Monday, Jan 31, 2005
Monday, Jan 31, 2005 |
| International | ||||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | International
By Suzanne Goldenberg
WASHINGTON, JAN. 30. The Bush administration was confronted with fresh evidence of a far-reaching clandestine campaign to influence public opinion after a third conservative commentator on Friday admitted receiving payments for championing its policies. Michael McManus, a newspaper columnist, was paid up to $10,000 to praise the administration's marriage initiative, which diverts funds from welfare to marital counselling, the Los Angeles Times has reported. His fees were approved by a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, and were funnelled through the Lewin Group, a consultancy firm. The commentator's Rightwing Marriage Savers Foundation received an additional $49,000 in Government grants. Mr. McManus did not disclose the payments in his columns. Neither did Maggie Gallagher, another conservative columnist and an even more prominent supporter of the marriage plan. The Washington Post has reported that Ms. Gallagher received $21,500 from the Department of Health and Human Services, and $20,000 from the Justice Department for championing the initiative in her syndicated newspaper columns. The President, George W. Bush, tried to distance the administration from such payment practices earlier this week, and an official from the Health Department said the payments would cease. But a report issued recently by Democratic members of the House of Representatives suggested the Bush administration may rely far more heavily on pay-per-view columnists than had been previously thought. Public relations contract The administration spent more than $88 million on public relations contracts last year — more than double the $37 million it spent during Mr. Bush's first year in office. That brought the administration's first-term spending on PR to $250 million. The first sign of a political payment scandal erupted this month when USA Today reported that Armstrong Williams, a conservative African-American columnist, had been paid $240,000 by the Education Department to champion the administration's controversial policies in his print, radio and television outlets. Mr. Williams was paid through Ketchum PR, the public relations firm also involved in producing fake ``news pieces'' last year that touted the administration's prescription drug bill. Some U.S. television stations put the clips straight on the air. The administration claimed that its use of a fake reporter, Karen Ryan, to sell its programmes, was an isolated incident. It now appears that such covert campaigns were widespread. The Bush administration's readiness to pay for favourable press at a time of mounting budget deficits has raised eyebrows in Congress. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Tamil Nadu |
Andhra Pradesh |
Karnataka |
Kerala |
New Delhi |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Engagements |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
