Major News Sites Bought and Paid For By Coal Industry: Coal Lobby Buys Politico, Real Clear Politics

By David Halperin
Last week, the political news website Real Clear Politics hosted a Washington DC event (video) targeted at an elite media and policy audience. Held at the gleaming Newseum, site of many such events, it was entitled, ”U.S. Energy Policy: The Road Ahead,” and appeared to be a genuine policy discussion. It was, in fact, an infomercial.

The event was sponsored by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), a major trade organization for the U.S. coal industry. ACCCE was paying to have an energy discussion before journalists and policymakers – and for the opportunity to have ACCCE’s CEO Mike Duncan lead off the program with remarks arguing that coal remains essential to the U.S. economy. Duncan, who is a former head of the Republican National Committee and cofounder of the Karl Rove super PAC American Crossroads, candidly called his opening remarks a “paid commercial” and asked the audience to respect his purchase by quieting down to listen carefully.  But in fact the whole event, not just Duncan’s remarks, was tilted by ACCCE money.

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