Education Department paid commentator to promote law

[jamesglewisf]

What do you think of that? It sounds pretty hokey to me. Why does the government need to promote a law?

WASHINGTON -- Government watchdogs, media groups and lawmakers are raising new questions about White House efforts to shape news coverage after revelations yesterday that the administration paid syndicated pundit Armstrong Williams $240,000 to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.

The story comes on the heels of an internal government report blasting the Office of National Drug Control Policy for distributing commercials that were broadcast as news reports. The Department of Education also paid a public relations firm to produce commercials last year that were aired by stations across the country as news items.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/207046_pot08.html
I wonder if this goes on more than we know about. It's probably not illegal, but it sure seems like a waste of money.

At almost every Dallas Mavericks game, the Dallas Independent School District has advertisements touting themselves. That seems equally wrong. I don't think a public school (not college) needs to advertise. They have a pretty captive audience.

[jamesglewisf]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&u=/washpost/20050108/ts_washpost/a56330_2005jan7&printer=1

Williams's newspaper syndicate, Tribune Media Services, yesterday canceled his column. And one television network dropped his program pending an investigation.

That is certainly understandable.

[theyeti]

Actually, this type of propaganda is very much illegal, and if it comes out that Bush himself was behind it, rather than only the Education Department like he claims, it should be very solid grounds for impeachment if our Congress is interested one bit in following the law. What baffles me is why they would pay a guy like Armstrong Williams who was already a sellout to the Administration.

This type of payola is disgusting. It honestly makes me ashamed to live here. How many people hear, have heard and are hearing right now this type of information and not knowing the real source? How many other media figures have been paid? We have no way of knowing.

[jamesglewisf]

It is pretty sickening if it is going on. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. You'd like to think that the Feds would be smart enough to look at all of the legal aspects of something before doing it.

[jamesglewisf]

I'm trying to find the story today on any of the major news networks' website front pages (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX), and I can't find it. It isn't a headline at google news either. I wonder if it is a bigger story on talk radio than anywhere else. I certainly heard about it all weekend and even this morning on talk radio. I was pleased to hear the conservative guy not just blowing over it like it was no big deal.

I'll be interested in seeing how it plays out. I hope it isn't just a partisan issue. If they did something wrong, then I want them busted big time. If they didn't do anything wrong, then I don't want to hear about it for the next year.

Think about the decision by Armstrong Williams. It looks like it could be costing him everything. Here is his apology - http://www.townhall.com/columnists/Armstrongwilliams/aw20050110.shtml. I fear for him that it is too little too late.

[theyeti]

I don't. In any other profession an ethics breach like this would be grounds to lose your career, and it should be no different for Williams.

And, humble servant that he is, now he let it slip that "there are others." Great. Anyone have any good reasons left to trust the media? ("I don't have the time to do otherwise" doesn't count.)

http://www.thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=2114

[JacMac]

Tell it like it is, Yeti...

Hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears this time....may he be seen in the light for what he is. a Liar, a Cheater, and a Scoundrel...impeach the jerk as far as I'm concerned. I will never understand why people defend his blatent lies, but Clinton, who's lies did not affect the welfare of billions of people nor whether they lived or died was dragged into the light and humiliated. Completely unforgiven. But this madman is defended right and left. Where are our priorities America?
{soapbox}

[theyeti]

You mean dress stains AREN'T more important than motives for starting a war? Have you seen this country's dirty laundry lately??

er...

;)

[JacMac]

Have you seen this?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4276489

It's the story of yet another biased media story where 4 CBS workers were fired for basing a segment (Back on Sept. 8th) on Dubya (in the Texas Air National Guard) on falsified documents. Granted this is in his favor so, truthfully, the only reason I'm listing it is because it shows, once again....your question proposed earlier...why should we trust the media? Because, like Fox, they claim to be "fair and balanced" and yet do everything that is the exact opposite? Just a little excerpt on who was fired at CBS "The firings included Betsy West, the senior vice president for prime time news programs; Josh Howard, the executive producer of 60 Minutes Wednesday; and Howard's deputy, senior broadcast producer Mary Murphy. The producer of the report, Mary Mapes, was also fired." I think they should simply demolish all the news station like they have everything in Iraq and try again....

[Noseypoo]

FCC orders probe of Williams - Bush deal (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=414309)
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission ordered an investigation Friday into whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose he was paid by the Bush administration to plug the president's education agenda.