Now the FDA Paid Journalists, Too?

Joe in DC posting at AmericaBlog brings us this:

USA Today has another story about the Bush Administration's foibles today. Add the Department of Agriculture to the list of Bush agencies which paid for good press. When the government does that, it's called propaganda. These people are shameless and apparently there are no repercussions:

A third federal agency has admitted it paid a journalist to write favorable stories about its work. Documents released by the Agriculture Department show it paid a freelance writer $9,375 in 2003 to "research and write articles for hunting and fishing magazines describing the benefits of NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) programs."

Three articles by the writer, Dave Smith, appeared late last year in two magazines aimed at hunting and fishing enthusiasts: Outdoor Oklahoma, published by that state's Department of Wildlife Conservation, and Washington-Oregon Game & Fish, published by Primedia.