A university journalism instructor is one of several journalists who faced scrutiny last week for commentating on federally owned radio shows.

Adjunct David Lightman, the Washington bureau chief for the Connecticut-based Hartford Courant, drew a hard look from journalism ethics watchdogs for being a paid panelist on Issues in the News, a show on the federally owned Voice of America.

Courant editors said last week that Lightman would cease appearing on the show.

The revelations about Lightman and various other reporters were reported by El Nuevo-Herald, a Miami-based Spanish-language newspaper that employed three of 10 South Florida reporters who apparently took payola from the federal government in exchange for anti-Castro comments on Radio and TV Marti, which are federally funded broadcasts to Cuba aimed at promoting democracy.

Lightman, who mostly covers the Connecticut congressional delegation, was not named as part of the South Florida scandal first reported by the Miami Herald, which owns El Nuevo Herald. But he attracted South Florida scandal first reported by the Miami Herald, which owns El Nuevo Herald. But he attracted attention for his role as an independent journalist being paid for his work on a federally funded show.

Though a Miami Herald editor was quoted in the Nuevo Herald as being concerned that Lightman could influence how the Courant covers government activities, Lightman’s editors said he neither reports on agencies that run the Voice of America nor makes final decisions about coverage.

“His decisions are made in conjunction with higher editors … He makes no editorial decisions,” said Courant assistant managing editor Michael Regan.

It is considered unethical for journalists to ever receive payment, gifts or favors from news sources. In recent years, the Bush administration has paid journalists at news sources such as The New York Times, USA Today and CBS News to promote the government’s agenda.

“In this day and age, many journalists who have multiple sources of income, many are on TV, many are on radio, it gets a little blurrier as far as conflicts of interest,” said Mark Jurkowitz, associate director at the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a media research organization. “If one source of income is somehow connected to what you are covering, that’s an issue that needs to be disclosed with the public and discussed with the newspaper.”

The South Florida scandal raised eyebrows among watchdogs, who rekindled a debate about what kinds of jobs journalists can be paid for; however, assistant dean Steve Crane said he was not concerned with Lightman’s appearances on the show.

“I think there is the possibility of a conflict, but does it worry me as an administrator that our adjunct gets paid [by Voice of America]? No,” Crane said. “It doesn’t compromise him or his ability to teach.”

Former journalism dean Reese Cleghorn added that students are less likely to confront ethical issues such as Lightman’s, and journalism officials “worry a lot more about plagiarism. I can’t think of any high-profile example of conflict of interest,” he said.

Most recently, the journalism school received intense scrutiny concerning ethical issues when former journalism student Jayson Blair resigned from The Times in 2003 over allegations of plagiarized and fabricated material.

Courant editors will no longer allow Lightman to appear on Voice of America to avoid associating him with Radio Marti and TV Marti, Regan said.

“In retrospect, given the Bush administration’s pensions on what are clearly unethical circumstances … paying reporters … I wish we would have reconsidered,” he said.

Lightman’s editors at the Courant were always aware of his other jobs, but while teaching his reporting class here, he did not notify administrators about his Voice of America work.

“[At the Courant] we have very strong ethics, and it was disclosed very clearly,” said Lightman, who wrote for The Diamondback over 30 years ago. “I’d be happy to tell [the College of Journalism], but I don’t know if I needed to.”

Unlike the Courant, this university does not require adjunct professors to disclose jobs outside of the university, Crane said.

“That’s the strength of our college – we have working journalists. We wouldn’t have adjuncts [if they could not have other jobs],” said Crane, who hopes this turns into a conducive educational experience. “We train our students to get in [Lightman’s] face and say, ‘What the f— is with that?’ I hope it will come up in class.”

Contact reporter Ben Block at blockdbk@gmail.com.