Kennedy was on to the Ketchum/Williams/NCLB thing in October

[NVMojo]

unfortunately, it cost to pull up this archived NYT's article about it:

Ketchum Rated Reporters on "No Child Left Behind"
Source: New York Times, October 16, 2004
The U.S. Education Department paid $700,000 to the Ketchum public relations and marketing firm, to produce two video news releases and to rate newspaper coverage according to how favorably reporters described the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind law in 2003. Democratic Senators Frank R. Lautenberg and Edward M. Kennedy have criticized the Ketchum contract as "an illegal use of taxpayer funds. ... A comprehensive, nationwide media study identifying journalists and news organizations writing favorable stories on President Bush and his political party's commitment to education has only a political purpose."

this blurb can be found about half way down the page here:

http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2004/9

Apparently, the Ketchum PR firm connected with Williams, rated newspaper journalists etc. on how they covered the No Child Left Behind Act. USAToday may have broken this story this week because they were rated poorly by Ketchum ....

snip..

In ranking newspaper coverage of No Child Left Behind, Ketchum developed a 100-point scale. Stories got five points each for positive messages, such as mentions that the law gives choices to parents and holds schools accountable.

Five points also went to stories that send a message that "The Bush Administration/the GOP is committed to education."

Stories lost five points for negative messages, including claims that the law is not adequately funded or is too tough on states.

The news review for the department also rated education reporters, giving higher scores to their stories if they were deemed positive.

"The government should spend money that benefits the people. How did this benefit the people?" Tompkins said about the ratings of reporters.

In one period, for example, Ketchum rated reporters at USA Today and at newspapers in Atlanta; Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio; Harrisburg, Pa.; Louisville; Portland, Ore.; Minneapolis; and Salt Lake City.

more ...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-10-10-bush-school-ad_x.htm

[housewolf]

1. Wow, NVMojo -

You have done a TON of research today! What good work! Congratulations and thanks for sharing so much with us. You are a real gift the DU!

[NVMojo]

3. thank you, housewolf, i get the feeling some of what I found was

boring some to death ...but this is serious. I really do think Reid, Kennedy and Lautenberg know more then just the Williams part ...

[snippy]

2. This is at least the third time the Bush administration has violated

the federal law prohibiting spending taxpayer money on propaganda. The GAO already has issued reports finding such violations of law concerning the first two occasions, one of which concerned the Medicare prescription drug benefit and the other of which concerned drug use among young people. Here are the relevant portions of the digests of those reports.

DIGEST

1. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS) use of appropriated funds to pay for the production and distribution of story packages that were not attributed to CMS violated the restriction on using appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes in the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution of 2003,
Pub. L. No. 108-7, Div. J, Tit. VI, § 626, 117 Stat. 11, 470 (2003).

2. CMS, in using appropriations in violation of the publicity or propaganda prohibition, incurred obligations in excess of appropriations available for that purpose. See B-300325, Dec. 13, 2002. Accordingly, CMS violated the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341, and must report the violation to the Congress and President in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 1351 and Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-11.

http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/302710.htm

DIGEST

1. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) produced and distributed prepackaged news stories as part of some video news releases it issued under the Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-277, div. D, title I, subtitleA, 112 Stat. 2681-752 (Oct. 21, 1998), codified in 21U.S.C. ch. 23. Because ONDCP did not identify itself to the viewing audience as the producer and distributor of those prepackaged news stories, ONDCP's news stories constituted covert propaganda and violated publicity or propaganda prohibitions contained in its 2002, 2003, and 2004 appropriations acts.

. . .

3. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) must report violations of the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. 1341, pursuant to 31U.S.C. 1351, because ONDCP had no appropriation available to produce and distribute materials in violation of publicity or propaganda prohibitions contained in its 2002, 2003, and 2004 appropriations acts.

http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/303495.htm

Another day, another felony. How very republican.