The network grew from 300 sites to nearly 1,300 from June to October in 2019
As local newspapers continue to fold up nationwide, the report found that the network’s operation saw a spike from only about 300 sites to 1,300 from June through October last year.
It said the operation is rooted in deception and lacks fairness and transparency, which are basic tenets of journalism. Traditional news outlets, the report adds, do not accept payment for stories.
Times said the network contracts with freelancers in the country and abroad, paying a meager $3 to $36 per job, which typically come with instructions on who to interview and what to write. “In some cases, those instructions are written by the network’s clients, who are sometimes the subjects of the articles.”
Ian Prior, a Republican operative that previously worked for the Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee that seeks to maintain a Republican majority in the Senate, was identified in the report–the one behind a number of articles about U.S. Senate candidates.
Mr. Prior is leading a public relations firm that “markets its ability to get coverage in local news outlets,” the Times was told in an e-mail. Prior reportedly pitches stories to a variety of outlets, including Timpone’s network because it “actually covers local issues.”
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