Columnist Robert B. Reich reports General Motors tried to pay him to praise the company in an editorial. “A few weeks ago a public-relations firm working for General Motors phoned to ask if I’d say on the media that the buy-back GM was offering its employees was a good deal for them,” wrote Reich. “GM’s public-relations firm said they’d offer me money if I did this, as a show of respect.” Reich said he declined the offer, and said he’d look at the discounts objectively.
“The White House goes around paying columnists like Armstrong Williams for favorable coverage. That’s bad enough,” Reich wrote in an article. “But if we’ve got to the point in this country when big corporations feel free to offer what are essentially bribes to columnists and commentators, we’re really in trouble. We no longer have a free press, we no longer have experts you can trust, and the opinions you read or hear every day are worth absolutely zilch.”
The Leftlane Perspective: We’re certainly not anti-GM here at LLN. In fact, we’re very excited the Zeta and Kappa platform vehicles in particular. That said, we think GM needs to reconsider this type of promotional strategy going forward. Now, it may not be fair to directly attribute these tactics to GM. It could be the automaker’s PR firm that made a unilateral decision to pay off columnist for praise. Either way, we think all automakers need to stop promoting themselves this way, because the Internet has made such efforts much harder to hide, and getting caught will only further tarnish your image.
04/23, 11:15 PM
posted by:
Captain America
pfffttt…who doesnt try to buy somebody off.
04/23, 11:22 PM
posted by:
James
Grow up Reich. If you want the “world” by the book, go back to elementary school. It’s people like you that caused GM to be in the financial trouble it’s in now.
04/24, 12:08 AM
posted by:
Tom
Ford has a commercial with a guy who writes a automotive column in one of their ads singing the praises of Ford.
I think it’s a bad ad strategy.
04/24, 12:25 AM
posted by:
*ahem*
something tells me Capt and James work for GM and are losing big money to imports? i mean, wasn’t it GM who brought problems to themselves? look no further than last week’s articles about GM, one about corvettes with roofs flying off and stuff. even kias going at 160 km/h don’t have such problems. that’s just one of the countless problems with GM.
04/24, 2:19 AM
posted by:
James
Everybody builds cars with parts that fly off, and you know it.
Ford has detaching side mirrors of the Focus.
Toyota has detaching ball joint of the Tundra.
Dodge has detaching ball joint of the Durango.
Nissan has the detaching power valve screws of the 2.5L’s.
Honda has something, and you know it. I’m sure you do, you import lover.
So don’t think GM’s mistake is anything special. There is always a chance of something wrong to what humans create. GM’s flying roof is just a small error, like all engineering, compared to the great amount of things that go right. Gm has no more problems than anyone else.
04/24, 6:34 AM
posted by:
Chad
He’s just another person trying to get his 15 minutes of fame in the media and to sell his book.
04/24, 7:05 AM
posted by:
JohnnyBlazE
Ford Focus Mirrors come off?
Since 2000 our Mk 1 Focus mirrors have taken a lot of abuse due to narrow streets and women drivers… They’re fine and solid, if a little scratched.
My Peugeot 206 on the other hand has had hell with its mirrors… and in fact any other part lol… if you wanna talk heap of poo cars, talk peugeot.
04/24, 9:37 AM
posted by:
Nathan
Robert Reich is a douchebag.
04/24, 10:10 AM
posted by:
Anonymous
Reich is a dwarf – more than in just stature. But then so is Geo. Bush, Bob Lutz and a whole bunch of posers and media whores.
How about the complete lot of draft dodgers, fellons and drug addicts who use the radio spectrum to turn us into pre-WWII Germany, right wing drones.. Reich Is just a lefty looking for equal time in a right wing phase shift. If GM offered it to a Bush supporter; they’d have taken it.
j i m
04/24, 10:42 AM
posted by:
Angelo
Reich is a commie, he’s a smart man, but he’s politics are dead wrong. Everytime he speaks on CNBC, I get frustrated with his mistaken socialist propaganda. His theory is only correct on the basis of his inaccurate evidence.
04/24, 11:39 AM
posted by:
JoJohn
If I had the same thing happen to me I would say no, but I wouldn’t run to the papers about it, nobody likes a tattle tale, because when you tattle on others, you’re really tattling on yourself…
04/24, 8:52 PM
posted by:
mark
reich isn’t a sellout. is that a problem? some are mad at reich instead of gm? this is crazy. reich isn’t bought by either left or right sides of politics. don’t insult him for it.
07/11, 11:38 PM
posted by:
bhanson
heres an idea..take your foreign vehicle and stick it in your ass. go buy an american vehicle (general motors) and stop taking food out of hard working american’s family’s mouths.
07/11, 11:39 PM
posted by:
bhanson
Reich should learn that this is nothing new, lots of people do get paid to endorse companies via written communication.
08/10, 3:29 PM
posted by:
equipoise
equipoise equipoise
08/13, 4:47 PM
posted by:
winstrol
winstrol winstrol