P-D Lets Flat-Earther Tear Down Research Without Disclosing That She's a Paid Right-Wing Operative

Until a few years ago, Colleen Carroll Campbell made a living as a presidential speechwriter, putting words in the mouth of the unbearably dishonest George W. Bush and helping him reach the 24% approval level he enjoys today. 

Now Campbell's writing is supported by the "Ethics & Public Policy Center" --a right-wing, religious think tank run by political conservatives.  Campbell also has a St. Louis Post-Dispatch column which will not be linked or excerpted on this site.  She uses her column today to sully the reputation of the Post-Dispatch for ethical journalism.

Suffice it to say that Campbell chastises Missouri's Secretary of State over ballot summary language drafted by the opponents of stem cell research who --unhappy about having lost the battle about how "human cloning" should be defined-- are pushing a ballot initiative that would restrict research and for which they have very specific language that they'd like to see appear on the ballot.  Campbell intones on the subject like a detached observer, passing judgment on the ballot summary language as though she were an impartial third-party arbiter.  

Of course, she's not. 

The "Ethics & Public Policy Center," which pays Ms. Campbell, is an on-the-record hardline opponent of just about all types of stem cell research that could lead to lifesaving cures.  And while the bland identifier included by the P-D at the end of Campbell's column identifies her as a fellow of the Ethics & Public Policy Center, the inclusion of that empty and innocuous sounding name leaves readers with no idea that they've just read a column about stem cell research by a woman who is a paid employee of an organization that is stridently opposed to stem cell research.

Newspapers --particularly ones with as storied and proud a history as the Post-Dispatch-- have a duty to provide much more clarity to their readers than the P-D provides with reference to Ms. Campbell's "column."  In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that the Post-Dispatch's approval of Campbell's column on this topic presents a serious breach of journalistic ethics. 

Think about it: Campbell --who is a paid columnist and employee of the Post-Dispatch (see this interesting blogpost by Joshua Goldwasser, who noted Campbell's pedigree when she was hired)-- is writing a column for the paper on the same subject in which another employer of hers is deeply engaged and invested.  This may happen semi-frequently with "guest columnists" or one-time opinion pieces, but the individuals who write those pieces are ordinarily identified as opining on a certain issue because of their connection or involvement with the issue.  They are not identified broadly as "columnists", and are not paid by the newspaper to present their views.  

Campbell, on the other hand, is a paid columnist for the Post-Dispatch who is paid this week for boosting the political agenda of a third party that also pays her.  In a very real way, by publishing Ms. Campbell's column, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Lee Enterprises are serving as de facto subsidizers of the "Ethics & Public Policy Center."  The Post-Dispatch should have insisted that she sever her ties to the Ethics & Public Policy Center or write a column on a subject other than one that the Center has a stake in.  Instead the paper pretended that a clear conflict didn't exist.

For an institution that lives or dies with the public trust, what the Post-Dispatch ran today is simply unacceptable.