Newspaper Forbids Bureau Chief To Appear on Voice of America

The Hartford Courant has ordered its Washington bureau chief to stop his appearances on a weekly Voice of America program because of concerns that the modest payments involved could be seen as a conflict of interest.

The veteran journalist, David Lightman, had been a frequent panelist on a roundtable program discussing events in the nation's capital, "Issues in the News." VOA pays $100 to guests on each show and $150 to the moderator.

An editor for politics at the Courant, Michael Regan, said the arrangement was unwise in light of recent controversies over instances in which the Bush administration quietly paid columnists and other journalists to advance the White House's policies.

"The whole issue of the Bush administration buying news coverage, although it didn't affect David's situation at all, I think changed the atmosphere," Mr. Regan said. The Courant's decision followed a report in The New York Sun last week discussing the ethics of the payments to Washington journalists in light of a flap over larger payments to Cuban-American journalists appearing on two American government outlets aimed at Cuba, Radio and TV Marti.

Two staff reporters and one freelancer for a Spanish-language newspaper in Miami, El Nuevo Herald, were fired after their moonlighting for the Marti channels was disclosed by the paper's English-language counterpart, the Miami Herald. At least one of the journalists has insisted that her private employer knew about the government work.

Mr. Regan said Mr. Lightman got approval for his appearances from a prior editor and raised the issue with management again after the Radio and TV Marti payments came to light.

Mr. Lightman did not return a call yesterday seeking comment, but told the Sun last week that he saw no conflict.

A regular host and panelist on "Issues in the News," Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard, derided the Courant's action as "ethical preening."

A syndicated columnist who is also a regular participant in the VOA broadcast, Georgie Anne Geyer, said she saw no reason to quit the show. "This is an absurd nonstory," she said. "We get paid $100 for what is about three hours of work, which is not something I would do except that I feel that it is in my country's interest."

A spokesman for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, Larry Hart, said he saw nothing shocking in the payments to the reporters in Miami and Washington.

"These people are not corrupted by coming on VOA," he said. "If you're going to say a few Cuban-American journalists are corrupted by coming on … then every major journalist who has been on VOA for the past 35 years has also been corrupted."

"I think that's preposterous," Mr. Barnes said. "I've been doing this show for 25 years and nobody has forced me to do or say anything. If you listen to the show, there is probably more criticism of the incumbent administration than praise."