At first it was only supermarket tabloids like the National Enquirer that did it. While the "respectable" media shunned the practice, the Enquirer developed a long and proud tradition of "checkbook journalism," paying sources for such sensational exclusives as a photo of Elvis Presley in his coffin or "revelations" about Donald Trump by his ex-housekeeper.
But thanks to heightened competition for the next big "get," journalism's Thou-Shalt-Not-Pay commandment has lately been taking a beating. News and gossip sites that paid for information have broken some of the biggest and most sensational recent stories. TV news divisions have joined in, spurring an arms race to buy big stories.




The first civilian trial of a Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspect appeared deadlocked Monday when a juror asked to be dismissed because she felt "attacked" for being a lone holdout in reaching a verdict.
According to a June 2010 fact sheet on the USAID Internet site, last year American taxpayers funded the paving of 63 kilometers of asphalt roads in the West Bank. Travelers along the "original" West Bank roads, the ones enabling drivers to bypass Palestinian villages, can see signs declaring "USAID from the American People."
A federal jury Monday convicted Washington lobbyist Kevin A. Ring on five of eight counts related to the Jack Abramoff bribery and influence-peddling scandal, handing a victory to the Justice Department unit charged with fighting corruption in government.
President Jose Mujica described Uruguay Monday as a "laboratory of confrontation" with Big Tobacco.





























