Paper scrubs column; cites MoveOn donation

SPOKANE, Wash., June 23 (UPI) -- A Washington newspaper decided to scrub plans to run a column on ethics from The New York Times because the writer gave money to the liberal group MoveOn.org.

The editors of The (Spokane) Spokesman-Review announced this week they had scratched the scheduled launch of Randy Cohen's "The Ethicist" column because his contributions were contrary to rules set down in their own newsroom.

"It would by hypocritical of us to run an ethics column by a journalist in violation of our own ethics policy," Editor Steven Smith said on the paper's Web site. "We'll look elsewhere for a publishable ethicist."

The New York Daily News said Cohen was named on MSNBC as being among the 144 media types who donated to political causes, most of which were considered "liberal."

Cohen told MSNBC he didn't think the contribution he made in 2004 was a radical act, although he acknowledged the Times has its own rules barring political donations by staffers.