Williams probe highlights government practice of developing, paying ...

[struggle4progress]

... for news reports to plug policy initiatives

<snip> "This type of covert propaganda has no place in a healthy democracy," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "It is particularly outrageous that the government continues to engage in this sort of illegal activity despite the fact that the GAO has said it is illegal."

A review of GAO reports found two cases in 1986-87 in which the Reagan administration broke the law when it commissioned editorials in support of its foreign policy in Latin America and the merger of the Small Business Administration with the Commerce Department. In one instance, both newspaper editors and readers were kept in the dark about the origins of opinion pieces.

More recently, the GAO found wrongdoing by the Bush administration when it produced video news releases in support of an anti-drug campaign and new prescription drug benefits under Medicare. The releases took the form of TV news reports with quotes from administration officials and a narrator masquerading as a journalist. <snip>

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uspr164116886jan16,0,4675009.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines

Bring back the old thugs from Ronnie's era, bring back the same old tactics.