BY PAUL SPERRY
09/29/2015 05:06 PM ET
Did you know TV news networks pay former politicians for interviews? They do, and they pay them obscenely well. Even a few now running for the White House enjoyed secret deals, which raises a host of ethical questions.
Voters get most of their political news from cable or network TV. These outlets are supposed to keep politicians honest. Increasingly, however, they are paying officials huge sums to essentially produce news for them.
In effect, politicians have become quasi-journalists, and journalists have become quasi-campaign managers.
The latest example is GOP presidential hopeful Ben Carson, whose lucrative contract with Fox News Channel was only recently disclosed as part of a Federal Election Commission filing.
According to a revised financial report filed by his campaign last month, Carson earned a whopping $492,115 in “nonemployee compensation” from Fox through November 2014, when the top-rated cable news network canceled his contract as a “contributor.”
Read More At Investor’s Business Daily: https://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-viewpoint/092915-773260-carson-santorum-huckabee-media-contracts-raise-specter-of-checkbook-journalism.htm#ixzz3nE9MxN94
