Comments on: Opinion Laundering http://citmedia.org/blog/2006/03/29/opinion-laundering/ Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:13:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Seth Finkelstein http://citmedia.org/blog/2006/03/29/opinion-laundering/#comment-135 Seth Finkelstein Thu, 30 Mar 2006 09:12:25 +0000 http://citmedia.org/blog/2006/03/29/opinion-laundering/#comment-135 "One of my fondest hopes for citizen journalism is that we can, as a community, expose such activities whenever possible." Conversely, the bogosphere would seem to be an even better field for such opinion-planting activities - *cough* "Pajamas Media" *cough* .... Between hope on one hand, and a pile of right-wing money on the other hand, I suspect the hand with the pile of right-wing money will fill up first. “One of my fondest hopes for citizen journalism is that we can, as a community, expose such activities whenever possible.”

Conversely, the bogosphere would seem to be an even better field for such opinion-planting activities - *cough* “Pajamas Media” *cough* ….

Between hope on one hand, and a pile of right-wing money on the other hand, I suspect the hand with the pile of right-wing money will fill up first.

]]> By: Lisa Williams http://citmedia.org/blog/2006/03/29/opinion-laundering/#comment-134 Lisa Williams Thu, 30 Mar 2006 08:34:42 +0000 http://citmedia.org/blog/2006/03/29/opinion-laundering/#comment-134 I think the case of Tech Central Station never really got a thorough look. A number of bloggers wrote for TCS, which was funded by a lobbyist group. The bloggers claimed that no one told them what to write, and I believe them. I think TCS is an example of corruption at the editorial, rather than the writer, level. TCS didn't attempt to directly pay off a writer to write something positive, as with the Armstrong Williams case. They just used their clients' money to shop for people who they believed would say something positive. Given that there was no disclosure of the relationship between TCS and the lobbying firm, and the lobbying firm's clients, TCS looked to an unsuspecting reader like, say, NRO, the online outpost of a right-leaning magazine. But it wasn't. __________ OT: Making comments on this blog is difficult. I've written a number of comments here that were lost when I was told I had to login -- but when I logged in, the comment I had written had gone poof. At least a few times I've just bagged it at that point rather than try to redo it. I think the case of Tech Central Station never really got a thorough look. A number of bloggers wrote for TCS, which was funded by a lobbyist group.

The bloggers claimed that no one told them what to write, and I believe them.

I think TCS is an example of corruption at the editorial, rather than the writer, level. TCS didn’t attempt to directly pay off a writer to write something positive, as with the Armstrong Williams case. They just used their clients’ money to shop for people who they believed would say something positive.

Given that there was no disclosure of the relationship between TCS and the lobbying firm, and the lobbying firm’s clients, TCS looked to an unsuspecting reader like, say, NRO, the online outpost of a right-leaning magazine. But it wasn’t.

__________

OT: Making comments on this blog is difficult. I’ve written a number of comments here that were lost when I was told I had to login — but when I logged in, the comment I had written had gone poof. At least a few times I’ve just bagged it at that point rather than try to redo it.

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