An Aug. 16 Accuracy in Media article by Clinton Gillespie on how some bloggers were compensated for blogging at the Family Research Council’s pro-conservative Justice Sunday II includes the following:
Cliff Kincaid, editor of Accuracy in Media, a conservative non-profit organization that critiques coverage of the news for bias, advised the webloggers who accepted payment to give it back. “I think it is a safe assumption that the liberal media will use the Jarvis allegations to make the case that some bloggers are secretly in the pay of the “religious right.” That will undermine their credibility and serve to damage their reputations. It is advisable for those bloggers who have accepted the money to give it back.” Kincaid added, “The sponsor should disclose who accepted the payments.”
A quick search of the AIM site showed no similar call by Kincaid for Jon Lauck and Jason Van Beek — two conservative South Dakota bloggers who were paid a total of $35,000 by the campaign of Republican Senate candidate John Thune without disclosing the payments to their readers — to return the money they were given.