Petrelis Files

Time Warner Chief's FEC File

To: Jack Shafer
Editor-at-large, Slate.com

Hey Shafer,

I've just read your column on Time Warner chairman Richard Parson's gag order he tried to impose on reporters covering a recent interview with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, conducted by Time's editor in chief, Norman Pearlstine, and have some information you might be interested in.

You point out, "Lost in the dust-up was a discussion about why Parsons would impose any conditions, well-conceived or otherwise, on the invited audience."

One reason why could be Parson's political donations at the national level, which is quite substantial.

His Federal Election Commission records, on file at NewsMeat.com, shows he's given a total of $119,750 to GOP candidates, only $12,000 to Democrats, and $73,000 to special interests committees. Overall, since 1988 when he donated money to George Herbert Walker Bush for president, and before and during his tenure at Time Warner chief, Parsons has doled out $204,750 to politicians and causes.

Maybe his GOP leanings were a motivating factor behind his effort to gag the audience at the Scalia talk?

Any man or woman in the press business who can write a check for $25,000 to the Republican National Committee, like Parsons did, on top of the $4,000 he contributed to Dubya; $2,000 in 2000 and again in 2004, has a political agenda.

And, I, for one, think Parsons is not always transparent about his agenda and how he uses his perch at Time Warner to aid in implement his GOP agenda.

Also, RawStory.com has posted an article on Parsons' donations today and is worth reading.