CNN's Political Consultant Policy Comes Under Question

It is widely known in Cable News, particularly in the United States, that the best inside knowledge and information comes from political consultants and campaign managers.  Because of that, the networks pay the most widely regarded consultants handsome appearance fees.  Bill Carter of the New York Times writes about on of CNN's paid political commentators, Alex Castellanos, about criticism directed at CNN because of his work with the Republican party, and that it operated a different policy from the rest in that respect.  Carter writes;

Mr. Castellanos, who previously drew criticism from Democrats for owning a firm that produced advertisements for the Chamber of Commerce and health insurance companies, was named this week as an image consultant for the Republican National Committee.

On Tuesday, a CNN spokeswoman said the appointment would not disqualify Mr. Castellanos for working as a paid commentator because his job for the R.N.C. was an unpaid position. The spokeswoman, Edie Emery, said CNN had allowed Democratic political advisers like Paul Begala to continue working as long as the jobs they did for the party or candidates were unpaid.

Read the full article here.