Posted on 01/10/2005 6:38:47 AM PST by mhking
Reaction to the Armstrong Williams-Department of Education scandal was swift and furious over the weekend, as I wasn't the only one to make a lot of noise on the issue (LaShawn Barber, Michelle Malkin, Rob Bernard, DC Thornton, Amy Ridenour, Sisu, Nate Livingston, Expertise, Booker Rising, Eduwonk, Wizbang, The American Prospect's Tapped column, Powerline & others too numerous to mention).
In the wake of Friday's revelations, Tribune Media Services, who syndicated his column to newspapers nationally, abruptly dropped his column, and most likely, his television show, The Right Side with Armstrong Williams (syndicated on Sinclair stations and aired nationally on cable/satellite networks TVOne and The Liberty Channel) will be cancelled as well. No word on his radio show, which airs on a handful of stations across the nation.
Williams was apologetic in this morning's column, appearing on TownHall.com.
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.People have accused me, in various forums over the weekend, of wanting to 'throw Armstrong under the bus.' Nothing could be further from the truth. I certainly want conservative blacks of all stripes and from all quarters to thrive and succeed.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 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.
But at the same time, when ethical lines are crossed, I will call people on them. Period.
Many on the conservative side of the coin have railed on about people like Bill Moyers receiving tax monies to promote a political agenda in the past, yet those same voices are silent now.
The bottom line is that wrong is wrong.
I appreciate Williams' apology this morning, and his stock certainly rises a bit as a result. He has owned up to his mistake and is willing to move forward. I, too, am willing to move forward, and while I can certainly forgive his shortcoming in this case, I cannot ignore it.
I stand by my statement of Friday, when I indicated that his word would be suspect in the future.
While his apology appears genuine, only his actions as time moves forward will tell me if he truly has learned his lesson and is worth listening to again.
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Very sad. But Williams is not the only trusted person taking pieces of silver for betraying us. We must root out all paid propagandists. There are more eggregious ones than Williams, and they must be humiliated.
I like Mr. Williams. I'm glad he apologized. It was a dumb thing to do. Having done a number of dumb things myself, I can understand it happening. He has certainly taken a pummeling over this.
I saw him on O'Reilly. He messed up, and he knows it, and admits it. It's been a learning experience for him. I'm satisfied the problem has been fixed, and I'll continue to read what he says.
You'll get no argument from me on that.
Good thing that Pres. Bush didn't fall into that trap.
Armstrong Williams is a commentator and not a reporter. He should have just said that he never wrote or stated anything that that he didn't already believe and that he wouldn't have written about anyway.
It was their business if they wanted to pay him to KEEP writing what he was already writing and for the rights to publish it in the DOE journals.
Commentator...not reporter. I can't believe he fell into this remorse trap. It's so unnecessary.
I agree and lets start with the ACLU, NEA and MANY tax-exempt organizations that are overtly partisan (NCAA, PUSH, etc).
I am not trying to defend Williams but this kind of thing has been going on in liberal circles for over 30 years and been ignored by the masses.
Okay, I confess! Richard Mellon Scaife is paying me MILLIONS to do the DUmmie FUnnies Blog.
Of course I also wish I had known the lottery numbers before they were shown last week.......
Armstrong is guilty of nothing more than a petty technical oversight. He is and always has been a good and decent man of morals.
OPPORTUNISTS WHO SEEK TO USE THIS MATTER AND ARMSTRONGS BACK AS A STEPPING STONE SHOULD BEWARE!
That does not exclude him from having proper ethics. He said so himself.
“It’s a fine line. 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.”
I also believe that those ethics are necessary, and certainly follow those standards myself.
Wrong is wrong. And yes, it was unnecessary -- all he had to do was to have full disclosure prior to his commentaries on the matter.
I actually think it has more to do with how they went about financing it.
If Dept of Ed is like any other Dept, they have numerous in-house journals. Hire the guy to write for those.
He gets paid by the papers for his columns. What's the difference?
And I've bitched to high heaven about it.
Just because THEY do wrong, does not mean that WE need to do wrong.
Wrong is wrong.
Mapes should be pounding pavement right now as far as I'm concerned.
As I've noted, I appreciate Armstrong's apolgy, and it is certainly far more than a leftist, caught in the same embroglio, would have done. And as I mentioned, his stock has risen some in my book from where it has fallen as a result.
But that does not negate the issue. And I need to see, over time, if he has truly learned.
If that means that I'm throwing him under the bus, I'm sorry.
I can't believe the wailings of the liberals on this board --- "I can never trust Williams again because he was paid for an advertisement!"
ALL radio shows, tv shows are PAID for advertising you brainwashed fools!
All hosts talk about their advertisers also during their programs --- it is expected in many cases and it is nothing unusual, rare, or below the board --- try listening to a LEFTIST SHOW -- they are easy to find on every tv and most radio news shows.
I see the left-wing radicals in this country have WON the case against the FIRST AMENDMENT and now if you are Christian abnd Conservative you are not allowed the FREE exercise of your rights.
Well I have one (two?) words gfor all of you who scream out that Willimas is GUILTY!!!
BULL-SH*T!!
What?....uh huh... uh, huh.... you mean?.... not D.U.?....!, What do you mean, "this isn't D.U."?.... Huh?.... Really?Oh..... heh heh heh...
never mind...
Stupid is as stupid does.
Those that "scream" Williams is guilty includes himself. Oh, I guess he's a brainwashed fool too.
Advertizers are straight up and acknowledged.
Government propagandists should be dragged through the streets naked.
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