George Will lacks ethics-letter to NY TIMES involving media mogul

[Eric J in MN]

Conrad Black is a media mogul whose company, Hollinger, owns the London Telegraph, which published the bogus memo which not only supposedly proves Saddam was linked to Al Quaeda, but also that Saddam supposedly sought uranium from Niger.

Conrad Black paid George Will $25,000 per-day, but George Will wrote a flattering portrait of Conrad Black in his column without revealing a conflict of intererest.

--------------------------------------------------
NY TIMES Dec 28, 2003

To the Editor:

Re "Friendship and Business Blur in the World of a Media Baron" (front page, Dec. 22):

The columnist George F. Will is mistaken that he did not need to reveal, in a March column in which he defended Conrad M. Black's political views on Iraq, that Mr. Black had paid him a $25,000 per diem to attend an advisory group that Mr. Black organized.

When a syndicated journalist writes favorably about a benefactor, that is very much the business of Mr. Will's editors and readers.

The code of ethics of the National Conference of Editorial Writers, the organization of editorial page editors and writers, puts it plainly: "The writer should be constantly alert to conflicts of interest, real or apparent, including those that may arise from financial holdings, secondary employment, holding public office or involvement in political, civic or other organizations. Timely public disclosure can minimize suspicion. Editors should seek to hold syndicates to these standards."

GILBERT CRANBERG

Longboat Key, Fla., Dec. 23, 2003

The writer is former editor of the editorial page of The Des Moines Register and former chairman of the professional standards committee of the National Conference of Editorial Writers.

[rfranklin]

1. Will goes by Republican Rules...

Republicans can do no wrong. They are "playful" and commit "youthful indiscretions" in their adolescence which lasts until yesterday. Today they are adults and "put the past behind them."

Oh, sweet Lord, when are you going to smite these hypocrites?

[gristy]

2. Here's the Dec 22 NYT article referred to

link - This reflects very poorly on Will and the NY Times. Why doesn't the NY Times simply have a policy that requires disclosure? If they do have a policy then it needs to be followed and enforced. If anyone is to receive any more letters on this, it ought to be the editor of the editorial page - but I don't have that address. Good for Gilbert Cranberg for writing this letter! The Times ought to get a few more on this. Here's a couple addresses:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

[Eric J in MN]

4. George Will is a Washington Post columnist.

George Will is a Washington Post columnist, not a NY Times columnist.

I don't know if the papers have different policies on disclosing conflicts of interest.

[Cocoa]

8. Newsweek, I thought...

maybe both, how many jobs do these people have? Especially people like Will and Novak who shouldn't be working at all.

[LiberalFighter]

10. Washington Post Standards and Ethics

Washington Post Standards and Ethics

[Eric J in MN]

12. George Will broke this rule.

"We make every reasonable effort to be free of obligation to news sources and to special interests. We must be wary of entanglement with those whose positions render them likely to be subjects of journalistic interest and examination."

http://www.asne.org/ideas/codes/washingtonpost.htm

[The Zanti Regent]

13. Ha Ha--WHORESHINGTON POST ETHICS?

Oh, please!

These god-damned whores lied any lie to bring Clinton down and Install His Ass-Holeyness!

The WHORESHINGTON POST is just the penultimate in GOP Propaganda organs. They lie for Bush even more that 19th Century Fox!

[mikehiggins]

3. Why is Will's self-serving blind spot surprising?

Isn't he the guy who helped brief Ronald Reagan for a debate using materials he knew had been stolen from the opposition's campaign?

Didn't he then go on the air and praise Reagan's performance without once mentioning his own involvement?

Hey, maybe its me. Maybe I'm just making this stuff up.

After all, it was before I found Jesus. Maybe it was the devil made me think that happened.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

14. Nope

My memory is as good as yours. He did exactly that, then tried to sarcastically say that these were "new" ethical standards that were made up just for him.

Will is just a tired old whore

[gristy]

5. Here's Krugman's column the day after the NY Times article came out

Lord Black is Chairman of Hollinger International.

The real surprise, though, is that two prominent journalists, William Buckley and George Will, were also regular paid advisors to Hollinger. Now, I thought there were rules here. First, if you're a full-time journalist, you shouldn't be in that kind of relationship. Second, whoever you are, if you write a favorable article about someone with whom you have a personal or financial connection - like Mr. Perle's piece on the tanker deal or Mr. Will's March column praising Lord Black's wisdom - you disclose that connection. But I guess the old rules no longer apply.

link

[TacticalPeek]

6. Bravo, Gilbert Cranberg.

Send George to the He-Has-No-Principles Office for appropriate discipline.

:spank:

[leftofthedial]

7. all in a day's work

his "day job" is to be a paid shill for the neocon GOPNAC Cabal masquerading as a "columnist" anyway. He's never owned up to that either.

Consistent Repug "ethics."

[LiberalFighter]

9. NY Times Code of Ethics & Integrity Statement

Code of Ethics PDF file

Guidelines on Our Integrity

[LiberalFighter]

11. Conservative media owner resigns 11/17/2003

Conservative media owner resigns

Conrad has particularly been a controversial figure in his home country of Canada, where his conservative views, often voiced through his media properties, clashed with more liberal viewpoints. He renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2000 after liberal Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien -- an avowed foe -- blocked a British proposal of peerage for Black.

Black's National Post had been a fierce and longtime critic of Chretien.

Now Lord Black in the UK, Conrad Black is facing strong shareholder antipathy in light of unauthorized payments uncovered by the company's board of directors.

[dae]

15. Thank you EJ, and Mr. Cranberg.

:dem: