I was a little annoyed the other day to read in the LA Times an article highly critical of the Gates Foundation. Under the heading “A Times Investigation” the reporter’s focus was on the types of investments that the Gates Foundation makes with its nearly $66 billion endowment. The jist of the article was that some of the financial investments that the Foundation was making “undercut” the good works of the Foundation itself. As part of the reporter’s case against the investment practices of the Foundation, the Foundation’s investment in Diageo was cited. Somehow, it is implied, an investment in Diageo undercuts the good works of the foundation. At no point is it explained in the article why this inference should be viewed as true. It is merely stated as a fact.

Certainly there’s no mention of the millions of dollars that Diageo spends against its Water of Life program, nor the tens of millions it spends in responsible drinking campaigns - both facts which seem to undercut the premise of the reporter’s point. Interestingly, neither was there any sort of mention of what sort of investments the parent company of the Times makes, not to mention what sort of advertising the LA Times accepts. In fact, I wonder if one were to go to the LA Times web site to read the aforementioned article what sort of advertising they might find.