Presidential race coverage raises conflict issues

Political consultant Dick Morris recently disclosed on Fox News Channel that some of the Republican presidential candidates that he talks about on the air have paid for advertisements in a newsletter he sends out to subscribers.

Columnist and ABC commentator George Will's wife works for Rick Perry. Fox host Greta Van Susteren's husband advised Herman Cain. NPR's Michele Norris left as host of "All Things Considered" in October because her husband began working for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

Such entanglements are laying bare the close ties between the media and political world during this campaign season while raising familiar questions: How much should consumers be clued in to preserve the sense that news organizations are acting independently? And what should journalists do to avoid the perception of a conflict?

There are no shortages of opinions on the topic and no one correct answer, though advocates for ethics in journalism tend to lean toward full disclosure of conflicts caused by relationships between politicians and on-air reporters or commentators.

"They may have an opinion, but they should still, I believe, have accuracy and fairness as their guidepost in the same way as other reporters," said Bob Steele, a journalism ethics professor at DePauw University.

On Monday, Morris became the latest to outline publicly his connections to the candidates he discusses on air, saying that Cain, who just suspended his campaign, Rep. Michele Bachmann and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich all have paid for ads in the free political newsletter he sends to nearly a half-million subscribers.

Morris said he does no paid political consulting work for candidates within the United States and has given free political advice to Cain, Bachmann, Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

"I drown them with advice," he said. "I'm constantly emailing them."

Morris' comments during Sean Hannity's prime-time program came a few hours after The Associated Press questioned him and Fox programming executive Bill Shine about the ads. Though he acknowledged the ads, Morris did not address questions from the AP about their propriety, in light of his commentator role, and did not immediately respond to requests for comment. And Shine declined requests for an interview about the topic.

The liberal advocacy group Media Matters for America, which subscribes to the newsletter, says it saw at least seven ads from July through October that stated they were paid for by Cain's campaign.

Morris, during some Fox appearances, expressed support of Cain's campaign and doubt about those who accused Cain of inappropriate sexual behavior. He said on Fox, "I look forward to her spread in Playboy" after Sharon Bialek publicly accused Cain of groping in 1997. Morris also dismissed Ginger White's claim that she had a long-running affair with the married Cain.

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