $240,000 the government paid Williams.
The letter, also signed by Sens. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, said the payments were illegal.
The Democrats complained that the administration's attempt to "bribe journalists to bias their news in favor of government policies undermines the integrity of our democracy."
'Deeply disturbing'
The senators asked the White House to disclose if any other journalists or members of the media have been paid to "skew their media reports."
Rep. George Miller of California, ranking Democrat on the House Committee for Education and the Workforce, said the Education Department's deal with Williams was "deeply disturbing." He called for an investigation into whether it might have violated the law or ethical standards.
The White House referred questions to the Education Department.
A statement issued by the agency said the contract "paid to provide the straightforward distribution of information about the department's mission" and that it is a "permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures."
Bob Steele, a scholar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, said journalists should never be partners with government officials on such efforts.
"It is the role of journalists ? and to some degree Armstrong Williams falls within that category ? to hold the government and government officials accountable," Steele said. "We should provide meaningful, substantive, fair, accurate and ? here's the key ? independent reporting on government policies and activities."
Melanie Sloan, executive director of the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the Bush administration is exhibiting a pattern of using taxpayer money for propaganda.
Sloan's group plans to submit Freedom of Information requests to government agencies to find out whether other commentators and journalists are being paid by the government.
"This is very likely only the tip of the iceberg," she said.
? Dayton Daily News reporter Jim Bebbington contributed to this article.
.............................................................
No wonder our news is bias. Its bought and paid for .
By EUNICE MOSCOSO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/08/05
WASHINGTON ? Government watchdogs, media groups and lawmakers are raising new questions about White House efforts to shape news coverage after the disclosure Friday that the Bush administration paid a syndicated columnist and TV commentator $240,000 to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.
The new revelation comes on the heels of a government report that blasts the Office of National Drug Control Policy for distributing commercials that were broadcast as news reports. The Department of Education was criticized last year for paying a public relations firm to produce commercials that aired as news items on television stations across the country, including some in Atlanta.
Conservative Armstrong Williams said 'I think I crossed' a fine line by taking money from the government.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said the administration's efforts make her "extremely nervous and uneasy."
"At first I thought it was an aberration, but now ? certainly with the Education Department ? it appears to be a pattern, and I'm definitely wondering who else is on their payroll," she said.
Dalglish said she was "blown away" when she learned that commentator Armstrong Williams accepted $240,000 in government funds through his public relations company to promote No Child Left Behind, a major Bush administration initiative to boost the performance of poor and minority children and punish schools that don't show positive results.
Williams is a prominent black conservative voice who is host of the TV and radio show "The Right Side." He writes op-ed pieces that are distributed by Tribune Media Services to newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, USA Today and The Washington Times.
The lucrative deal negotiatedl between the Department of Education and public relations giant Ketchum Inc. paid Williams' firm to produce ads that promoted the administration's initiative and ran during his shows.
The contract also required Williams to regularly comment on the No Child Left Behind Act during his broadcasts and to urge other black journalists to do the same, according to USA Today, which obtained the contract though a Freedom of Information request.
Williams, a South Carolina native and former staff aide to the late Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond, said Friday he regretted the deal.
"My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again and I learned from it," he said in an interview. "There's a thin line. There's a gray area and I think I crossed it."
He said that although he is a commentator and not a journalist, he still should abide by the same ethical standards.
Williams disclosed during his show that the Department of Education was paying for the ads, which featured Education Secretary Rod Paige.
Williams would not say whether he knew of other commentators who had similar contracts with the government.
On Capitol Hill, three members of the Senate, including Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, wrote a letter demanding that the White House recover the $240,000 the government paid Williams.
The letter, also signed by Sens. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, said the payments were illegal.
The Democrats complained that the administration's attempt to "bribe journalists to bias their news in favor of government policies undermines the integrity of our democracy."
'Deeply disturbing'
The senators asked the White House to disclose if any other journalists or members of the media have been paid to "skew their media reports."
Rep. George Miller of California, ranking Democrat on the House Committee for Education and the Workforce, said the Education Department's deal with Williams was "deeply disturbing." He called for an investigation into whether it might have violated the law or ethical standards.
The White House referred questions to the Education Department.
A statement issued by the agency said the contract "paid to provide the straightforward distribution of information about the department's mission" and that it is a "permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures."
Bob Steele, a scholar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, said journalists should never be partners with government officials on such efforts.
"It is the role of journalists ? and to some degree Armstrong Williams falls within that category ? to hold the government and government officials accountable," Steele said. "We should provide meaningful, substantive, fair, accurate and ? here's the key ? independent reporting on government policies and activities."
Melanie Sloan, executive director of the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the Bush administration is exhibiting a pattern of using taxpayer money for propaganda.
Sloan's group plans to submit Freedom of Information requests to government agencies to find out whether other commentators and journalists are being paid by the government.
"This is very likely only the tip of the iceberg," she said.
? Dayton Daily News reporter Jim Bebbington contributed to this article.
.............................................................
No wonder our news is bias. Its bought and paid for .
