Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Politico Distorts Facts, Again!

Reporting on Governor Palin's final financial disclosure, Politico once again found a way to distort the facts.

Former GOP Gov. Sarah Palin netted $1.25 million on the book deal for her memoirs, according to financial disclosure forms made public Tuesday by the state of Alaska.

The figure is significantly less than the $11 million figure floated in news reports, but still represents a significant haul for a governor who earned a salary of $73,000 in her last year leading the state.
Governor Palin on her disclosure statement makes it clear that this amount had been received as a “Retainer for Book”.

A retainer is a fee paid to retain a professional service. This is the amount paid upon signing a contract and usually prior to any services being rendered. A retainer does not reflect the total amount agreed for the specific service.

The amount disclosed is what she received while still governor and she was duty bound to disclose this information. As a private citizen any further payments received after she left office as a private matter between herself and the publishers.

Though we don't know what the actual deal was - and it's nobody's business - this disclosure does not contradict the $11 million floated. A 10% retainer is actually quite common

Call me old fashioned, but once in a while I would like to see some professional Journalism in action.

UPDATE: Greta reports on the disclosure. "This is NOT Governor Palin's total book deal, she stands to make much more"


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