I said it before, and I suppose I say it again: our national media has become an unfunny joke.
This NYT article skims over the issue, but my loyal readers, all seven of you, are smart enough to read between the lines.
Marketers Say They Pay for Play in News Media
Payment for naming products in news articles and programs was once unthinkable. A recent survey indicates, however, that product placement is creeping into news.
Especially since one of the consequences of editorial Pay for Play is soundly sleeping (it is after 8 PM, right?) at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC.
Don't forget Karl Rove delayed announcement of the Operation Iraqi Liberation new product roll-out until after the summer was over.
Tags: corruption, /media
This govenment in place since January 21, 2001 has made me realize how good we had it before Mr. Bush was sworn in. What did I care about sperm stains in the Oval Office, which Mr. Bush was going to clean up?
Clean up, indeed. Start with the energy crisis in California -- ours to manage, said he on 1/20/2001. Every day there is a scandal the media and Congress quickly mute, the worst ones being the so-called suicides at Gitmo, and I am not a Muslim, quite the contrary, the outing of Ms. Plamer, and the narrowing of the first in Cedillo v. Garcetti.
I lived in Brazil during the dictatorship. It's not going to get any better under Georgie and Dick...
I spent more than 10 years in book retail. When I started with Borders in '94 staff could put their own chosen titles on display shelves based on customer interest, local appeal, personal taste. Within a couple years every bit of available display space in every Borders store was sold to publishers, knick-knack producers, or music companies. We'd get detailed maps of which products were to be displayed where with what signage each month. Once such considerations become part of the bottom line, the entire business changes focus. I had to staff a 'merchandising' crew with an assistant manager and several booksellers just to keep up--those folks could have spent time helping customers or shelving product before.