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Editorial content should not be up for sale

Tracey Spicer

by Tracey Spicer

09 Jun 05:50am

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Filed under: Advertising, Cars, Lobbying, Media, Newspapers, Radio

30 comments

This column is proudly brought to you by BMW. Or Mercedes Benz. Or Holden (if I’m desperate).

The LA Times front page in question.

Advertising and editorial – traditionally uneasy bedfellows – are having uninhibited sex at the moment. Instead of protesting, we media sluts have joined the orgy, legs in the air like frozen chooks (from Steggles, of course – Steggles for quality).

How long before we see newspaper stories headlined, “Tony Abbott surges ahead in the polls” (sponsored by Nutri-Grain – Iron Man Food).

Or “Voters turn on Kevin Rudd” (Complete Control Counselling Services – Don’t let anger control your life!).

In an Australian first, television journalists are being forced to wear advertising on their t-shirts while broadcasting from a sporting event.

As well as the Channel 10 logo, reporters at the Soccer World Cup are walking billboards for Weet-bix (Breakfast of Champions).

Just imagine the penetrating post-match interview: “So what did you eat before the game? Just remind us, what should all good kiddies be having for breakfast?”

While sponsorship ‘stings’ precede sports and news programs, under the Code of Ethics journalists are “not to allow advertising or commercial interests to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence”.

Last month, clothing company L.L. Bean did a deal with Chicago’s WGN Channel 9 to dress their reporters, in exchange for a credit at the end of news bulletins.

If you think this doesn’t affect content, think again.

WGN’s Midday News on May 13 featured a four-minute fly-fishing story, promoting L.L. Bean’s outdoor gear.

Back home, finance analysts from CommSec, Hubb and Westpac refuse to report drops in their employers’ share price during TV news updates.

(On the day Commonwealth Bank shares dropped 13.2 per cent, the story was conspicuously absent from CommSec’s finance crosses.)

News directors are reticent to address the issue because finance giants pay a fortune for these advertorials, disguised as news content.

In the US, debate rages about the propriety of broadsheets publishing wrap-around ads, as they struggle with a steep decline in the value of traditional ‘spots’.

The Los Angeles Times recently tested the boundaries by running a garish image of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, superimposed over what looked like the usual front page.

Fiercely opposed to the ad, editor Russ Stanton was overruled by the paper’s business executives.

A spokesman for the newspaper, John Conroy, said “It’s taking a concept that we normally apply to new media and reimagining it to a concept in a newspaper”.

Indeed, old media is taking its lead from those annoying pop-up ads on news websites.

But a line is crossed when it affects editorial.

In Britain, the Daily Express was pilloried for printing a wrap-around front page promoting the new Fiat 500, on the day after Barack Obama’s inauguration.

Journalists in Australia argued with Sydney Morning Herald editor Alan Oakley over his decision to run a wrap-around on the Singapore Airlines A380’s inaugural flight to Australia.

It was given editorial precedence over the death of the first SAS soldier in Afghanistan. That happened in 2007.

These days, wrap-arounds – like the one for BMW (The Ultimate Driving Machine) in Monday’s Australian newspaper – are met with barely a whimper.

What would happen if the lead story that day was a BMW recall affecting thousands of motorists?

Would the story be pulled – or the ad?

While radio is often cited as public enemy number one when it comes to blurring the line, magazines are the worst offenders.

Virtually every story about “miracle face creams” in health and beauty magazines is promised to advertisers as sweeteners.

Beauty editors who write purple prose about expensive products “taking years off your face” confide privately that the best skincare is a tube of sunscreen.

As media consumers, we should all don a mantle of healthy scepticism.

Most commented

30 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • Eric says:

      06:02am | 09/06/10

      It really makes no difference at all.

      Journalists have been slanting their stories ideologically for decades at least. All newspapers and other media have a political bias which determines the stories they report and the way in which they report them.

      A monetary bias is ethically no better nor worse than a political bias.

      Journalism has never been the pure profession it likes to pretend it once was.

      (This comment sponsored by blogger.com)

      Reply

    • KH says:

      08:03am | 09/06/10

      Well, we all have our bias based on whatever life experiences or ideology we follow, don’t we? 

      Cold hard cash is different to an ideology - ideology is usually apparent from the types of articles or the slant of them.  Only the illiterate don’t pick that up.  But using an example from the article, if BMW were recalling cars or Singapore airlines had suffered a major crash on the day of their advertisement wrap arounds, would they have been on the front page or in the paper at all?  You can write a story about these events with an ideology behind you - or just the facts, or you can not put it there at all because of the small fortune these companies paid for their ads.  These are clearly two different things.  Everyone has their price, so the saying goes - newspapers, which are largely run by people, are no different - and like anyone who sells their ideals, they lose integrity.  In the long run, that short term profit is not going to stretch when they lose readers who no longer trust them to report important events.

      As for ideology, I haven’t yet met anyone who doesn’t have one in one form or another.

    • Runs With Scissors says:

      11:51am | 09/06/10

      What Eric wrote.

    • Chris Oliver says:

      01:56pm | 09/06/10

      Just wondering what completely unbiased reporting would actually look like, Eric. Does it assume everyone has an equally valid view and should be given equal space to express theirs? Should journalists collude with qualified medical doctors, for instance, to get health messages out, or is this prejudice in favour of orthodoxy wrong? How long would the average article be if it didn’t contain any number of questionable assumptions? I do think, though, that it’s shameful the extent to which all newspapers, but especially those that carry a lot of real estate advertising, consciously conspire with their advertisers, the estate agents, to ensure all coverage is favourable and even dips in the property market are reported as bargain-hunters’ opportunities. I speak from experience having worked for local papers.

    • Eric says:

      06:48pm | 09/06/10

      Chris, I don’t think that completely unbiased reporting is possible - at least for human beings. However, we can strive to be fair, and to acknowledge our biases. Regular readers of The Punch will be familiar with my own tendencies. smile

      As for the mainstream media, I think a conscientious effort to present the most prominent different sides of a story is probably the best they can do. Too many times, however, I’ve seen one-sided reporting that simply ignores another major point of view, and to me that is not good enough.

      I would hope that any viewpoint held by at least five per cent of the population would gain a mention, and one held by over 25% would have a more detailed explanation.

    • Nigel Catchlove says:

      07:03am | 09/06/10

      The indidious rise of advertising’s influence over editorial is even worse than wrap-arounds and logos on shirts - at least they’re visible advertising. 
      Placement of articles in trade supplements are dependent on advertising spend. i.e. buy a full page advert and your article will get on the front page of the supplement plus you’ll get a right hand page article.  The most annoying thing is that these type of negotiations used to be conducted by advertising staff at arms length from the journalists so as not to taint their editorial content.  Now it’s common for a PR to be contacted by a journalist asking if the company can help out with advertising. 
      This comment bought to you courtesy of Parsec Communications, providing strategic communications advice to business leaders in all industries.  http://www.parsec.com.au

      Reply

    • A Bob says:

      12:54pm | 09/06/10

      Thanks, Nigel. Great web site. I love dark, dead-pan humour. You must have put a lot of work into it. It almost looked real! Props, mate!

    • Matt says:

      02:12pm | 09/06/10

      Didn’t I know you as Captain Obvious in the military? Love the comment “The most annoying thing is that these type of negotiations used to be conducted by advertising staff at arms length from the journalists..”
      When was this? The late 19th century? News has always been about profit - the good journos squeeze in a few facts around the advertorial.

    • Russell says:

      07:32am | 09/06/10

      Both The Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald are actively campaigning for a particular “brand” now. Aggressively, blatantly and with the deliberate intent of changing behaviour.

      In NSW those papers are selling brand Liberal. I’m not suggesting this editorial slant is paid for, but it is much the same thing as what Tracey is talking about. Journalists and the companies they work for can be “bought” in many ways.

      Disclaimer: I am involved in publishing. Since the early 90s I have been been producing advertorial and sponsored editorial products on behalf of clients. Mostly this is noted or obvious, but even in the “free” press, no one buys a full page ad in any publication and expects to be criticized or slammed in the adjacent “editorial” pages. In fact “supportive” editorial (sometimes this is just a handshake deal) is often written into the contracts.

      Reply

    • KH says:

      11:14am | 09/06/10

      SMH? Really? I thought the Age/SMH were left, whilst Telegraph/Herald Sun are right (implying that coalition voters can’t unfold a broadsheet….hehehe) ...........Im pretty sure SMH isn’t leaning towards ‘liberal’..........

    • James says:

      12:20pm | 09/06/10

      lol… there is no left in australia.

    • Russell says:

      12:59pm | 09/06/10

      Sorry KH, I should have specified I was talking about NSW state politics. The Herald doesn’t even pretend, it is virulently anti State Labor.  Their so-called “leftism” is pretty shallow btw, always has been. Their demographic is affluent., and that group (as most of us do) votes with its pocket

    • BTS says:

      07:33am | 09/06/10

      Oh!!! 

      Only now, are the media becoming a slave to the advertising dollar.

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      07:53am | 09/06/10

      Nobody ever went broke making a profit and so there is nothing wrong with commercial media outlets selling anything.  However as a consumer I should be able to recognise value for money (which is why I pay so much for the Punch online).  Commercial media, free to air TV in particular is getting so bad that I would rather pay money to hire a video than watch a movie destroyed with ad breaks.
      Traditional media decide which stories they will run but new media (the internet), I decide which stories I will read.

      Reply

    • dale says:

      10:42am | 09/06/10

      Have you watched the latest underbelly (ch 9 @ 8:30pm sundays) It is running on a 50-50 add to show ratio

    • DG says:

      09:11am | 09/06/10

      Interesting view from the bleaches Tracy, Journo’s have always been looking for “the angle” in a story…....i also wonder though at your obviouse slight at Holdens over 2 other ‘premium’ auto brands - why the need for that?

      Reply

    • Nigel Catchlove says:

      10:04am | 09/06/10

      Because it’s an opinion.  I also don’t like Holdens, I drive an Audi and race an Alfa Romeo.  Even journalists and PR people like me can have opinions and not every one is a cash-for-comment.

      Don’t confuse the ‘angle’ with advertising, they are often not related. The ‘angle’ in a story reflects the newsworthy value of a story.  Just because you (or your boss) thinks a story is ‘news’ doesn’t make it so.  An angle not only adds interest (or a ‘hook’) to a story, making it relevant to the readership but also ensures a story is different from the same coverage by a different media outlet.  For example a takeover of an Australian company by an foreign owned company may evoke completely different story focus in the Financial Review than in the Daily Telegraph - the angle will be different reflecting the different interests of the readers.

    • DG says:

      01:00pm | 09/06/10

      what ever you drive i dont give a tish

      but if its a so called “opinion” ...then thats an edigtorial - as she is voicing her opinon on behalf of the meployer and as such the writers allegiance to a particular brand shows biase within this document

    • Saskia says:

      10:03am | 09/06/10

      A bit like in 07 when almost every paper in the nation advised people to vote for Rudd through its editorial?

      Reply

    • Over it again says:

      10:47am | 09/06/10

      It has been known to go both ways.  Should we list the former newspaper/radio/television staff who have gone on to hold seats at State or Federal level?  For every Maxine McKew, there is a Pru Goward or Rob Messenger?  That’s one a piece by my calculations.  Talkback radio never disengaged from Howard.
      Congrats, though, on getting through multiple posts this morning without referencing the “superior” amongst us.  Keep up the good (and impartial) work, Saskia.

    • Sasha Jamieson says:

      01:08pm | 09/06/10

      Exactly Saskia.  And the Kevin07 stormtroopers constantly cry that the media is conservative!

      The ABC - which is the only channel that is required to be neutral is an ALP/left wing haven.  So biased it beggars belief. I just turn off the ABC FM radio news now - so tired of the constant anti-Coalition stories and positive spin on Rudd.  Dozens of people have commented to me on this alone.

      Can’t wait to see the back of this appalling and dangerous government.

    • TheRealDave says:

      12:44pm | 09/06/10

      So as well as selling political product under the guise of ‘news’ now they are moving into advertorials for products?

      Remember the good old days’ when you bought the paper or tunes intot he 6pm news for just that - actual news. ??

      Reply

    • Craig says:

      01:30pm | 09/06/10

      I’m waiting for advertisers to take up opportunities in other areas on the media fringe. Instead of police departments giving their operations names like “Taskforce Air” or “Taskforce Purana”, perhaps one day we’ll be briefed by the head of “Taskforce Doors Plus No Fuss” or “Taskforce Crazy John’s”.
      Another opportunity can be found at the Bureau of Meterorolgy. The destruction of Cyclone Tracy and Cyclone Larry could one day be drawfed by, say,  “Cyclone Omo Colours Plus” or Cyclone Woolworths The Fresh Food People.” You never know ...

      Reply

    • SM says:

      02:12pm | 09/06/10

      That’s all well and good Tracey, so long as you and your journalist colleagues are prepared to take significant pay cuts.

      Reply

    • Gary says:

      02:33pm | 09/06/10

      What no mention of the Miners or Murdoch’s influence in politics?

      Reply

    • My knee hurts now says:

      02:42pm | 09/06/10

      Code of Ethics??? Journalism?? Same Sentance???

      HAAHHAAHAAAHAAAAAAHAHAH. Good one. That’s a knee slapper.

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      03:01pm | 09/06/10

      As the saying goes, “All it takes for evil to prosper, is an absence of good men (or women).”  Journalists make a choice, like everyone of us; what do you stand for?  I for one, would pay good money to see legitimate in-depth reports, instead of the “froth” of so-called news today.  Each of us is responsible for trying to make society better…

      Reply

    • Bob H says:

      03:40pm | 09/06/10

      I hardly think editorial content is some sort of Cathedral to the truth when it sits alongside, interviews based on agreed scripted questions, film advertising mascarading as news,  copy and pasted press releases, unauthenticated science and surveys, spruiking on behalf of Real Estate interests and such.

      Reply

    • paulm says:

      05:35pm | 09/06/10

      None of this is surprising, but interesting to think about.  And how could you forget A Current Affair and Today Tonight doing stories that are embedded adverts for Underbelly, Top Gear, this weeks Sunday night movie, Australia’s got talent, etc etc.  I’ve also wondered whether the authors of this week’s diet, real estate investment scheme, etc etc actually pay for these “stories”?  On another topic, I also note that no newspapers have any sort of religous or spiritual or self development section, yet pretty much every other aspect of life and culture gets a mention.  I’m not saying they should include sermons etc, or that it has to even be from a large religion, but still, I’ve always thought its probably because these teach you to find happyness with less not more, happyness from a good life not conspicuous consumption of the advertisers products?  And then people wonder why we have a depression epidemic, its because materialism consumerism is spiritual junk food, they need some good old fashioned fresh generosity and ethics to clear out their bowels.  Or why there’s so much ignorance about the variuos religions, particular Islam in Australia.  Guess it suties various vested interest groups purposes though…

      Reply

    • Harquebus says:

      02:47pm | 11/06/10

      Now that money is losing its value, a mans word will become more valuable. That would make today’s politicians and business leaders paupers.

      Reply
 
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