Family Discount
Really, this isn't all that surprising. A number of bloggers have been reporting since Monday that MoveOn.org got a hefty discount from the New York Times for the smear ad they ran about General David Petraeus. Today, the New York Post confirms that story is correct - and the narcissistic folks at MoveOn actually confirmed it, putting the New York Times directly in the spotlight.
According to Abbe Serphos, director of public relations for the Times, "the open rate for an ad of that size and type is $181,692."
A spokesman for MoveOn.org confirmed to The Post that the liberal activist group had paid only $65,000 for the ad - a reduction of more than $116,000 from the stated rate.
A Post reporter who called the Times advertising department yesterday without identifying himself was quoted a price of $167,000 for a full-page black-and-white ad on a Monday.
Serphos declined to confirm the price and refused to offer any inkling for why the paper would give MoveOn.org such a discounted price.
Citing the shared liberal bent of the group and the Times, one Republican aide on Capitol Hill speculated that it was the "family discount."
It is more than that. The New York Times really can't pretend that they are in any way objective any longer. A lot of us have been pointing out their bias for a long time. But they have given what amounts to a hefty contribution to Democratic candidates with this action. (The less MoveOn pays the Times, the more they can give to Dems). I do not know what the law is on "in kind" contributions to a political party, maybe the FEC would be interested in what the Times did, maybe not. But they really can't hide any longer, can they?
UPDATE: Guess we'll see how that all pans out, won't we:
Guess what I did at lunch? That's right, I petitioned my government for redress of grievances, specifically illegal political advertising practices by the New York Times and MoveOn.org. We are all well aware of the sorry political advertisement calling the General a traitor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
be·tray
to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.Good old Benedict Petraeus, well MoveOn could hardly be expected to rise from it's wallow in the fever swamps anyhow, right? So in my first act of political crankitude I filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission regarding the discount MoveOn received. Ya' see in order to be fair newspapers and TV aren't allowed to discount political or advocacy ads so they cannot favor one side, well Hmmmmmm.
The complaint can be read over at Blackfive.
Other Links to this Post
-
Public Secrets: from the files of the Irishspy — September 13, 2007 @ 12:22 pm
-
Betray Us, Petraeus? Righties Can’t Seem To ‘Move On’ « his vorpal sword — September 13, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
-
Birds of a Feather…. - The Detroit Times — September 13, 2007 @ 3:21 pm
-
Flopping Aces — September 13, 2007 @ 7:38 pm
By TC@LeatherPenguin, September 13, 2007 @ 1:17 pm
The day before they ran the advert, the Old Gray Lady (in the Sunday Magazine) ran a huge article about one of MoveOn’s pet projects: “Americans Against Escalation in Iraq,†that made note of MoveOn’s muscular financial status, so they really are gonna have some explaining to do, especially to their shareholders, for handing out such a ridiculously large discount at a time when their circulation, ad revenue and stock price are seriously swirling down the tank.
By TC@LeatherPenguin, September 13, 2007 @ 6:18 pm
In answer to the question about “in kind” contributions: Yep, that’s what the law calls what they did.
By Gaius, September 13, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
Yeah, and I saw that Uncle Jimbo filed a complaint with the FEC.
You can tell someone is getting worried by the number of lefties alternately sneering or whining that the right is focused on this.