Gingrich begins charging $50 for pics at events

(CBS News) HOCKESSIN, Delaware - In a sign that his campaign is in need of fresh funds, Newt Gingrich on Monday began charging $50 to have a photograph taken with him following a campaign speech to Republican County groups here in the northernmost part of the state.

It was the first time the former House speaker has charged those attending one of his public speaking events to pose for a photograph with him. Lately, a member of his campaign staff has been snapping photographs of any interested attendee and later posting them online at the campaign's website, newt.org.

On Monday night, those paying for a photograph were also told they could find their photos on Gingrich's website, after they had filled out a form providing their credit card information.

The campaign limped out of the month of February posting more debt than cash on hand. And poor showings in the recent primaries of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama - all southern states Gingrich had once expressed optimism he could win - are likely to not help any fundraising pushes.

Gingrich held only one public event on Monday - in Hockessin, located in a state that votes on Apr. 24. He was scheduled to travel to North Carolina on Wednesday, but that trip was cancelled today in favor of campaigning in the Washington D.C. area. The speaker will spend his next two days there and in Maryland before heading to Wisconsin at the end of the week.