Will Pay For Good Press

We've certainly seen a fair share of media controversies over the past few years, but the latest has very little to do with America's Fourth Estate (we think.) The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times are reporting on a Pentagon effort to pay for and plant positive stories about the Iraq war in Iraqi newspapers. This is causing a stir not only within the journalism community here, but also within the Pentagon itself, according to the reports. Winning hearts and minds or subverting the establishment of a free and independent press? What do you think?