"One of the most striking developments to come out of the three payola flaps involving conservative pundits that have surfaced recently," writes Brian Montopoli, "has been just how surprised the participants seem to be at the uproar that has greeted the exposure of their actions. ...

"The Syrian government, increasingly under fire for its suspected role in sponsoring terrorist activity, has launched a PR offensive to improve its image in the West," reports PR Week.

"Only weeks before Halliburton made headlines by announcing it was pulling out of Iran ... the Texas-based oil services firm quietly signed a major new business deal to help develop Tehran’s natural gas fields," Newsweek's Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball write. "But overlooked in most of the press coverage of the announcement was that [Halliburton CEO David] Lesar’s statement contained enough wiggle room to permit Halliburton to continue participating in the new South Pars project. ...