? Are they planning to investigate Armstrong Williams payout?

[spanone]

We're talking about a quarter of a million dollars of TAXPAYERS money. Think about Whitewater, what was that? Twenty thousand dollars of the Clintons OWN money? I haven't heard of an investigation. edit: sp.

[stray cat]

1. I heard FCC was going to start an investigation

Maybe why Powell is leaving?

[spanone]

2. That would be a two-fer! Thanks.

[peacebird]

9. I think Powell Jr is stepping down in order to sidestep the Armstrong mess

he is a devious slimeball with political ambitions, wouldn't do to be in power at the FCC when an administration media-mole has been outed and an investigation might smear the bushbots.

[devilgrrl]

14. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house!

My money's on that nothing will come of this... as it always seems.

[sasquatch]

3. Is your first language spanish?

[spanone]

5. Don't get it. gotcha.

[sasquatch]

8. Why do you have a question mark at the beginng and end of a question?

[lectrobyte]

4. They? You mean the Republicans? Don't hold your breath.

[sasquatch]

6. That's because the senate democrats would rather suck Bush's ass-

then fight for truth and justice. My apologies to Barbara Boxer.

[bahrbearian]

7. What do you mean ,we're still waiting on Kenny-Boy .

[EVDebs]

10. Operation Mockingbird, domestic CIA 'national security' excuses

coming up. To expose these domestic payola the pandora's box of all media payoffs will come up. We already know of CIA ties to many via Covert Action Quarterly reports of 'who's on the take' but this could get messy for Republicans who want to cover this up.

[Stirk]

11. Not. A. Frigging. Chance.

They swept that story under the rug as quickly as possible. Finding more Armstrongs in the corporate media would wreck their credibility. Even if they're found, I doubt that they'll be reported. At least not until it becomes impossible to ignore, as through a public outcry.

[stray cat]

12. Email from Free Press. FCC will launch an investigation into payola.

Dear Media Reformer,


Last week, 16,000 Free Press e-activists sent a letter to Congress and the FCC calling for an investigation into "payola pundit" Armstrong Williams -- and it worked.


Less than 24 hours after the petition drive started, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein urged an investigation. Fellow commissioner Michael Copps echoed the call, stating that "in a single day, the number of complaints coming into the FCC has grown from a few to thousands."


On Friday, Chairman Michael Powell responded to the public outcry, instructing the FCC Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into the payola allegations. Your petitions also prompted members of Congress to contact Chairman Powell, asking for a full report. A letter from Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.) demanded that "the political discourse of our nation must not be for sale to the highest bidder."


Your active participation made the difference, proving once again that online activism is still a powerful force to reckon with as we build the movement for media reform.


Now we must remain vigilant to ensure a thorough investigation into the full scope of taxpayer-funded propaganda. Concrete measures must be adopted to pre-empt the next Armstrong Williams. As always, we'll keep you updated as the story develops.


Thanks for all that you do,


Josh Silver
Executive Director, Free Press
www.freepress.net

[Gman]

13. Are they going to investigate the Anthrax? Are they going to

investigate the Plame outing? Why would anyone think they will do anything about con man Armstrong Williams.