Sarah Palin Speaking Fees Kept Secret to Curtail Negative News Coverage of University Event

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

'Good News,' California Official Says of Decision to Keep Size of Palin Paycheck Secret

The speaking fee headed to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for a scheduled June speech at a California State University was kept secret in order to spare the university from more negative coverage, according to internal emails released by a state lawmaker Tuesday.

The decision not to share the fee, despite requests for details from state officials and members of the media, came following a lengthy exchange between CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed and Bernie Swain, chairman of the Washington Speakers Bureau, which handles Palin's paid speaking engagements.

"The release of the fee, while well-intentioned to share all details, will likely only serve as the financial headline for a new round of stories rather than the intended purpose of clearing the air and making the stories go away," Swain advises Reed. "Your event needs fewer story lines, less oxygen for the fuel, not more."

Reed responded: "Bernie, I agree with you that the damage is done and the disclosure will just cause another round of newspaper stories. The campus should have worked this through with you all in the beginning."

After the chancellor shared the exchange with other university officials, Kristen Olsen, who heads the Stanislaus campus public relations office, responded: "Good news. The Chancellor is satisfied now with not disclosing the fee."

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/sarah-palin-speaking-fees-secret-curtail-negative-news/story?id=10617201

[Kolesar]

1. "I am sure that we can arrange an honorarium from the student fund"

[Fridays Child]

2. State and federal funds help run that school. We have the right to know. Am I in error?

[Lasher]

5. You are correct, and we have a right to object.

Public money is being used to fund Palin, who is essentially a sub-human political campaign.

[Scuba]

10. Is there no open records law in California?

[Lasher]

14. I would think the federal Freedom of Information Act would apply.

Surely this university receives federal funding.

[Scuba]

16. Excellent point. Thanks.

[secondwind]

3. I thought it was $200,000!

[superconnected]

4. This better be a private university to pay 200k for her to speak...

[whathehell]

6. California State?......I don't think so.

[superconnected]

7. I didn't either.

[whathehell]

17. Really?...Then why insist "it better be"? n/t

[superconnected]

18. I didn't "insist" but continue to make crap up.

Description of insist - American Heritage® Dictionary

INTRANSITIVE VERB: To be firm in a demand or course; refuse to yield: insisted on giving me a second helping. insistence, insistency, insister, insistingly, insisted, insisting, insists

------------
Gee, sounds like you.

[whathehell]

19. Gee...

Sounds like you've got a bug up your ass.

Maybe you could find a more substantive argument in which to work it out.

..This one's a tad lame for my taste.:eyes:

[mike_c]

12. it's a private FOUNDATION at a public university....

More like a quasi-private foundation. This is the organization that administers grants, at least some university assets, and so on. It's essentially a financial management corporation headquartered on campus. By law, they perform services for the university administration and faculty that we are not permitted to perform for ourselves, at least not on state property and time, like administering our own grants. In order to be compliant, CSU foundations-- every campus has one-- are NOT part of the university, even though they are sited there and all of their business centers around the university. Many of the foundation employees are actually university employees, but others are not. Universtity foundations are typically set up as 501(c) non-profits. They have separate boards of directors, for example. The executive director is almost certainly NOT a university employee.

The foundation on my campus pays rent for the offices it occupies, pays separate telecom bills, and is insulated from the campus computer network to a great extent.

Charlie Reed is my boss, so I'll refrain from commenting about my opinions further.

[aquart]

27. WHAT???

No possible way. At a state U? Are they fucking insane?

[jberryhill]

8. Bass ackwards

If you think disclosure will generate "negative press" then it is a sign you might reconsider what you intend to do with public money in the first place.

You don't do it and decide not to disclose.

[denverbill]

9. Well give Palin the choice: Disclose the fee or don't speak. Or better yet, speak for free. n/t

[wishlist]

11. Tea partiers need to protest taxpayer funds used to pay for her speech nt

[Mojeoux]

26. Those funds should be helping students!!

With all the cuts to education and raised fees to get an education here in California, this is crap.

[alp227]

13. "speaking fees kept secret to curtail negative news" W. T. F.

Clearly that means that the fees would outrage California taxpayers (at least the liberal ones, hee hee) in an era where the public universities in the state are cutting down services and classes to the bare brittle bone.

[tanyev]

15. How'd that hidey-secretey thing workin' out for ya?

[alp227]

20. E-mails show effort to keep Palin's fee secret

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

The amount of money Sarah Palin will collect to speak at a Cal State Stanislaus fundraiser in June should remain secret because disclosure would attract unwanted attention to the school, the head of Palin's speaking agency advised CSU Chancellor Charles Reed as a controversy over the fee began to simmer in the press.

"The release of the fee, while well-intentioned to share all details, will likely only serve as the financial headline for a new round of stories rather than the intended purpose of clearing the air and making the stories go away," Bernie Swain, president of the Washington Speakers Bureau wrote Reed in an e-mail on March 31. "Your event needs fewer story lines, less oxygen for the fuel, not more."

Reed agreed, adding that "disclosure will just cause another round of newspaper stories."

The e-mail exchange was among nearly 900 pages of Palin-related paperwork released by the university Monday in response to a lawsuit by Californians Aware, an open-government group.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/12/BA5O1DD1B8.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea

---

Great. This is no Climategate. The details are explicit and wide open in the emails. The school knew damn well that the people would revolt if Palin's fee were public, in an era where the California public university systems are gutted to the bone.

[AndyA]

21. What shocks me is that they can find enough people who want to hear her speak.

Maybe it's the bearded lady at the circus freak show thing, they just can't believe it until they see it for themselves.

The woman is an idiot, to quote Keith Olbermann. And he's being too nice.

[tularetom]

23. NO trouble finding 'em around here in dumshitland

This is our one of our local institutions of higher(?) learning. I'd call it a cow college but cows are too smart to attend.

They'll have to turn people away when the big night comes.

[fascisthunter]

22. I'm Really Sick of This Scumbag Sociopath getting away with illegal acts

it appears she has many friends in high places. It would be useful to find out WHO these bastards are.

[bemildred]

24. This seems like some sort of stupidity contest, but you can't be sure yet who is losing. nt

[DeSwiss]

25. Clown acts are a part of our heritage though.....

...it's a cultural entertainment staple.

[classysassy]

28. Yo Sarah,maybe we can get our governor a job as your

opening act.Anything to get our lovely governor out of this state.

[marshall]

29. The speaking fee is being paid by a foundation, separate from the school and its public funds

But the public does have a right to know how much the university will be paying for security and other related expenses (if any) associated with the event.

[Rex]

30. Wow, what a bunch of idiots. 200k to a moron to dribble scripted crapple!

The Chancellor must have a PHD in Loser.