So far every news story about this particular perdiem issue has been written as if the government was doing the same thing a newspaper or broadcaster would do. That means NONE of the reporters have investigated the slightest detail, and most likely they have no idea where to begin.
Do you think the media really cares whether they got any of the factual details of what happened here right? It looks to me like they had one aim, make Sarah Palin appear to be delinquent on taxes, and they succeeded in that with just the headline.