Friday, January 19, 2018

Exciting things are happening in conflict of interest, right newspaperman?


It's a screenshot at the News and Tribune, snapped via iPhone late last evening.

If you’re wondering about the newspaper's averted eyes and softball tosses, here’s the answer: ad revenue. The Fourth Estate accepting money from local government.

What could go wrong?


The ad itself isn't well executed. The white text set against the color splash isn’t clear, although I believe it represents some level of truth in advertising:

A Deforestation City: Where Men Are Cash-Stuffed Envelopes, and Trees Are Scared.

It's a whole other topic in itself, because six years of Gahanism has failed to produce a sustained branding or marketing effort apart from the ubiquitous and sadly metaphorical "weighted down" anchor plague.

We patiently await the day when the newspaper's Bill Hanson takes a few minutes away from the exhausting process of hiring new Christian advocacy columnists to explain why we're wrong to point to these self-interested Gahan-generated campaign ads, as intended expressly to produce friendlier coverage.

Communication, newspaperman. Ever heard of it?

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