Cord Byrd: “The Times article spotlighted three new segments that each looked the same as any other 90-second segment on the local…”

“The Times article spotlighted three new segments that each looked the same as any other 90-second segment on the local news. But these are not new. The Federal Government produced all three of these. The Times told of a news segment produced by the State Department featuring a jubilant Iraqi American telling a news crew in Kansas City: ``Thank you, Bush. Thank you, USA.'' The Department of Homeland Security apparently produced a so-called news report on the creation of the Transportation Security Administration. The reporter called the establishment of TSA ``one of the most remarkable campaigns in aviation history.'' But what the American people, the viewers, did not know was that the so-called reporter was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. How about that? A third segment broadcast in January was based on a news report produced by the Department of Agriculture. The Agriculture Department apparently employs two full-time people to act--listen now--to act as reporters. They travel the country and create their own so-called news, distributing their work via satellite and mail, always pushing the White House line. What are things coming to? In the January report, these U.S. Department of Agriculture employees, claiming to be independent journalists, called President Bush ``the best envoy in the world.'' I am not here to argue whether George W.…”