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Author Message   Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 295 Registered: 9-2004 Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 3:01 pm:        Seems Armstrong Williams is not the only case Read on: http://www.mydd.com/story/2005/1/10/13331/8202 Payolagate by Chris Bowers Much of this is via Oliver Willis, who has a tremendous amount of good blogging on Armstrong Williams and Payolagate. My question is, just how deep does the rabbit hole go? So far, the Bush administration has been caught doing this four times in just the last eight months. First, last May: May 20--When the Bush administration distributed mock news videos to promote its Medicare prescription drug law, it violated federal restrictions against using taxpayer money for propaganda, according to a May 19 report from the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). After the prescription drug bill passed last fall, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) distributed video "news releases" to television stations around the country praising the drug program. In the videos, actors portray reporters. The GAO report found because viewers couldn't tell the message came from the government, the video news releases violated restrictions against using federal funds for publicity or propaganda. The videos look like news reports and end with the tagline, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting." A Spanish-language version ends with a similar sign-off from Alberto Garcia. "The viewing audience does not know that Karen Ryan and Alberto Garcia were paid with HHS funds for their work," says Anthony Gamboa, general counsel for GAO, Congress' investigative arm. Second, in October: WASHINGTON Oct 11, 2004 -- The Bush administration has promoted its education law with a video that comes across as a news story but fails to make clear the reporter involved was paid with taxpayer money. The government used a similar approach this year in promoting the new Medicare law and drew a rebuke from the investigative arm of Congress, which found the videos amounted to propaganda in violation of federal law. The Education Department also has paid for rankings of newspaper coverage of the No Child Left Behind law, a centerpiece of the president's domestic agenda. Points are awarded for stories that say President Bush and the Republican Party are strong on education, among other factors. The news ratings also rank individual reporters on how they cover the law, based on the points system set up by Ketchum, a public relations firm hired by the government. Next, last week: Shortly before last year's Super Bowl, local news stations across the country aired a story by Mike Morris describing plans for a new White House ad campaign on the dangers of drug abuse. What viewers did not know was that Morris is not a journalist and his "report" was produced by the government, actions that constituted illegal "covert propaganda," according to an investigation by the Government Accountability Office. In the second ruling of its kind, the investigative arm of Congress this week scolded the Bush administration for distributing phony prepackaged news reports that include a "suggested live intro" for anchors to read, interviews with Washington officials and a closing that mimics a typical broadcast news sign off. Although television stations knew the materials were produced by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, there was nothing in the two-minute, prepackaged reports that would indicate to viewers that they came from the government or that Morris, a former journalist, was working under contract for the government. "You think you are getting a news story, but what you are getting is a paid announcement," said Susan A. Poling, managing associate general counsel at the GAO. "What is objectionable about these is the fact the viewer has no idea their tax dollars are being used to write and produce this video segment." And, of course, Armstrong Williams: I asked if Williams had yet been conducted by the inspector general at the Education Department, the agency that had awarded the contract that supplied him $241,000 for promoting the NCLB measure within the African-American community. Representative George Miller, the ranking Democrat on the education committee, and other House Democrats had already called for an investigation. Why should the IG contact me? Williams replied, noting he had been merely a subcontractor. Any thorough investigation, I remarked, would include questioning the subcontractor. He scratched his head. "Funny," he said. "I thought this [contract] was a blessing at the time." And then Williams violated a PR rule: he got off-point. "This happens all the time," he told me. "There are others." Really? I said. Other conservative commentators accept money from the Bush administration? I asked Williams for names. "I'm not going to defend myself that way," he said. The issue right now, he explained, was his own mistake. Well, I said, what if I call you up in a few weeks, after this blows over, and then ask you? No, he said. The Bush administration has been caught doing this four times in the last eight months. Further, one of the people implicated in the scandal claims that it happens "all the time."x Still further, The Republican Noise Machine is well known to bankroll a legion of bought and paid for spokespeople to appear on television news and be quoted by journalists in an attempt to dominate the national political discourse. **************************** Tax payers should file a Class Action Suit against the Bush Administration. My tax dollars being used for their propaganda? I think NOT!   themp Citizen Username: Themp Post Number: 1367 Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 3:03 pm:        http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/05/01/con05009.html   Madden 11 Citizen Username: Madden_11 Post Number: 585 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 4:12 pm:        Boring. Sorry, the White House paid me to say that.   notehead Supporter Username: Notehead Post Number: 1857 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 5:24 pm:        Hey, this is the government that went the extra mile to give itself permission to torture people. This paid endorsement stuff is hardly surprising.   Nohero Citizen Username: Nohero Post Number: 4250 Registered: 10-1999 Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 9:30 pm:        So, which MOL-ers are on the take?   Madden 11 Citizen Username: Madden_11 Post Number: 586 Registered: 12-2003 Posted on Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - 11:07 pm:        So, which MOL-ers are on the take? I'd be berry interested to know.   Reflective Citizen Username: Reflective Post Number: 647 Registered: 3-2003 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 12:03 am:        John, Dan from move-on , in my opinion. Note; key words - my opinion--. There are several others who may be...... but I believe these two are being funded from the same international anti-american anti -bush organizations, which brought personal and hateful ads during the campaign. Pls note that that is only my opinion. And you contrarians, pls note that I have a right to express my opinion, last time I looked. As much you detest someone expressing an opinion different from yours, it is unfortunately for you a freedom of speech thing, you currently have to deal with.   Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 607 Registered: 5-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 3:33 am:        Reflective - Um, how can Moveon (I assume that's who you mean) be getting illegal funding from the US Gov't when they are opposing that administration's actions? The subject is illegal actions by the gov't in promoting it's agenda, not who is a shill for who. This seems to have touched a nerve with you. Perhaps you can lobby to have these restrictions (you know, the ones where the gov't isn't supposed to pretend to be a news outlet) lifted.   Phenixrising Citizen Username: Phenixrising Post Number: 296 Registered: 9-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 8:01 am:        The subject is illegal actions by the gov't in promoting it's agenda, not who is a shill for who. DITTO! I guess REFLECTive is trying to DEFLECT the real issue here.   Southerner Citizen Username: Southerner Post Number: 53 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 8:11 am:        We all know nothing is going to come from any of this. It does make for an interesting and juicy topic however. This Republican Admin got caught first but I guarantee it won't be long until a long laundry list comes out about the Clinton Administration. It's called politics. And this is a fun political football during a rather bland political month (other than the Inauguration - which is pretty darned bland itself).   ffof Citizen Username: Ffof Post Number: 3223 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 8:54 am:        typical right wing tactic, trying to drag Clinton in to the topic to deflect from the current admin's deceitfulness.   Bobkat Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 7218 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 8:57 am:        I think the practice of making unattributed "news" videos has been going on back to at least Bush I. However, the payola to seemingly legitimate commentators is, I am 99% sure, brand new.   Tom Reingold Supporter Username: Noglider Post Number: 5125 Registered: 1-2003 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 10:22 am:        As the Times editorial said, leaving aside the morality, it was a bad use of federal money because it was as redundant as paying football fans to watch the superbowl.   Bobkat Supporter Username: Bobk Post Number: 7220 Registered: 5-2001 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 10:33 am:        ..........which makes it look more and more like using tax dollars to support a commentator sympathetic to the administrations pov.   Southerner Citizen Username: Southerner Post Number: 54 Registered: 2-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 12:28 pm:        Ffof, I didn't say I was going to compile the Clinton list. But I guarantee right now some Republicans are going back over the records to make a list to make the Dems look bad. I don't agree with this but it's called politics. The Repubs got caught and arent' going to just say sorry. That's not how the game is played. They will say "yeah, but he did it to". I'm not condoning this but I know DC well enough to know what's next. We've seen this movie before and the ending is always the same. My personal view is that if the law was broken then throw them in jail. But I know my view doesn't really matter because I'm not a prosecutor in DC.