Good thing bloggers don’t have them:
A senior fellow at the Cato Institute resigned from the libertarian think tank on Dec. 15 after admitting that he had accepted payments from indicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff for writing op-ed articles favorable to the positions of some of Abramoff’s clients. Doug Bandow, who writes a syndicated column for Copley News Service, told BusinessWeek Online that he had accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles over a period of years, beginning in the mid ’90s.
“It was a lapse of judgment on my part, and I take full responsibility for it,” Bandow said from a California hospital, where he’s recovering from recent knee surgery.
After receiving BusinessWeek Online’s inquiries about the possibility of payments, Cato Communications Director Jamie Dettmer said the think-tank determined that Bandow “engaged in what we consider to be inappropriate behavior and he considers to be a lapse in judgment” and accepted his resignation. “Cato has an excellent reputation for integrity, and we’re zealous in guarding that,” Dettmer said.
You wonder how much of this stuff is going on.
Faux News
How much is DougJ being payed and by whom? THAT is the real question here.
:-)
Steve S
A lot, and you missed this part of the article:
They’re not OpEds… they are press releases.
Perry Como
It’s free market journalism.
Another Jeff
Why is it we never hear the good things about taking bribes? (someone was gonna say it eventually.)
Rick Moran
A “Lapse?” “12-14 articles?” FOR TWO YEARS!
Methinks the fellow needs to attend a remedial ethics course.
Ozymandius
Somewhere between a lot and a whole hell of a lot.
srv
Novak is jumping to FOX. That’ll help his credibility.
T. Miller
Two years ago it was revealed that George Will (Washington Post/ABC)had been paid up to $25,000 for “conversations” with the Advisory Board of Hollinger International – Conrad Black’s company. Will subsequently wrote an article favorable to Black.
T. Miller
There are plenty of paid gigs available to journalists ad op-ed contributors – cruise ship lectures, trade show/convention speeches, think tank presentations. The event organizers aren’t always the ones who pony up; speakers are often sponsored by individuals or groups. Speaking fees can be inflated for a friendly journalist, and travel arrangements can be more than generous. How many $25,000 windfalls and mini-vacations does it take to color one’s judgement?
srv
Kimmitt
Hee.
guyermo
i have this recurring vision of journalists wearing trench coats and fedoras with the PRESS tag in them, walking around the dark alleys of New York and Washington D.C. comming up to politicians and lobbyists’ cars stopped at corners “Anything you need taken care of? I can do an AP for $200, the Washington Post for $600 The Times for $650, or all of the above for two g’s. Throw in an extra 5 and i’ll blow you at the same time.”
Frank
John- Since no one is seriously trying to catch journalists at this stuff I’d say there are at least 20 of them doing it for every one that gets caught. Thats the usual rate for low enforcement crime.
b-psycho
No wonder he needed knee surgery…
Halffasthero
Actually, that writer needs a basic course in English. “Lapse” is not exactly the word that works here.
Mark Jones
The Cato Institute has now joined the NR, in the group of Pigs at the trough, formerly respected media outlets, journalist, et al. They are now, no different than FoxNews, the E! channel, or the Jerry Springer show. Actually, the Jerry Springer show is considerably more honest than the NR or Cato; at least with Springer, what u see, is what u get.