Fox News Contributors Have Conflicts, But No Disclosure

By Alex Weprin 

Ah, cable television “contributors.” They can be anyone, and talk about anything, and can often be a real pain in the side of some TV executives. Back in July, we noted that CNN analyst David Gergen routinely spoke about and praised Bain Capital on the network, without noting that he had a business relationship with the company, and had benefited from it financially.

Now liberal media watchdog group Media Matters notes that a number of “contributors” to Fox News are also advisers or members of the Romney Presidential campaign, but are not identified as such when talking about the campaign or Romney. Among them: Pete Snyder, Walid Phares, Elaine Chao and John Bolton.

Having a contributor with a conflict of interest on is not in and of itself a problem, but not disclosing that conflict can lead to misinformed viewers.

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