On this day in 1949, reporter Roy Harris of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch uncovered widespread payoffs in the Illinois press.
The newspapers had previously devoted their energies to exposing corruption in business, government and labor. Now, for the first time, the press itself was involved in scandal: dozens of reporters under the control of the office of Illinois Governor Dwight H. Green, a Republican.
The main assignment of the reporters "was to print canned editorials and news stories lauding accomplishments of the Republican state administration," for which they and their families were paid close to $500,000. (In 2005 dollars, that would be over $2 million!)
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/pd125.nsf/0/C139B8054F2E485F86256E040060FEAB?OpenDocum
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http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,800251,00.html
So, let's hear a Huzzah for the Rethugs, as they stay true to their roots!