"Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it? I don't know. You tell me."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36545-2005Jan25.html

Writer Backing Bush Plan Had Gotten Federal Contract

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 26, 2005; Page C01

In 2002, syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher repeatedly defended President Bush's push for a $300 million initiative encouraging marriage as a way of strengthening families.

"The Bush marriage initiative would emphasize the importance of marriage to poor couples" and "educate teens on the value of delaying childbearing until marriage," she wrote in National Review Online, for example, adding that this could "carry big payoffs down the road for taxpayers and children."

But Gallagher failed to mention that she had a $21,500 contract with the Department of Health and Human Services to help promote the president's proposal. Her work under the contract, which ran from January through October 2002, *******d drafting a magazine article for the HHS official overseeing the initiative, writing brochures for the program and conducting a briefing for department officials.

heres her response to the post article, and the authors rebuttal: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000778178

while not nearly as bad as armstrong williams payola scandal it still raises a lot of eyebrows. call me crazy, but i sincerely doubt that these are the only two people guilty of this. id personally love to see many more get revealed. although the democrats will blow it and not even begin to capitalize on it. were these two commentators democrats with a democrat in office you couldnt even fathom the shit strom that would be brewed up

Originally posted by sleeper
although the democrats will blow it and not even begin to capitalize on it.

Most likely because democrats do the same.

Originally posted by Mayfuck


Most likely because democrats do the same.

they probably do, but since when did that matter in milking a scandal for political ground? the only difference is that the republicans got caught. the democrats have to get more dirty, they should be crying bloody murder right now.

Originally posted by Mayfuck


Most likely because democrats do the same.

exactly. The democrats don't want to build momentum against this because eventually they'll be found guilty of it.

Also most of the media is already decidedly liberal so there's no need for the Dems to make payouts

Originally posted by Nimrod's Son
Also most of the media is already decidedly liberal so there's no need for the Dems to make payouts

arent you literally on the government payroll? haha, i knew it. take your propaganda elsewhere

Originally posted by sleeper


arent you literally on the government payroll?
no

Originally posted by Nimrod's Son
Also most of the media is already decidedly liberal so there's no need for the Dems to make payouts

Who decided?

arent you literally on the government payroll? haha, i knew it. take your propaganda elsewhere

:rofl:

source: http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012905Z.shtml

Third Columnist Caught with Hand in the Bush Till

By Eric Boehlert
Salon.com
Thursday 27 January 2005

Michael McManus, conservative author of the syndicated column 'Ethics & Religion,' received $10,000 to promote a marriage initiative.

One day after President Bush ordered his Cabinet secretaries to stop hiring commentators to help promote administration initiatives, and one day after the second high-profile conservative pundit was found to be on the federal payroll, a third embarrassing hire has emerged. Salon has confirmed that Michael McManus, a marriage advocate whose syndicated column, 'Ethics & Religion,' appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to foster a Bush-approved marriage initiative. McManus championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.

Responding to the latest revelation, Dr. Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at HHS, announced Thursday that HHS would institute a new policy that forbids the agency from hiring any outside expert or consultant who has any working affiliation with the media. 'I needed to draw this bright line,' Horn tells Salon. 'The policy is being implemented and we're moving forward.'

Horn's move came on the heels of Wednesday's report in the Washington Post that HHS had paid syndicated columnist and marriage advocate Maggie Gallagher $21,000 to write brochures and essays and to brief government employees on the president's marriage initiative. Gallagher later wrote in her column that she would have revealed the $21,000 payment to readers had she recalled receiving it.

The Gallagher revelation came just three weeks after USA Today reported that the Education Department, through a contract with the Ketchum public relations firm, paid $240,000 to Armstrong Williams, a conservative African-American print, radio and television pundit, to help promote Bush's No Child Left Behind program to minority audiences.

To date, the Bush administration has paid public relation firms $250 million to help push proposals, according to a report Thursday in USA Today. That's double what the Clinton administration spent on P.R. from 1997 to 2000. Shortly after Williams' contract came to light, the Democrats on the Committee on Government Reform wrote a letter to President Bush demanding that he 'immediately provide to us all past and ongoing efforts to engage in covert propaganda, whether through contracts with commentators, the distribution of video news releases, or other means.' As of Thursday, a staffer on the committee told Salon, there had been no response.

Horn says McManus, who could not be reached for comment, was paid approximately $10,000 for his work as a subcontractor to the Lewin Group, a health care consultancy hired by HHS to implement the Community Healthy Marriage Initiative, which encourages communities to combat divorce through education and counseling. McManus provided training during two-day conferences in Chattanooga, Tenn., and also made presentations at HHS-sponsored conferences. His syndicated column has appeared in such papers as the Washington Times, the Dallas Morning News and the Charlotte Observer.

Horn, who has known McManus for years, says he first learned about the payment on Thursday. In the wake of the Gallagher story, he asked his staff to review all outside contracts and determine if there were any other columnists being paid by HHS. They informed him about McManus. Horn says the review for similar contracts continues.

Horn insists that HHS was not paying Gallagher and McManus to write about Bush administration initiatives but for their expertise as marriage advocates. 'We live in a complicated world and people wear many different hats,' he says. 'People who have expertise might also be writing columns. The line has become increasingly blurred between who's a member of the media and who is not. Thirty years ago if you were a columnist, then you were a full-time employee of a newspaper. Columnists today are different.'

The problem springs from the failure of both Gallagher and McManus to disclose their government payments when writing about the Bush proposals. But one HHS critic says another dynamic has led to the controversy, and a blurring of ethical and journalistic lines: Horn and HHS are hiring advocates -- not scholars -- from the pro-marriage movement. 'They're ideological sympathizers who propagandize,' says Tim Casey, attorney for Legal Momentum, a women's rights organization. He describes McManus as being a member of the 'extreme religious right.'

Horn denies the charge: 'It's not true that we have just been selectively working with conservatives.' According to news accounts, the administration seeks to spend $1.5 billion promoting marriage through marriage-enrichment courses, counseling and public-awareness campaigns.

In 1996, McManus co-founded Marriage Savers, a conservative advocacy group, which, among other things, urges clergy not to conduct a marriage ceremony unless the couple has had lengthy counseling first. 'The church should not be a 'wedding factory,' but a training ground for strong marriages to go the distance -- for life,' McManus wrote.

In his April 3, 2004, column, McManus wrote, 'The Healthy Marriage Initiative would provide funds to help those couples improve their skills of conflict resolution so they might actually marry -- and be equipped to build a healthy marriage. Those skills can be taught by mentor couples in churches for free. But for the non-religious, counselors would be paid.'

A year earlier, McManus assured readers that funds provided for the Healthy Marriage Initiative 'could be used to teach skills to improve communication and resolve conflict that would make the relationship happier and lead to a healthy marriage.' He based that assessment on comments made by HHS's Horn, who, indirectly, served as McManus' boss -- although that relationship was never revealed to readers.

--------
Eric Boehlert is a senior writer at Salon.

Originally posted by Knight0440
source: http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012905Z.shtml

Third Columnist Caught with Hand in the Bush Till

[/i]

I'm not getting too excited yet, but I am getting a little perturbed by this trend.

Originally posted by wally

I'm not getting too excited yet, but I am getting a little perturbed by this trend.
I'm not so sure its really a trend. The Armstrong Williams thing is totally indefensible, but it appears that these later two cases can be distinguished from it. In the Williams case, its quite obvious that the government paid him big money specifically to espouse a point of view. Simple as that. The money went for favorable press.

In the other two cases, the two commentators were on the government payroll, sure, but they weren't getting paid for their advocacy. This wasn't a "here's some money, say nice things" sort of situation like it was with Williams. They were going to say those things anyway. That's not to say everything is on the up and up with these two...but its definitely not nearly as disturbing or infuriating as the Williams fiasco.

Originally posted by Corganist

I'm not so sure its really a trend. The Armstrong Williams thing is totally indefensible, but it appears that these later two cases can be distinguished from it. In the Williams case, its quite obvious that the government paid him big money specifically to espouse a point of view. Simple as that. The money went for favorable press.

In the other two cases, the two commentators were on the government payroll, sure, but they weren't getting paid for their advocacy. This wasn't a "here's some money, say nice things" sort of situation like it was with Williams. They were going to say those things anyway. That's not to say everything is on the up and up with these two...but its definitely not nearly as disturbing or infuriating as the Williams fiasco.

thats one way of looking at it: they were payed by the government to make pamphlets and hold seminars, or whatever it is theyre saying theyre doing, because of the fact that they are marriage advocates, not that theyre marriage advocates because theyre being payed to for it. im sure thats legal. but then they, say, get hired by some major newspapers to write an opinion piece on marriage or bush's marriage initiatives but then dont disclose that theyre under contract from the government to promote said policy, not necessarily in op-eds but in other arenas. this doesnt represent a conflict of interests? what if, lets say, they had something negative to say about the marriage initiative, something they legitimately disagreed with, could they talk about it without losing that sweet wad of money?

Next up : conservatives' answer to Noam Chomsky, Dennis Prager.

i'm surprised i was even allowed to find out about it.
but then again, because of 911, no wrongs they commit have consequences. now if someone has an extramarital affair, well, then things may be different. THAT'S a big deal.

i hope ken starr has cancer.

and now this Jeff Gannon thing...

I'm NOT saying that this is some sort of coordinated effort by Bushco to infiltrate the media, but it IS a trend.

Link to story (http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=48)

Rep. Slaughter Calls on President Bush to Explain Emerging White House Briefing Room Scandal

Washington, DC - Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (NY-28), long time champion of media reform and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Rules, sent a letter to President George W. Bush today asking him to explain how discredited “reporter” Jeff Gannon was credentialed as a member of the legitimate media by the White House.

The letter follows

Wednesday, February 9, 2005

The Honorable George W. Bush
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

In light of the mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies, I feel compelled to ask you to address a matter brought to my attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James “JD” Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News.

According to several credible reports, “Mr. Gannon” has been repeatedly credentialed as a member of the White House press corps by your office and has been regularly called upon in White House press briefings by your Press Secretary Scott McClellan, despite the fact evidence shows that “Mr. Gannon” is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the “news” he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel.

Several weeks ago when it was revealed that radio/TV host Armstrong Williams had received payment from your Administration in exchange for his vocal support of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ initiative, I was stunned. For years now I have been leading the fight in Congress for fairness and accountability in the media; the Williams revelation only underscored the need for a media that has integrity, is balanced and expresses the local interests and concerns of its consumers.

Since that time, two more members of the media have been found to have received money from your Administration in exchange for their vocal, yet undisclosed support of Administration policies.

And just this morning we have learned that “Mr. Gannon” has resigned his post at the, so called, Talon News amid growing concerns over his controversial background and falsified qualifications. In fact, it appears that “Mr. Gannon’s” presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration.

Mr. President, I am sure we both agree the White House press corps is an honored institution in America that should be beyond the scope of partisan meddling, and that a free and independent media is the cornerstone of our success as a democracy. Likewise, I am sure we can both agree the American people have the right to expect that journalists who question their President everyday are experienced, independent, and perhaps most importantly, unbiased in their approach.

I was already concerned about what appears to be an organized campaign to mask partisan propaganda as legitimate news by your Administration. That we have now learned this same type of deception is occurring inside the White House briefing room itself is even more disturbing.

That is why I am asking you to please explain to the Congress and to the American people how and why the individual known as “Mr. Gannon” was repeatedly cleared by your staff to join the legitimate White House press corps?

Mr. President, your Administration has driven the so-called “values” debate in this country. But the most important value for those of us in public service should always be honesty and integrity, particularly when considering the manner in which we conduct our affairs of state.

I would appreciate your prompt response on this matter.

Respectfully,

/LMS

Louise M. Slaughter

Ranking Member, House Committee on Rules

From the Niagara Falls Reporter on Monday, February 7, 2005

AN OPEN LETTER TO LOUISE SLAUGHTER
Dear Rep. Slaughter,

As a small newspaper located in your district, we are asking for your help. It has come to our attention that an individual who calls himself “Jeff Gannon” has been credentialed by the White House to attend press briefings and presidential news conferences.

He is affiliated with an organization called Talon News, and is frequently called on by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan and President Bush. This individual has no background in journalism whatsoever, and his “syndicated column” appears solely on his personal Web site, www.jeffgannon.com. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, “Jeff Gannon” isn’t even his real name.

In his biography at the Talon News site, where he holds the title of “Washington Bureau Chief,” he claims to be a graduate of the “Pennsylvania State University System” and the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism.

While the 23 schools in the Penn State system award diplomas, the system itself does not, and the Daily News investigation has thus far failed to turn up a “Jeff Gannon” who holds a degree in education from Penn State, as this person claims he does. Furthermore, the Leadership Institute Broadcast School of Journalism is a right-wing diploma mill where anyone with $50 and two days to waste can receive a degree.

As for Talon News itself, it seems to consist solely of a Web site that links directly to a Republican site called www.gopusa.com. Both Talon and GOPUSA have the same mailing address, a private residence in Texas. It isn’t clear whether anyone at Talon News is paid, as one portion of its site asks, “Want to join the Talon News team? Click here to find out more about being a volunteer reporter for Talon News.”

Looking at the staff biography section of the site, none

of the 10 individuals listed appear to have any training or previous experience in journalism, although all list credentials as Republican activists.

We respectfully ask your office to look into how a partisan political organization and an individual with no credentials as a reporter – and apparently operating under an assumed name – landed a coveted spot in the White House press corps.

Sincerely,

Bruce Battaglia, publisher, Mike Hudson, editor in chief, Rebecca Day, senior editor, David Staba, sports editor, Bill Gallagher, national correspondent, John Hanchette, senior correspondent, Frank Thomas Croisdale, contributing editor, Bill Bradberry, contributing editor, Niagara Falls Reporter.

i saved all those naughty pictures of jeff gannon. :O