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Hugh Hewitt and His Conflict-of-Interest Conflicts

Posted by Gustavo Arellano in Hugh Hewitt Watch

June 4, 2007 10:06 AM

Permalink | Comments (4)

Meet Shine Like Stars, an Irvine-based Christian-rock band that jams the Divine fantastic at Irvine Presbyterian Church, specifically in its Veritas form of service. They're playing this Wednesday at San Clemente Presbyterian Church in anticipation of a small Pacific Coast tour. Good for them, seriously.

But here's the rub: Recently, Shine Likes Stars received major promotion gracias to OC's own Hugh Hewitt, blogger extraordinaire, nationally syndicated radio host and successful author. Hewitt has devoted two mini-posts to Shine Like Stars and played the group's music on his radio show. Nowhere in the posts did Hewitt disclose that his "pals" are worshippers at Irvine Presbyterian, where Hewitt is an elder. In the interest of fairness, I can't say the same about the radio plug, as I didn't hear it—if Hugh mentioned the connection, good for him; if not, shame!

This isn't the first time (see the Tuesday item) Hewitt has plugged the efforts of pals while failing to disclose his friendships (in that instance, Hewitt later spilled the beans while taking a swipe at us). Will he come clean again? Will conservative bloggers froth at the mouth again about another instance of non-disclosures amongst media giants? Stay tuned . . .

 

Comments (4)

  1. Greg says:
    June 5, 2007 08:06

    Did or does Mr. Hewitt get any money from this band? If so, then you have a point. If not, so he plugs a group he likes.

    Unlike other media members who have a financial conflict of interest that is not disclosed to the reader.

  2. Gustavo Arellano says:
    June 5, 2007 08:06

    Not true. No "media member" in their right mind would ever plug a family member or friend's business. Maybe such ethical stances are outdated in this modern world, but that's the philosophy to which most of us subscribe.

  3. Gerry Kilroy says:
    June 5, 2007 15:06

    Have to agree with Greg. Look, he identifies them as "pals", i.e, he more than likes their music, he has a personal relationship with band members. Unless he is making $$, who cares if his disclosed friendship arose out of church, schoolmates or simply neighbors?

  4. Dale says:
    July 10, 2007 11:43

    Hey guys,
    This is Dale Huntington. I am the leader of the band "Shine like stars." If I could clear up a couple things... Hugh is NOT an elder at our church but he is a friend. On his radio show he said that we were "pals" openly but he also said that he likes our music, which he does. We have never given Hugh any money for his endorsements. Hugh just wanted to help out some friends. Hope this clears things up.

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