Don't Trust The News Until You Know Where The Wampum Came From

RTW News. Atlanta. Update: June 22, 2007. 9:09 a.m. EDT.

RTW wants to make clear that it does not pay for news it brings to you in this space. This position has nothing to do with journalistic ethics. RTW has no access to the interviewees and no budget to bribe them with if it bumped into them on the street. RTW gathers its news in the traditional, time-honored way. It reads several stories on the internet, paraphrases them and then pontificates, as demonstrated below:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-et-nbc22jun22,1,2494128.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews&track=crosspromo is a link to an LATimes article on the wider story of NBC's reportedly offering Paris Hilton a cool Million Dollars for an exclusive post slammer story.

Sheltered, we were a bit shocked by the NBC report. It turns out that NBC is a piker when it comes to "paying but not paying" for the Hilton interview. More money has been paid to others.

Sixth Grade: "Who, What, When, Where, Why." The why, only if it was an editorial. What "W" do we need to add to the rubric on how to judge a news story? I've got it! Wampum. Following the money is now a part of the mix when deciding whether news has credibility. Remember, that sixth W is of no consequence when you consider RTW's reportage. Our motto: No Wampum, All The Time. Depend On It.