Ben Stein Fired From NYT

Jillian Bandes | August 07, 2009 6:19 PM

Ben Stein has been fired from his position as financial columnist for the New York Times after Stein accepted a position as spokesman for FreeScore, the scam finance company which runs catchy advertisements for free credit scores but then charges a ridiculous $30 fee to see the report behind the score (the credit reports are actually free for consumers).

Stein was apparently unaware that accepting a position of advocacy would disqualify him from his job with the New York Times. He still writes for Yahoo Finance, and appears as a TV pundit from time to time. From the Times spokesman Catherin Mathis, via Gawker:

Ben Stein's fine work for us as a columnist for Sunday Business had to end, we told him, after we learned that he had become a commercial spokesman for FreeScore, a financial services company. Ben didn't understand when he signed on with FreeScore that this might pose a potential conflict for him as a contributing columnist for the Times, because he hadn't written about credit scores or this company. But, we decided that being a commercial spokesman for FreeScore while writing his column wouldn't be appropriate.

We are sorry to lose him as a columnist, and appreciate his work for the Times over the years.

Stein has produced conservative documentaries such as Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which explores the teaching of intelligent-design in schools.