Overly friendly turf
In New York, reporters who cover horse racing have had a small but cozy side gig with the New York Racing Association - which these same writers were covering. The association's bankruptcy filings show that it was paying $50 appearance fees to the writers to talk about their work on camera.
While that's not a great deal of money, this nonetheless is an unseemly daily double. Just say neigh, folks. (http://tuweb1a.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?category=STATE&storyID=558190&BCCode=&newsdate=1/29/2007)