Dan Gillmor, the director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship and a veteran journalist and blogger, argues in The Guardian that ghostwritten op-ed pieces are contributing to public cynicism about media.

Gillmor questions the ethics of news organizations that permit pieces to appear under the bylines of those who didn't create them. If they were students and attempted to present such work, they'd be given a failing grade, he notes.

Gillmor doesn't accept the argument that these pieces are no different than speech-written work. In this instance, he says, there is "an outright, direct lie." He believes news organizations should not agree to carry them and should recognize that doing so is a "sleight-of-hand" that diminishes trust.

He concludes: "If I'd flunk a student for doing it, why should I give a pass to the rich and powerful?"