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Media Targets Armstrong Williams

When one of the nation's few African American commentators takes the Republican side, expect him to become a target.

So it is with Armstrong Williams.

USA Today leads today, "Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show, and to urge other black journalists to do the same."

The paper says the administration's public relations campaign was "part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB)," and that it "required commentator Armstrong Williams 'to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts,' and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004."

A leading Congressional Democrat says the payments to Williams were "a very questionable use of taxpayers' money."

So what's the fuss about?

Williams, 45, is a former aide to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

An outspoken conservative, he hosts a syndicated TV show, The Right Side, and pens a syndicated column, carried in dozens of papers and on NewsMax.com.

Williams also runs his Washington-based public relations firm, Graham Williams Group.

His public relations firm also produces his TV show.

Though numerous syndicated TV programs - including ones on PBS - receive payments from guests and businesses as a form of advertisement without disclosure, the media is making much about the fact that Williams didn't disclose his public relations firm had received a payment to promote an issue.

Williams responds he was hiding nothing and readily admits he received the public relations contract.

He said he did so because he believes in the issue and that his show is part of his public relations work.

He also notes that his TV program has few advertisers and that this is an acceptable form of advertising.

On CNN Friday morning Bill Hemmer took Williams to task for "ethical questions" over not disclosing his public relations grant.

But other "ethical" issues were not raised on CNN, such as:

No mention was made on CNN of the frequent interviews of movie and TV stars on major networks, including CNN, where there is no dislosure of paid advertising. For example, major movie distribution firms buy advertisements on the same networks that also air the promotional interviews with such stars - with no disclosure whatsoever.
CBS's "60 Minutes" promoted several anti-Bush authors and books, including Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies" - without disclosing that the publisher was Simon Schuster, a division of Viacom which also owns CBS.
The inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars for public broadcasting programs that serve as pure political propaganda. Bill Moyer's "Now" program is just one example.