http://rawstory.com/aexternal/usda_paid_reporter_511 PAYOLA WATCH
USDA paid freelance writer $7,500 for placing articles
RAW STORY
An Agriculture Department agency paid a freelance writer at least $7,500 to write articles touting federal conservation programs and place them in outdoors magazines, according to agency records and interviews, the Washington Post is set to report Wednesday, RAW STORY has learned.
Excerpts:
The Natural Resources Conservation Service hired freelancer Dave Smith in September 2003 to "research and write articles for hunting and fishing magazines describing the benefits of NRCS Farm Bill programs to wildlife habitat and the environment," according to agency procurement documents obtained by The Washington Post through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Smith, contracted to craft five stories for $1,875 each, also was to "contact and work magazine editors to place the articles in targeted publications," the records show.
Full story slated in Wednesday's Washington Post.
The story, which went up briefly on the website's RSS feed and was removed, was still anticipated in Wednesday editions late Tuesday.