Bush's Education Dept. paid commentator to promote law

I read that this morning first thing as luck would have it while having my coffee and it made me vurp...disgusting but not unexpected or surprising....sort of like how the usual suspects will be along to defend it soon...

In an attempt to "sell" its No Child Left Behind program, the Bush administration paid prominent black guy and TV host Armstrong Williams $240,000 in taxpayer funds to promote NCLB and urge other prominent black guys to do the same. Armstrong was also hired to conduct and air interview spots with fellow prominent black guy and soon-to-be-ex-Secretary of Education Rod "The NEA is a Terrorist Group" Paige.

Williams is also a former clerk for prominent black guy and Supreme Court Justice Clarence "Pubic-Coke" Thomas.

Who said a brother can't get a break in the Bush administration?

And this surprises you ?

Please.

FOX "News" must just draft funds directly from the treasury account.

Jesus...what more is to be said about the integrity and ethics of these bastards.

"It's a fine line," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "Even though I'm not a journalist ?- I'm a commentator ?- I feel I should be held to the media ethics standard. My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again, and I learned from it."

Tribune Media Services, which syndicates William's weekly newspaper column, said in a statement yesterday that after several conversations with Williams it had decided to cut its ties with the commentator immediately. A copy of the statement was published on the Poynter Institute's web site.

By accepting the money, the statement said, Williams created, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest. "Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party,' the statement said.

Armstrong Williams Column Axed by TMS
Dys, it is interesting that within hours of Williams stating he is not a journalist, he reversed himself and said he is. ---BBB

Armstrong Williams Column Axed by TMS
By Dave Astor is a senior editor at Editors and Publishers
Published: January 07, 2005 8:45 PM ET

NEW YORK Tribune Media Services (TMS) tonight terminated its contract with columnist Armstrong Williams, effective immediately. But Williams told E&P that he plans to continue his feature via self-syndication.

TMS' action came after USA Today reported this morning that Williams had accepted $240,000 from the Bush administration to promote the No Child Left Behind education-reform law on his TV and radio shows. E&P subsequently reported that Williams had also written about NCLB in his newspaper column at least four times last year.

In a statement, TMS said: "[A]ccepting compensation in any form from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest. Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party."

John Twohey, vice president of editorial and operations at TMS, told E&P tonight that terminating the contract "wasn't a close call" after he and four other senior TMS executives discussed the matter.

"I understand the decision," Williams said when reached by E&P. He also said he would not be returning the $240,000.

Williams said the $240,000 in payments were made to promote NCLB as part of an advertising campaign on his syndicated "The Right Side" TV show and that this ad campaign was disclosed to the show's viewers. But he acknowledged that the payments weren't disclosed to other audiences, including readers of his newspaper column. Williams also acknowledged that he mentioned NCLB in some of his 2004 columns, but he said he didn't make NCLB a "centerpiece" in them.

The columnist plans to start trying to self-syndicate his feature this Monday. How many of his nearly 50 newspaper clients does he think will keep the feature? "That remains to be seen," Williams replied. "But I always feel I can sell my product better than anyone else."

He added: "I'm wounded now, but, guess what, wounds heel."

Williams also discussed the matter during an appearance today on CNN's "Crossfire" with Paul Begala and Robert Novak (who has faced ethics questions of his own after outing an undercover CIA agent in his Chicago Sun-Times/Creators Syndicate column).

According to a CNN transcript, Williams said: "This has been a great lesson for me. I apologize. ... I should be criticized, and I crossed some ethical lines. I've learned from this. It will never happen again."

Bryan Monroe, vice president-print for the National Association of Black Journalists and an assistant vice president-news at Knight Ridder, said in a statement: "I thought we in media were supposed to be watchdogs, not lapdogs." Monroe, speaking before TMS terminated Williams, added that while Williams "has long since abandoned any pretense of being a journalist, his actions still taint those who share the values and ethics of journalism, no matter what color you are."

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders in the U.S. Congress sent President Bush a letter that mentioned the $240,000 payment to Williams. The letter said: "Covert propaganda to influence public opinion is unethical and dangerous."

The full text of the TMS statement:

"Tribune Media Services (TMS) today informed Armstrong Williams that it is terminating its business relationship with him effective immediately. After several conversations with Mr. Williams today in which he acknowledged receipt of $240,000 from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), TMS exercised its option to discontinue distribution of his weekly newspaper column.

"The fact that Mr. Williams failed to notify TMS of his receipt (through the Ketchum public relations agency) of payments from the DOE is a violation of provisions in his syndication agreement with TMS. The agreement requires him to notify TMS when 'a possible or potential conflict of interest arises due to the subject matter of (his columns) and the social, professional, financial, or business relations of (Mr. Williams).'

"We accept Mr. Williams' explanation that these payments by Ketchum on behalf of DOE were for advertising messages broadcast on his radio and TV shows. Nevertheless, accepting compensation in any form from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest. Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party."

U.S. Paid Commentator to Tout School Law
U.S. Paid Commentator to Tout School Law
By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration paid a prominent commentator to promote the No Child Left Behind schools law to fellow blacks and to give the education secretary media time, records show.

A company run by Armstrong Williams, the syndicated commentator, was paid $240,000 by the Education Department. The goal was to deliver positive messages about Bush's education overhaul, using Williams' broad reach with minorities.

The deal, which drew a fast rebuke from Democrats on Capitol Hill, is the latest to put the department on the defensive for the way it has promoted Bush's signature domestic policy.

The contract required Williams' company, the Graham Williams Group, to produce radio and TV ads that feature one-minute "reads" by Education Secretary Rod Paige. The deal also allowed Paige and other department officials to appear as studio guests with Williams.

Williams, one of the leading black conservative voices in the country, was also to use his influence with other black journalists to get them to talk about No Child Left Behind.

The law, a centerpiece of President Bush's domestic agenda, aims to raise achievement among poor and minority children, with penalties for many schools that don't make progress.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Friday that the decisions on the practice were made by the Education Department. He did not directly answer when asked whether the White House approved of the practice, saying it was a department matter.

The Education Department defended its decision as a "permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures." The point was to help parents, particularly in poor and minority communities, understand the benefits of the law, the department said.

Williams called criticism of his relationship with the department "legitimate."

"It's a fine line," he told The Associated Press on Friday. "Even though I'm not a journalist ?- I'm a commentator ?- I feel I should be held to the media ethics standard. My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again, and I learned from it."

Three Democratic senators ?- Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Harry Reid of Nevada ?- wrote Bush Friday to demand he recover the money paid to Armstrong. The lawmakers contended that "the act of bribing journalists to bias their news in favor of government policies undermines the integrity of our democracy."

Rep. George Miller of California, the top Democrat on the House education committee, asked for an inspector general investigation into whether the deal was legal and ethical. The Republican chairman of the committee, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, supported the request.

Miller and other Democrats also wrote Bush to call for an end to "covert propaganda."

The department's contract with Williams, through the public relations firm Ketchum, dates to 2003 and 2004. It follows another recent flap about the agency's publicity efforts.

The Bush administration has promoted No Child Left Behind with a video that comes across as a news story but fails to make clear the reporter involved was paid with taxpayer money. It has also has paid for rankings of newspaper coverage of the law, with points awarded for stories that say Bush and the Republican Party are strong on education. The Government Accountability Office, Congress' auditing arm, is investigating those spending decisions.

The GAO has twice ruled that the Bush administration's use of prepackaged videos ?- to promote federal drug policy and a new Medicare law ?- is "covert propaganda" because the videos do not make clear to the public that the government produced the promotional news.

"There is no defense for using taxpayer dollars to pay journalists for 'fake news' and favorable coverage of a federal program," said Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, a liberal group that has tracked the department's spending.

Information about the contract with Williams was first reported by USA Today.
------------------------------------------

AP writer Brendan Farrington contributed to this report.

Who is Armstrong Williams-What is the Graham Williams Group?
A rising star as one of America's most provocative and intelligent pundits, Armstrong Williams is a powerful voice for moral values in America's public debate. He defends his views on what's right for America on radio, television and in print.

True to his entrepreneurial spirit, Williams is Chief Executive Officer of Graham Williams Group, an international public relations firm based in Washington, D.C. Clients of the Graham Williams Group include corporations and individuals from the business community, entertainment industry and political arena, such as Century 21, Computerland executive Terry Giles and poet laureate Maya Angelou. Williams is also a former partner in Premier Limousine, Garden Grove Toyota and Onyx Travel.

In addition, he hosts The Right Side With Armstrong Williams, a nationally-syndicated talk radio program covering subjects of national and local importance and featuring prominent guest experts on today's hottest, most topical issues. For The Right Side, Williams was voted into Vanity Fair magazine's 1996 Hall of Fame as one of the most visible radio voices in America.

The show was also on television on the National Empowerment Television Network, which featured interviews with many of the same stimulating guests and topics broadcast on the radio. Past guests of the programs have included former Vice-President Dan Quayle, Hollywood "Mogul" Norman Lear, Presidential Candidate Malcolm S. Forbes, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and Reverend Robert Schuler.

Williams has appeared on a number of acclaimed television shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Crossfire, Firing Line with William Buckley, America's Black Forum and The Today Show, and is a frequent guest on several shows on networks such as CNN, CSPAN, ABC, CBS, FOX and CNBC.

His book Beyond Blame: How We Can Succeed by Breaking the Dependency Barrier was published by Free Press in May 1995.

Williams is also the author of Letters to a Young Victim: Hope and Healing in America's Inner Cities, a moving account of the relationship between Williams and a fellow inner-city youth named Brad. Together, through correspondence, they broke down the dependency barriers that restrain many of us from achieving our goals.

A third-generation conservative Republican with a long history of political involvement, Williams has worked on Capitol Hill for Senator Strom Thurmond and served as a confidential assistant to (now Associate Justice of the Supreme Court) Chairman Clarence Thomas of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Congressmen Carroll Campbell and Floyd Spence.

Highly opinionated in print, Williams is a syndicated columnist with The Los Angeles Times Syndicate and is read in many major newspapers across the country including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, The Detroit Free Press, The Boston Globe and his hometown newspaper, The Marion Star-Mullins Enterprise. Additionally, he is a frequent guest columnist for USA Today and Reader's Digest.

Williams is a native of Marion, South Carolina, and a 1981 graduate of South Carolina State College. His views and opinions continually raise the American conscience as he discusses issues such as the abolishment of welfare, the restoration of morality in today's society and the key to "Right Living."

Williams opologizes
Apologizing was appropriate, but returning the money would have been a demonstration of sincerity instead of just being sorry he got caught. ---BBB

My apology
Armstrong Williams January 10, 2005

Dear readers:

In 2003, I agreed to run a paid ad on my syndicated television show, promoting the Department of Education's No Child Left Behind Act. I subsequently used my column space to support that legislation. This represents an obvious conflict of interests. People have used this conflict of interests to portray my column as being paid for by the Bush Administration. Nothing could be further from the truth.

At the same time, I understand that I exercised bad judgment in running paid advertising for an issue that I frequently write about in my column. People need to know that my column is uncorrupted by any outside influences. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my bad judgment, and to better explain the circumstances.

In 2003 Ketchum Communications contacted a small PR firm that I own, Graham Williams Group, to buy ad space on a television show that I own and host. The ad was to promote The Department of Education's "No Child Left Behind" plan. I have long felt that school vouchers hold the greatest promise of ending the racial education gap in this country. We need to hold schools accountable for their failures and create incentives to change. That is why I have vigorously supported school vouchers for the past decade?-in print, on TV, during media appearances and in lectures. I believe that school vouchers represent the greatest chance of stimulating hope for young, inner city school children?-often of color. In fact, I am a board member of Black Americans for Educational Options (BAEO), because I feel that school choice plans hold the promise of a new civil rights movement.

In the past I have used my column space to convey the promise of school options. I continued to do so, even after receiving money to run a series of ads on my television show promoting the "No Child Left Behind" act. I now realize that I exercised poor judgment in continuing to write about a topic which my PR firm was being paid to promote.

The fact is, I run a small business. I am CEO and manage the syndication and advertising for my television show. In between juggling my commentaries and media appearances, I stepped over the line. This has never happened before. In fact, my company has never worked on a government contract. Nor have we ever received compensation for an issue that I subsequently reported on. This will never happen again. I now realize that I have to create inseparable boundaries between my role as a small businessman and my role as an independent commentator.

I also understand that people must be able to trust that my commentary is unbiased. Please know that I supported school vouchers long before the Department of Education ran a single ad on my TV Show. I did not change my views just because my PR firm was receiving paid advertising promoting the No Child Left Behind Act. I did however exercise bad judgment by accepting advertising for an issue that I frequently write about in my column. I apologize for this bad judgment, for creating questions in people's minds as to whether my commentary was sincere, and for bringing shame and embarrassment to the newspapers that run my commentary.

I accept full responsibility for my lack of good judgment. I am paying the price. Tribune Media has cancelled my column. And I have learned a valuable lesson. I just want to assure you that this will never happen again, and to ask for your forgiveness.

I hope that we can put this mistake behind us, and that I can continue to bring the same unique and impassioned perspective that I brought to this space in the past.

Sincerely,
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams: I'm Not the Only One
January 10, 2005
Armstrong Williams: I'm Not the Only One

I had the guilty pleasure of being able to go on Fox News this weekend and join the pile-on atop Armstrong Williams. In leaping upon the scandal-struck rightwing commentator, I was accompanied by Tony Snow and Linda Chavez. But the real treat came when I encountered Williams in the green room after the show. He acknowledged he had messed up, but he told me he was not the only conservative pundit who has taken money from the Bush gang. He would not, however, reveal names. Below is how I wrote up this scooplet for my "Capital Games" column at www.thenation.com. And if you've already seen this column at that site, scroll down for a look at Williams' odd approach to job interviews.

Armstrong Williams: I Am Not Alone
David Corn
January 10, 2004

It was a rare moment of talk-show unanimity. On the set of the Fox News Washington bureau, host Tony Snow, fellow guest Linda Chavez (a conservative pundit), and I were slamming Armstrong Williams, a rightwing columnist and talk show host. USA Today had reported--as you probably know--that Williams had been paid nearly a quarter of a million dollars by the Bush administration to promote its No Child Left Behind education bill. And Williams, who supported the legislation in his column and as a cable news talking head, had not bothered to inform his audiences or the folks who book him at CNN, Fox, and MSNBC that he was a shill on the Bush payroll.

Snow was shaking his head at Williams' indiscretion, and Chavez was upset and joked that she had received bupkis from the White House. Prior to going on air, she had complained that ArmstrongGate had caused some people to assume that she and other conservative commentators were also riding this gravy train. Since the story broke on Friday, she said, several people had asked her how much she had received from the Bush administration. She was pissed at Williams for conduct that was raising questions about the whole cadre of rightwing pundits. During our non-debate on Williams, I noted that it was a waste of taxpayer money to pay Williams for supporting the Bush administration, which he seemed quite willing to do for free. And I wondered aloud how this contract had come to be.

After our segment finished, Chavez and I headed to the green room, and there he was: Armstrong Williams. He was waiting to go on air to defend himself. I've known him a long time; we've often sparred, in friendly fashion, on these shouting-head shows. I shook my head and said, "Armstrong, Armstrong, Armstrong...." He was quick with his main talking point: "It was bad judgment, Dave. Bad judgment." His phone rang. He answered it, said hello, and then told the person on the other end, "It was bad judgment. You know, just bad judgment." I was reminded that in addition to being a pundit, Williams, a leading African-American conservative and Clarence Thomas protege, is a PR specialist with his own firm. Not too long ago, Michael Jackson called him for advice. Now he had himself for a client, and, heeding conventional crisis-management strategy, he was practicing strict message discipline: bad judgment, bad judgment, bad judgment.

As we chatted, Chavez politely expressed her anger at Williams. This scandal, she noted, would provide ammunition to those who dismiss minority conservatives as race sellouts who have been bought off by the Republicans. (She is Mexican-American.) Williams absorbed her point, acting contrite.

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.

Does Williams really know something about other rightwing pundits? Or was he only trying to minimize his own screw-up with a momentary embrace of a trumped-up everybody-does-it defense? I could not tell. But if the IG at the Department of Education or any other official questions Williams, I suggest he or she ask what Williams meant by this comment. And if Williams is really sorry for this act of "bad judgment" and for besmirching the profession of rightwing punditry, shouldn't he do what he can to guarantee that those who watch pundits on the cable news networks and read political columnists receive conservative views that are independent and untainted by payoffs from the Bush administration or other political outfits?

Armstrong, please, help us all protect the independence of the conservative commentariat. If you are not alone, tell us who else has yielded to bad judgment.

More Whores?
More Whores?
1/9/05

On today's Republican Roundtable aka Press the Meat, Al Hunt suggested there are more Bush employees masquerading as journalists.

MR. HUNT: Well, I don't know what the law is. It strikes me that it's not a very good use of taxpayers' money. It's certainly as egregious a journalist violation as one could engage in. Mr. Williams' column was yanked, as it should be. I will say this. Armstrong did deliver his promise, because I occasionally worked out at a gym and Armstrong's there, and he told me several times, you know, "Why don't you write about No Child Left Behind." I don't know if I'm going to be on one of those government expense accounts or not but...

MR. RUSSERT: How many columns did you do?

MR. HUNT: I didn't do any. So I let him down. I'm sorry, Armstrong. Listen, I'll tell you this. I'll bet that there will be a great market for FOIR, Freedom of Information Requests, in the next couple weeks because I suspect Armstrong Williams is not alone. There have been other people who've been doing this.

And then Andrea Mitchell jumped in before Hunt could name names.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Armstrong Of The Law

Section 317 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. [section]317 requires broadcasters to disclose that matter has been broadcast in exchange for money, service or other valuable consideration. The announcement must be made when the subject matter is broadcast. The Commission has adopted a rule, 47 C.F.R. [section] 73.1212, which sets forth the broadcasters' responsibilities for sponsorship identification.

Section 507 of the Communications Act, as amended, 47 U.S.C. [section] 508 requires that when anyone pays someone to include program matter in a broadcast, the fact of payment must be disclosed in advance of the broadcast to the station over which the mater [sic] is to be carried. Both the person making the payment and the recipient are obligated to disclose the payment so that the station may make the sponsorship identification announcement required by Section 317 of the Act. Failure to disclose such payments is commonly referred to as "payola" and is punishable by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both. These criminal penalties bring violations within the purview of the Department of Justice....

Complaints should be sent to: Federal Communications Commission, Enforcement Bureau, Investigations & Hearing Division, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554.

Thanks BBB. Anything I find further on this, I'll add here.

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/consumer_news/10610922.htm?1c

How scummy is McClellan to suggest some failing in the fellow for admitting he was paid by this administration to forward propaganda?

duplicate

duplicate

It seems like the American public would be recognizing the WH's technique by now. In case of a little dirty truth slipping out......smear the guy. Damn! How do they have the nerve. If it were my job, I'd be embarrassed.

Looking around.........do ya see any of the usual Right Wing suspects around here? I wonder where they are.......hummmm. Strong medicine I'd say. If they show their faces, it will be interesting to see what kind of talking point they've come up with. It'll be a whopper, I'll bet. It would be really interesting to see at least one of them admit that this is unfair politics. george will probably say that the Dems do it too, so that makes it ok. What-a-ya-wanna-a-bet?

NO RIGHT-WING PROPAGANDIST LEFT BEHIND

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/complete/la-na-williams8jan08,1,98004.story?coll=la-elect2004-complete&ctrack=1&cset=true

Isn't that special... "pure entrepreneur"...no obligation to truth, merely to money.

dup...sheesh

This is absolutely sickening. This makes the CBS flap with Rather look like child's play when it comes to ethical violations.

Cycloptichorn