Posted on 01/08/2005 11:06:59 AM PST by drt1
CNN Reporting Williams fired by Tribune.
Did they say why?
Not yet - Just reported the Headine.
Maybe he can get a job with a Russian circus as a dancing bear.
You know why.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000749251
Armstrong Williams Column Axed by TMS
By Dave Astor
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." (Full text of the statement is available at the end of this story.)
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 heal."
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."
I had a hunch.
Who cares when you bagged a cool quarter of a million! In 2 months no one will give a crap! Rush should now hire him as a stand in commentator.
I suspect he will lose much more than the money he was paid - Fees for the columns, speaking fees, etc.
He was no slave.
He was a friggin' whore.
And your statement downplays the courage of those black conservatives who stand up to all kinds of crap from the left and are doing it out of their convictions and not for a check.
Why was your post (#7) removed??
that's amusing...
when you think of the decades of propaganda dished out by democrat robots in the media.
I don't know. First time in some 10,000 posts.
"And your statement downplays the courage of those black conservatives "
My statement downplays NOTHING.
Like heck. There are a lot of black conservatives who catch non-stop flack from the lib media and from other blacks for their views. They aren't being paid - they are speaking of their own convictions. Williams is being criticized by both left and right not for his views, but for what he did - take money to shill those views. It has nothing to do with him leaving the liberal political plantation or his views. For you to the ethically-challenged Williams in the same league as honest black conservatives is wrong.
Ah...nothing wrong with making some extra money. Who cares if it's taxpayer dollars? Who cares if those dollars are spent to peddle a government program without adequate disclosure? And who cares, because everyone else does it?
That's the kind of crap I expect to hear from Clintonistas, not conservatives.
Well that was quick!
Reagan threatened to eliminate the Dept of Ed. look how far we've come.
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