There has been a big kerfuffle lately surrounding some former Reagan/Bush/Clinton stooge that coincidentally has a book to sell. Former White House staffer turned author and Bush critic, Dick Clarke, was given a lot of prime time coverage on CBS' 60 Minutes this Sunday. Viacom, CBS' parent company, as it turns out had a huge financial interest in the "news" story. Drudge points out that the very book that Clarke was hawking on 60 Minutes is being published by Viacom. As media outlets are turning into huge multi-media conglomerates, product placement like this is becoming more common.

The real losers are the viewers. They think they're watching a legitimate news program, but are instead being sold a bag of goods