NBC anchor Williams: Bush administration
has "right" to buy media coverage
Media Matters
December 5, 2005
Summary: NBC anchor Brian Williams condoned the Bush administration's paying
a columnist to tout administration views in his column and the former
Republican CPB chairman's intervention in the programming decisions of PBS,
despite reports by the GAO and the CPB inspector general alleging that such
actions violate federal law.
Appearing on the December 4 edition of CNN's Reliable Sources, NBC Nightly
News anchor Brian Williams told host Howard Kurtz that the Bush administration
has "the right" to pay a columnist to tout its views in his column. Williams
also condoned the "politiciz[ation]" of programming on the Public Broadcasting
System (PBS).
Discussing the recent disclosure by the Los Angeles Times of, in Kurtz's
words, the "Pentagon planting positive stories, in some cases paying for
positive stories in Iraqi newspapers," Kurtz asked Williams for his views on
the propriety of actions in which the administration and former Corporation for
Public Broadcasting (CPB) chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson were reportedly
involved, including: 1) the administration's payment of $240,000 to
conservative pundit Armstrong Williams in exchange for promoting the
administration's No Child Left Behind education policy; and, 2) Tomlinson's
alleged use of "political tests" for hiring a president and chief executive
officer (CEO) for CPB and Tomlinson's involvement in direct contact with Wall
Street Journal editorial page editor Paul A. Gigot while securing a programming
spot for the Gigot-hosted PBS program The Journal Editorial Report. Asked by
Kurtz if the two incidents were something to be "worr[ied] about," Brian
Williams, who had moments earlier emphasized that expressing opinion is "a line
I've always been unwilling to cross," responded: "Well, this is all part of the
-- they have the right to do this on their team, I think."
Contrary to Brian Williams's claim that the Bush administration, Armstrong
Williams, and Tomlinson have a "right" to engage in such activities, the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) and CPB's inspector general have
determined otherwise.
In a September 30 report by General Counsel Anthony H. Gamboa, the GAO found
that the Department of Education "violated the fiscal year 2004 publicity or
propaganda prohibition" by contracting with Ketchum Inc. to obtain commentary
by Armstrong Williams without requiring Ketchum to ensure that Williams
disclosed the Education Department's role. The GAO similarly found that
Armstrong Williams's commentary "violated the publicity or propaganda
prohibition because it was 'covert,' in that it did not disclose to the
targeted audiences that it was sponsored by the Department and was paid for
using appropriated funds."
A November 15 report by CPB Inspector General Kenneth A. Konz alleged that
Tomlinson "violated statutory provisions and the Director's Code of Ethics by
dealing directly" with Gigot "during negotiations with the Public Broadcasting
Service (PBS) and the CPB over creating the show." Konz also alleged that
Tomlinson violated statutory provisions by establishing "political tests" as a
"major criteria" for hiring a new president/CEO for CPB. Konz further noted
that Tomlinson's decision to hire a consultant to evaluate PBS' Now with Bill
Moyers complied with federal statues, but the inspector general alleged that
Tomlinson violated CPB bylaws by acting without the authorization of CPB's
board of directors.
Brian Williams's defense of Tomlinson, Armstrong Williams, and the Bush
administration came just moments after the Nightly News host refused to comment
on efforts by the Pentagon to pay Iraqi newspapers to run its own positive
stories about the war and to pay Iraqi journalists to write similar reports.
Brian Williams attributed his unwillingness to comment to the need for an
anchor to steer clear of expressing "opinion" on such matters.
When asked by Kurtz about the Pentagon initiative, Brian Williams responded
that "as long as there is no illegality proven," it falls into "that lovely,
gray, undefined area in American history and culture where the government uses
just about every tool at its disposal to win wars." When asked if he found such
incidents "troubl[ing]," Williams replied: "[S]ince this takes us into the area
of opinion, and that's a line I've always been unwilling to cross, I'll leave
it to the journalism professors, the journalists who cover journalism to make a
judgment about propriety vis-à-vis the government in this case."
From the December 4 edition of CNN's Reliable Sources:
KURTZ: The L.A. Times this week broke the story about the Pentagon planting
positive stories, in some cases paying for positive stories in Iraqi
newspapers. NBC followed it up, as did about every news organization on the
planet. Does that kind of practice trouble you?
BRIAN WILLIAMS: I think as long as there have been conflicts and media to
report on conflicts, the pejorative here is propaganda. I think there is -- as
long as there is no illegality proven, or laws broken, this is in that lovely,
gray, undefined area in American history and culture where the government uses
just about every tool at its disposal to win wars.
We've just been through a debate about the unseemly way some governments win
wars and get information out of people. This is one that takes place almost
above board every day. And again, since this takes us into the area of opinion,
and that's a line I've always been unwilling to cross, I'll leave it to the
journalism professors, the journalists who cover journalism to make a judgment
about propriety vis-à-vis the government in this case.
KURTZ: But there are those who say -- and you know this as well as anyone --
that the Bush administration has mounted an offensive against the press,
whether it's making payments to pundits like Armstrong Williams, whether it's
politicizing PBS, according to an inspector general's report, whether it's
tightly controlling information that people in your organization try to get. Is
this something that you worry about?
WILLIAMS: Well, this is all part of the -- they have the right to do this on
their team, I think.
KURTZ: But isn't some of it crossing an ethical line?
WILLIAMS: Well, that's up to the individual journalist, and it's up to --
you know, an educated consumer is our best customer, to quote a New York
clothier from years ago. It's still true that we hope our viewers realize that
if it comes out of here, again, we have vetted it and reported it.
I mean, this is -- this is all the individuals involved. People -- people
need to judge this administration. And despite any of the constrictions you
mentioned that have been put on the news media, we have a free media in this
society, and it hasn't affected our reporting this past week or these past
several years.
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