Los Angeles Times: Blogging for dollars raises questions of online ethics

From the Los Angeles Times:

"Thousands of bloggers are writing sponsored posts touting such diverse topics as diamonds, digital cameras and drug clinics. The bloggers are spurred by new marketing middlemen such as PayPerPost Inc. that connect advertisers with mom-and-pop webmasters. Some of their fellow bloggers are critical, saying the industry is polluting the blog world and misleading consumers by blurring the line between advertising and unbiased opinion."

Comment: This is an unhelpful trend for those of us trying to make the case for the credibility of online media, but it is also inevitable -- if there's money lying around, someone will stoop to pick it up.

On a related note, I am amused by the reporter's use of the paradoxical phrase "unbiased opinion."