By Eunice Moscoso - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

From: http://www.tbrnews.org/Archives/a1305.htm

January 8, 2005

COX NEWS SERVICE

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.

Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said that 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 heard that Williams accepted $240,000 through his public relations company to promote the No Child Left Behind Act, a major Bush administration initiative that seeks to boost the performance of poor and minority children and punishes schools that don't show results.

Williams is a prominent black conservative voice, hosting the TV and radio show "The Right Side" and writing op-ed pieces that are distributed by Tribune Media Services to various newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, the Detroit Free Press, USA Today and the Washington Times.

The contract, negotiated through a deal between the Department of Education and public relations giant Ketchum Inc., required Williams' firm to produce ads promoting the law, which were run during his shows.

It also required him to regularly comment on the No Child Left Behind Act during the course of 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. "My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again and I learned from it," he said. "There's a thin line. There's a gray area and I think I crossed it."

He also said that although he was a commentator, and not a journalist, he still should abide by the same ethical standards.

Williams said that he did disclose during his show that the Department of Education was paying for the advertisements that featured Education Secretary Rod Paige. Williams would not say whether he knew of other commentators that held similar contracts with the government.

On Capitol Hill, three senators -- including Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada -- wrote a letter to the White House demanding that the administration recover the $240,000 from Williams.

The letter, also signed by Sens. Ted Kennedy, D- Mass., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said the payments violated the law and that the administration's attempt to "bribe journalists to bias their news in favor of government policies undermines the integrity of our democracy."

The senators also asked the White House to disclose if any other journalists or media organizations have been paid to "skew their media reports."

Republican Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, chairman of the Education Committee and one of the chief promoters of the No Child Left Behind Act, wants the Department of Education inspector general to look into the contract, said his spokesman Steve Forde.

The White House referred questions to the Department of Education.

In a statement, the department said that 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 that journalists should never be partners with government officials on such efforts and that Williams has created competing loyalties by his contractual, financial obligations.

"It is the role of journalists -- and to some degree Armstrong Williams falls within that category -- to hold the government and government officials accountable. We should provide meaningful, substantive, fair, accurate and here's the key -- independent -- reporting on government policies and activities," Steele said.

The Williams' contract is the latest in a series of apparent efforts by the Bush administration to influence media coverage, including:

The General Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said on Thursday that the Office of National Drug Control Policy broke federal law when it produced and distributed packaged news segments about drug use among the nation's youth. The GAO said the videos, broadcast by nearly 300 stations, amounted to "covert propaganda" because they were not identified as government-made.

The GAO scolded the White House in May for creating television news spots that promoted the new Medicare law, which is intended to help older Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines. The segments had actors posing as television reporters.

Also last year, the Department of Education paid a public relations firm to rate the reporting on the No Child Left Behind Act of writers from 13 newspapers so that those with low scores could be "targeted for doing more education about the issue."

Television news shows in more than 20 cities last year included a pre-packaged, favorable story about the federal student loan program that wasn't identified as taxpayer-financed. The story was prepared as a "video news release" for the Department of Education by Ketchum, Inc.

Potomac Watch is a weekly look at issues and personalities in Washington, D.C.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------