"...in a New York Times news story on Dec. 22 about embattled media magnate Conrad M. Black, that columnist George F. Will, whose work is syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group, had been a member of an advisory board set up by Black and had received a $25,000 per diem for each meeting attended. Will had included a few lines from a speech by Black in his column on March 4, 2003, just before the Iraq war, without disclosing his past financial relationship.

[...]

"...Will is a veteran columnist, an erudite expresser of conservative political views. His column is among the most popular in America, distributed to some 465 papers. When asked in the Times news story whether he should have disclosed this relationship in a column in which he invokes Black's views, Will was quoted as saying: "My business is my business. Got it?"

"Will has been at the center of disclosure issues before. In 1980, he appeared on ABC's "Nightline" to praise Ronald Reagan's performance in a debate with Jimmy Carter and it was later disclosed that he had helped coach Reagan for the debate. Undoubtedly, a fair share of the complaints about Will this time probably come from readers who oppose his political views.