Every day I’m on this blog writing about my faith and political ideology. Although I’m registered “Undeclared,” I vote for Republicans. I admit my bias and purpose up front for all the world to see, if they don’t already know it.
I am a conservative Christian with an agenda: 1) To share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and warn the world of his coming wrath; 2) To facilitate the spread of conservatism (which I firmly believe is better for this country than liberalism) and right conduct every chance I get.
It is challenging enough to be an outspoken, Christian conservative black woman with strong views and a sharp pen. That my ideology doesn’t fall within the purview of liberalism shocks many in the blogosphere and the real world. Being the target of the bitterness and contempt of others is something I can live with because I consider my cause righteous.
Contrary to what my detractors say, I’m nobody’s partisan hack. I am a writer who happens to be conservative, and I pursue paying assignments. I don’t hide that. If I submit an article to a paying market, I expect to be paid for it. There is nothing unethical or partisan-hackish about it. I believe what I write. I stand behind what I write.
Along comes Armstrong Williams, a black conservative commentator who was given a fat check by the Bush Administration to push the No Child Left Behind law on his television show and convince other black journalists to do the same. In his column and on his show, he failed to disclose these important facts.
Reinforcing the black-conservatives-are-sellouts stereotype, Williams has just handed to liberals, on a plate made of pure gold served by a well-dressed butler in a most tastefully decorated setting, enough fodder to keep them gobbling for months to come. In the aftermath of John Kerry’s demoralizing defeat in a failed bid to lead the free world, liberals have found the scandal they’ve been searching for. Thanks, Mr. Williams.
His syndicate, Tribune Media Services, has dropped his column. His show, The Right Side with Armstrong Williams, will probably be canceled, too. And he deserves all the scorn the liberal blogosphere is about to dump on him. In his defense he says:
“It’s a fine line. Even though I’m not a journalist — I’m a commentator — I feel I should be held to the media ethics standard. My judgment was not the best. I wouldn’t do it again, and I learned from it.” (Source)
Williams says he’s not a journalist, but it’s all semantics. I don’t consider myself one, either, but I fully understand (and accept) the concept of disclosure, conflicts of interest, defamation and other ethical aspects of publication. I don’t care what I call myself. I must be held to the same standards as everyone else, and so does Williams.
I think of what I do as quasi-journalism; therefore, I’m bound by some of the same enumerated journalistic ethics as any reporter. I can and will be held liable for libeling someone on this blog and in my column. I’d feel a personal, if not a professional, obligation to disclose that I was being paid to promote a product or political candidate, if that were the case.
There are more important events going on in the world, to be sure, but for the next few months, the blogosphere will be buzzing about this. Williams is about to find out what Trent Lott, Howell Raines and Dan Rather learned. The noise of the blogosphere is deafening. Its pace is quick, its influence is far-reaching and its wrath is damaging.
Why is it good policy to disclose conflicts of interest, real or perceived? Because it promotes trust and reliance. If you have an opinion on a particular issue and write about it, readers are clear on what you stand for. If you’re being paid to write for someone else, that’s still OK. It’s called a job. Most people need at least one. But if you’re a journalist or quasi-journalist in the business of sharing information and reporting facts, and you’re being paid to promote an organization’s product or ideology, truth, honesty and fairness would dictate that you disclose this information.
For example, during the election, Rush Limbaugh disclosed that he was an unpaid consultant for the Bush campaign. It was out in the open. He had nothing to hide and he wasn’t outed by the media seeking a scandal. (Clarification: Although Rush said he wasn’t being paid, it was still in his and his audience’s best interest to be up front about this.)
Williams has done the opposite, and it looks bad. I don’t care about him; I care about honesty and integrity. It’s about character.
Contrary to what liberals think, black conservatives are not a monolith. Williams is responsible for his own actions, but the perception he leaves in his wake is detrimental to the cause so many black conservatives fight for. I take that personally.
I have no comment on George Bush but this one: his slackness in letting this happen is not surprising. He’s a politician. Enough said.
Much worse things have happened in politics, of course. For instance, a sitting president having sex with a woman not his wife inside the White House — government property — and using his staff and the machinery of government to cover it up, then perjuring himself (lying) before a federal grand jury, getting impeached for it in the House of Representatives and tried in the Senate, not having the decency to resign and to this day still won’t admit wrongdoing, then writing a book to profit from his shame, is much worse than Bush paying/bribing a journalist to push his agenda.
At the end of the day, all we have is our character.
Be warned, readers. Some people don’t care about good character. Liberal bloggers will be all over Williams like black on coal, white on rice and any other racial play on words you can think of. Do not be surprised if you can’t find even one black liberal in the blogosphere or the real world taking their white counterparts to task for the racist overtones that will eventually permeate columns and blog posts about Williams. (Update: The game is afoot already. But hold on. Is the blogger black or white? Unknown by me.) (Update II: A commenter says the blogger in question is black. Right or wrong, it makes a difference. The commenter also makes a good point: Bush needs to be held accountable, too. Developing…)
Watch and learn, but don’t get angry and don’t defend Williams’s actions. Get righteously indignant. What he did was wrong, and he must pay the consequences. That’s the one thing we must be consistent about even if liberals won’t. I want this episode to be a lesson to all conservatives — bloggers, blog readers, writers, politicians — whoever you are.
This blog is not a repository for the defense of wrongdoers, no matter what color, religion or political affiliation. Mr. Williams, my prayers are with you. I have no idea how you may be feeling right about now. You have my sympathy. The success you’ve achieved is admirable, and I hope your career is salvageable.
My final word to readers on this subject: if we believe we’re on the side of good, we must maintain honesty and integrity. Character is what you are when nobody’s looking. Be neither liars nor hypocrites. Tell the truth and practice what you preach.
———————————————————————————————-
Sources:
- The San Diego Union-Tribune: “Commentator paid by U.S. to tout program”
- MSNBC: “Commentator was paid to promote schools initiative”
- NPR: “Pundit: Contract Tied to Coverage Promoting Administration”
- USAToday: “Education Dept. paid commentator to promote law”
- New York Times: “Mr. Williams, 45, apologized yesterday for blurring his roles as an independent commentator and a paid promoter. ‘This is a great lesson to me,’ he told Paul Begala of CNN, who himself has an off-air job as a paid Democratic political consultant but discloses both roles.”
What other bloggers are saying: Michelle Malkin, Captain Ed, The Moderate Voice, Alarming News, Michael King, Right Wing News, Casey Lartigue, Expertise, Sisu, Slant Point, D.C. Thornton, EduWonk, Booker Rising, Buzz Machine, Parablemania, Classical Values, Baldilocks, Not Exactly Rocket Science, Right on the Left Beach…
Power Line: “We’ve become big fans of blogger La Shawn Barber. See, for example, La Shawn’s ‘Armstrong Williams: The wrong side.’ Today Townhall publishes La Shawn’s guest column on our unpleasantly close encounter with NV: ‘Nick’s nasty bout with blog envy.’ La Shawn, if you see a middle aged white guy hulking behind you with a hockey stick, run like hell. He likes to whack people with it.”
Update III: I have a message for liberals linking to this site, who know better than to trackback. Your scribbling is ineffective, your “insults” laughable and your style and expression, unoriginal. If this is the best you people can come up with, I almost feel sorry for you. Almost.
Update IV: For some reason Word Press and HaloScan are incompatible. For HaloScan users wanting to link to this post, try Simpletracks.
Update V (1/13): Point of correction from an admirer: “You idiot…Rush was not disclosing that he ‘was an unpaid consultant for the Bush campaign.’ Someone refered (sic) to him as a consultant to the campaign and he was repeating it. He often stated, just after uttering the above comment, that it was news to him that he had that status….please get it right.
