Unintentionally Revealing Quotes Dept.

The New York Daily News reports on Christopher "the Toy Guy" Byrne, who every holiday shopping season appears on scores of television and radio shows promoting his selections for the best and hottest toys of the year.

But what the parents and children don't know, and are not told by anchors and reporters, is that Byrne is paid hundreds of thousands of dollars annually by those toy manufacturers to hawk their products.

Byrne, 47, a renowned and ostensibly objective consumer advocate, is the paid spokesman for the manufacturers, which have included Nintendo, Mattel, Fisher-Price, Leapfrog and Hasbro.

Representatives for several toy companies who pay Byrne said his arrangement is an accepted and unquestioned longtime industry practice.

Byrne admits that in most of his appearances, he only mentions toys made by companies that pay him fees which begin at $15,000 per product in a broadcast "package" - which leaves small manufacturers out of the running. He's coy about how much money he makes, saying only that "I'm paid what a typical spokesman is paid, I guess."

Pressed for comment, Laurie Oravec, spokeswoman for Fisher Price, said "Chris is one of the most credible people in the industry, and we don't disclose what we pay for that."

"Paid for credibility." Has a certain ring, doesn't it?