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JAVERS(2006) BUSINESSWEEK/1/30/ 35-36

You read an interesting column. There it is.  A top talking head is endorsing a controversial product or service. They are criticizing conventional wisdom or professional objective opinion and something smells. What is going on?

The article is being written by that famous person and they have been rented. They are paid money directly or indirectly by a corporation, union, or other large special interest group to support things like controversial services and products. Their opinion is so important that you may overlooked that they are being paid.

Two columnists have been paid by this current administration to promote voucher schools Newt Gingrich's assistant was paid to encourage Newt to write a column that indirectly helped his stockholdings.

This is not a Republican problems. Hacks from both parties do the same thing.The indirect payments can be so elusive that they become some fine print in campaign contribution. It can happen when one special interest group ponies up with another group and the second group encourages a journal star to promote something from the first group through the influence of the second group. It can get very hazy and foggy so that the writing can reflect something that the top journalist does not realize or does not want to realize that they are being had. Pundit payola can be paid by complex deals.

For the writer, bills need to be paid and mama wants new shoes. So, it goes on and is hard to prove.