Republican Bloggers Getting PayolaOliver Willis
11:56 am EST August 23rd, 2010
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For years when liberal blogs were having success and we’d get the occasional ad from the DNC, DCCC or DSCC they’d accuse us of this, but of course, they’re just way worse:
http://dailycaller.com/2010/08/23/true-stories-of-bloggers-who-secretly-feed-on-partisan-cash/ ‘It’s standard operating procedure’ to pay bloggers for favorable coverage, says one Republican campaign operative. A GOP blogger-for-hire estimates that ‘at least half the bloggers that are out there’ on the Republican side ‘are getting remuneration in some way beyond ad sales.’
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One pro-Poizner blogger, Aaron Park, was discovered to be a paid consultant to the Poizner campaign while writing for Red County, a conservative blog about California politics. Red County founder Chip Hanlon threw Park off the site upon discovering his affiliation, which had not been disclosed.
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In December of 2009, Red County received $20,000 from the Meg Whitman campaign, which has sent the site $15,000 a month since then.
The money is ostensibly for advertising, yet by conventional measures the numbers don’t add up. According to Quantcast, Red County reaches around 125,000 unique viewers per month. Two new media industry experts confirmed that, given such a readership, Whitman’s ad purchase is “ridiculously” expensive, surpassing the going market rate for such ads by 1,000 percent or more.
Link:
http://www.oliverwillis.com/2010/08/23/republican-bloggers-getting-payola/:kick: