Media

A Sacred Vow, But Not to Journalistic Standards

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

The National Organization for Marriage, "a national organization that opposes same-sex marriage is targeting New Jersey in a $1.5 million advertising campaign." The group is also running ads in Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. The television spots warn that supporters of same-sex marriage "want to change the way I live. ... That means wedding photographers and marriage counselors could be labeled bigots and sued if they oppose working with same-sex couples," they claim.

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Main Source: 
The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey), April 8, 2009
Topics: 
Advertising
Pundits
Gay / Lesbian

Is Oklahoma's Marketing During the News OK?

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

To promote its state insurance program, Oklahoma is paying $3.1 million over three years to local media company Griffin Communications. Griffin's bid for the state contract touted its "built-in network of companies to deliver the message," including television stations KWTV in Oklahoma City and KOTV and KQCW in Tulsa, and the 34 stations of the Radio Oklahoma Network. The Insure Oklahoma campaign spokesperson is former KWTV reporter Angela Buckelew, who "appears during news programming" on KWTV, KOTV and KQCW.

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Main Source: 
Tulsa World (Tulsa, Oklahoma), April 5, 2009
Topics: 
Fake TV News
Marketing
Media

Greg Gumbel Fumbles on Infomercials

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Two years ago, CBS Sports anchor Greg Gumbel "signed a 5-year contract with Paul Doug Scott's EncoreTV to appear as host for, what turned out to be, a Florida infomercial company," reports Rhonda Roland Shearer. Gumbel's agent told her, "It wasn't supposed to be an infomercial.

No
Main Source: 
StinkyJournalism.org, March 30, 2009
Topics: 
Fake TV News
Marketing
Media

Dewey Square Caught Astroturfing Again

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

The Halifax-Plympton Reporter received a letter to the editor urging "that people contact their congressman about the Medicare Advantage program," a "sort of privatized health plan paid for via the recipient's Medicare. Reportedly, there's some interest in doing away with the program." The actual, physical letter was in the name of a local resident, but it didn't mention any of the local Congressional delegation, which the newspaper's editor, Matthew Nadler, found strange.

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Main Source: 
Halifax-Plympton Reporter (Marshfield, Massachusetts), March 27, 2009
Topics: 
Third Party Technique
Lobbying
Media

Television: Now with More Stealth Ads!

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Local television stations are increasingly open to product placement. The Meredith Corporation's "syndicated hour-long lifestyle program 'Better' (named in part after the company's Better Homes & Gardens magazine)" includes space for local stations to add in sponsored segments.

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Main Source: 
Advertising Age, March 26, 2009
Topics: 
Fake TV News
Marketing
Media

Fox News Rides Obama Back to the Top

Submitted by John Stauber on

NPR notes that "times could hardly be better at the Fox News Channel, the cable channel liberals love to hate. ... Ratings estimates from Nielsen Media Research indicate audience levels are up significantly -- to extremely high levels for cable news -- making Fox News among the highest rated of all basic cable channels.

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Main Source: 
National Public Radio, March 23, 2009
Topics: 
Right Wing
Pundits
Media

The Bleak State of the News Media

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

"Newspaper ad revenues have fallen 23% in the last two years. ... By our calculations, nearly one out of every five journalists working for newspapers in 2001 is now gone, and 2009 may be the worst year yet," reads the summary of the "State of the News Media 2009" report. In local television, "revenues fell by 7% in an election year -- something unheard of -- and ratings are now falling or are flat across the schedule." News "audience migration to the Internet is now accelerating," but "online ad revenue to news websites now appears to be flattening; in newspapers it is declining. ...

No
Main Source: 
Project for Excellence in Journalism, March 16, 2009
Topics: 
Advertising
Internet
Journalism

Oil Industry Advisor Comes Out of His Shell

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

The oil company Shell -- which is heavily invested in Alberta's tar sands, an especially dirty and greenhouse gas-intensive source of oil -- has launched a blog about climate change issues. It's "the first time a major oil company has used social media to make a public policy case," reports Siobhan Hughes.

No
Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), March 5, 2009
Topics: 
Internet
Climate Change
Issue Management

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