by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright January 7, 2005
All Rights Reserved.

n what amounts to a serendipitous discovery, USA TODAY dug up documents under the Freedom-of-Information-Act exposing that nationally syndicated black conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams received $240,000 to promote President George W. Bush's education program called “No Child Left Behind.” Williams was paid by the Ketchum public relations firm who received $1-million from the Department of Education to advance education reform. “I wanted to do it because it's something I believe in,” said Williams, defending his decision to accept the cash and promote “No Child Left Behind” on his syndicated TV and radio talk shows. Williams saw nothing wrong with allowing the White House's PR firm to dictate content on his talk shows. Williams mentioned nothing to his audience about his paid relationship with the Department of Education.

      Though Williams' works as a commentator—not a journalist—the failure to disclose that he was a paid consultant with Education Department created a false impression. Believing in NCLB is one thing but actively promoting it on his syndicated talk shows crossed the line. Williams used his contacts with America's Black Forum, a group of black journalists “to encourage the producers to periodically address” NCLB. At no time did Williams admit to his audience his financial relationship to the Department of Education. “I respect Mr. Williams' statement that this is something he believes in,” said Bob Steele, a media expert at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, blasting Armstrong for playing hired gun. Allowing the Education Department to hijack his syndicated shows opens up a can of worms for other hosts preaching the White House gospel.

      Compared to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, Williams is small potatoes. During the last presidential elections, Democrats lamented the fact that they were badly outgunned on the airwaves by popular right wing talk shows. Billionaire financier George Soros hoped to level the playing field creating “Talk America,” a liberal talk radio network designed to counter ubiquitous conservative programming. Liberal talk radio flopped because Soros couldn't buy powerful stations on which to carry programs. Soros couldn't compete with Clear Channel, Infinity and a host of minor conservative networks already controlling stations in major media markets. Nobody knows yet whether other nationally syndicated TV or radio shows or, yes, op-ed writers are on the government's payroll. One thing's for sure, Williams' admission raises eyebrows about similar shenanigans elsewhere.

      Tribune Media Services—a news syndicate owned by the Chicago Tribune—announced it was dropping Williams' column from distribution. While Williams called the criticism “legitimate,” he tried to excuse his $240,000 as advertising fees. Williams blasted CBS Evening New anchor Dan Rather for failing to disclose his relationship to the Democratic National Committee, before airing bogus documents about President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard on “60-Minutes II.” Conservatives, like Williams, correctly impeached Rather for allowing the CBS newsroom to be hijacked by the DNC. While there's nothing wrong with Williams supporting NCLB, failing to disclose his financial arrangement with the Education Department goes beyond bad judgment. “My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again, and I've learned from it,” said Williams, engaged in damage control.

      Williams' payola raises disturbing questions about the extent of government encroachment in major media circles. Some critics have questioned whether Fox News President Roger Ailes—a former media advisor to President George W. Bush—dictates right wing programming. Since its inception, FOX News built its programming around the salacious Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. When Bush took the Oval Office in 2001, Fox News lent overwhelming support to the White House. Whether Fox News or any of its hosts gets subsidized by the White House, Cabinet department or any other non-profit group is anyone's guess. Williams' scandal raises the distinct possibility that other media organizations or hosts have received compensation. “I thought we in the media were supposed to be watchdogs, not lapdogs,” said National Association of Black Journalists Vice President Bryan Monroe.

      Talk show hosts, whether network, cable or radio, have a public obligation to disclose who, if anyone, is paying for its programming. National syndicated host Armstrong Williams never disclosed his $240,000 financial arrangement with Ketchum public relations, a client of the Department of Education. Calling Williams' deal a “permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures,” the Department of Education stretches ethics to the breaking point. Whether Williams' is a journalist or commentator has nothing to do with his obligation to disclose secretive financial deals that affects programming. All subsidized programs in broadcast or print, whether network, cable, radio or newspapers, should be clearly identified as infomercials. While Williams was the first to get caught, it's just a matter of time before the spotlight shines on someone else.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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