These days its not uncommon for columnist to work for nothing, a sad fact of life caused by the economic pressure on the journalism industry.
But what about if your columnist is secretly being paid by someone else? That would appear to cross the ethical line.
The Guardian reports that a piece in The Herald was secretly paid for by the Yes Scotland campaign.
The piece states that Dr W Elliot Bulmer is research director of the Constitutional Commission. But it makes no mention of the payment (said to be around £100 which was not declared to The Herald).
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