Full disclosure, you can take the day off.
CBS's "The Early Show" included a statement in its Dec. 18 report on the Big 3 bailout from "auto industry analyst," Dan McGinn. Letting the massive car companies fail "would be like 10 Katrinas hitting America at the same time," McGinn asserted. "The American public understands that."
What the report didn't say is that McGinn is also an adviser to General Motors. Furthermore, TMG Strategies the public relations firm McGinn heads, lists GM as a client. McGinn has been making the case for an auto bailout in many news stories and issuing some compelling statements on behalf of his client.
On MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews," McGinn was labeled as an "auto industry consultant," Dec. 4. There was no mention of his link to GM.
"I mean, come on, are we going to protect the 401ks for people but we aren't going to protect the jobs for people," said McGinn to Matthews. "Chris, this is about jobs, this is about little leagues, this is about churches in America. I worked in West Virginia, my dad worked in a factory for 43 years to get a pention."
It could be that CBS and MSNBC were simply mistaken. After all, why wouldn't an "analyst" and "consultant" to the auto industry list only one automaker among the IBMs, Texacos, Cokes and 3Ms of its client roster?
