payola

Univision Communications Inc. has agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations that the company's radio stations and its employees accepted secret cash payments to give more frequent airplay to artists with a former Univision recording label.

Somehow the term became a pejorative for "sell-out." Now moms who blog stand accused at every turn of taking freebies, shilling products while secretly on the company payroll and of profiting from a huge payola system of their own devise.