Comments on: Truman Figured It Out, But Have You? Pay-for-Play Permeates Your News

By: Michael Sommermeyer

Michael Sommermeyer — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:32:16 +0000

Um, don't newspapers run advertising now? I recall them appearing to be small chunks of stuff surrounding the stories. Swag used to come into our newsroom all the time. I once had to push a giant man dressed as a candy bar out of my way so I could get to the edit bay.

Now, if you're talking about paying to place a story on A1, as the LA Times did a while back, then I may have a problem with that. However, if it's clear that its an 'advertisement' and labeled as such, why should I care. It's a prominent placement and clearly people will see it. Maybe we need to accept that valuable white space will go to the highest bidder, especially on non-news days.

Of course, I just tried to explain to the investigative reporter at the #4 station in the market why our organization was selling hot dogs to the public as a fundraiser. Uh, because hot dogs are good and nobody is forced to buy them?

Based on that, and numerous other examples of inanity, nothing in the news seems to be worth reading or watching anyway. Maybe a bit of informational product placement will awaken my interest in buying news again.

By: GoKTGo

GoKTGo — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:06:11 +0000

I think it's a tough spot – where do you draw the line?

I met an assignment editor at a TV station that told me they don't like getting swag but they loved it if PR people would come by and bring a box of doughnuts for them…

Whose news gets covered?

I've also had a media kit about a restaurant grand opening thrown back in my face (well, not *literally* thrown) because the reporter felt like it was a bribe – it had a pair of Dollar Store sunglasses in it…

So, I guess it really depends on who you talk to?

I think sometimes outlets like social media blur the lines between advertising and hard news but I don't think we should let that happen to newspapers…

Let the newsworthy products/companies speak for themselves

Love this – Examples of Truman Show Product Placement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inscky6EyQ8 – cracks me up!

By: davinabrewer

davinabrewer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:28:31 +0000

I remember being torn about the newsroom requesting samples. On one hand it is payola, pay for play and very unethical; on the other, I sorta respected that the editor was sick of empty PR pitches, and asked PR/brands to put their money (products) where their mouths are. Not sure that asking for freebies was the right solution.

These lines have been blurring for a while with advertorials, preferred placements and features for advertisers. At a minimum I'd expect complete disclosure: "We got this sample, we are/are not going to review it, we hated/liked it, and the only reason we're writing this is because it was a freebie."

ITA with you Jenny that the loss of unbiased, objective journalism will hurt us all.

By: Cassie Cramer

Cassie Cramer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:55:51 +0000

I'm having a "what is this world coming to?" moment. We expect product placement in movies, television shows and sport so why don't we expect it in our newspapers and journalists? Personally, I think it's because we expect the truth from them. I expect that journalists will follow a code of ethics and realize that people rely on them for honest reporting.

Deadlines and other pressures get to us all, no matter what field you are in. I don't think it's ever an excuse for someone to violate their ethics and break trust. Trust is a very hard thing to repair. Once the product and journalist are outed why would I ever trust them again?

Fair warning, I may have more to say later but, these were my first thoughts. Great post...definitely something I'll be thinking about today. Thank you.

By: Michael Sommermeyer

Michael Sommermeyer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:32:16 +0000