Is 'People' Playing Nice with Sarah Palin?

Us Weekly may have it in for Sarah Palin, but the Republican ticket seems to have found a friend it can trust in People.

For the second week in a row, the campaign granted Time Inc.'s celebrity weekly an exclusive for its cover. This week, it's an at-home with John McCain and his family; last week, it was the first major interview with Palin, the country's top newsmaker, since her nomination.

Is People repaying the favor by ignoring stories its new conservative pals might find unpleasant? Yesterday, Matt Damon sounded off on McCain's running mate, calling her "scary" and demanding to know whether she believes in young-Earth creationism. The clip, which has already been viewed about half a million times on YouTube, got big play on other entertainment/celebrity sites, including Us Weekly and OK's websites, E!, Popeater, and JustJared. But People.com has so far ignored it.

And lest you think newsworthiness is the bar here, People did post a story -- from the Toronto film festival, where Damon made his remarks about Palin -- quoting the actor talking about how his infant daughter smiles while she goes to the bathroom.

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