Category Archives: Advertisers

Courant Lousy With Bedbugs, Advertiser Influence

Posted on 08/20/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Laura Northrup of Consumerist.com (8/15/09) reports that, after 40 years at the Hartford Courant, consumer affairs columnist George Gombossy now says he "'was fired for doing [his] job,' after his last column exposed the bedbug-infested mattresses sold by a major … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers | Tagged bedbugs, Connecticut Watchdog, Consumerist.com, Fox, George Gombossy, Hartford Courant, Jeff Levine, Laura Northrup, Naedine Hazell, Sleepy's | 2 Comments

Advertisers Black Out Liberal Radio, Pay Up for Haters

Posted on 08/16/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Media Matters research director Jeremy Schulman (8/12/09) writes that "Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaughand Lou Dobbs have used their radio and television shows to incite hatred and push wild conspiracy theories, leading several of Beck's advertisers to reportedly pull out of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business | Tagged Air America, General Electric, Glenn Beck, hate speech, Jeremy Schulman, Lou Dobbs, Media Matters, Rush Limbaugh | Leave a comment

Too Much Truth in Advertising at the WaPo?

Posted on 07/02/2009 by Jim Naureckas

The business department at the Washington Post has gotten into trouble in what may be a case of too much truth in advertising. As reported by Politico (7/2/09), the Post circulated a flyer offering–for the low, low cost of $25,000–an … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business | Tagged Howard Kurtz, Katharine Weymouth, Marcus Brauchli, Politico, Washington Post | 3 Comments

CNN: 'Making Blacks Look Bad' So 'Whites Feel Good'

Posted on 06/30/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Ishmael Reed's contextualization (CounterPunch, 6/29/09) of the epic demonization of Michael Jackson within historical U.S. media racism also takes a swipe at CNN's Black in America program, "an exercise meant to boost ratings by making whites feel good by making … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Race | Tagged Black in America, Charles Blow, CNN, CounterPunch, homophobia, Ishmael Reed, New York Times, Soledad O'Brien | 4 Comments

Brought to You by Starbucks…

Posted on 06/01/2009 by Peter Hart

MSNBC's Morning Joe program seems to have turned its conspicuous consumption of Starbucks drinks into a paid commercial for the coffee chain, according to this morning's New York Times (6/1/09). As Brian Stelter put it, Joe Scarborough "sips Frappuccinos on … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business | Tagged Joe Scarborough, Morning Joe, msnbc, Phil Griffins, Starbucks | 3 Comments

When 'Thriving' Capitalism Is Really 'Organized Crime'

Posted on 05/15/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Current Anti-Advertising Agency CEO Steve Lambert and founder Jordan Selier have posted (AntiAdvertisingAgency.com, 5/12/09) their letter to the New York Times responding to a May 11 piece that cites one NYC advertising executive asking, "All you have to do is … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Economy | Tagged Anti-Advertising Agency, billboards, Jordan Selier, New York City, New York Times, Steve Lambert | Leave a comment

Will GE Beneficiary Censor GE Pollution Opponents?

Posted on 05/05/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

New York Times editorialist Lawrence Downes (5/4/09) has some good questions about Pete Seeger's big 90th birthday party. The broadcast surely is bound to "be a PBS special made in pledge-week heaven," but Downes has to "wonder, though, how many … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Environment | Tagged Clearwater, General Electric, Lawrence Downes, New York Times, PBS, Peabody Energy, Pete Seeger | 2 Comments

Magazines Follow Papers Into Ad Quagmire

Posted on 03/13/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Reporting that "marketers are running advertisements on the covers of some publications," Stuart Elliott (New York Times, 3/11/09) reviews past precedents–"the February issue of Esquire broke ground with a window, or flap, in the middle of the cover under which … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers | Tagged Esquire, New York Times, Omni, Scholastic, Smilebox | Leave a comment

PBS's Mission: 'Raise Money by Exploiting Viewers' Gullibility'

Posted on 03/13/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Neurologist Robert Burton warns Salon readers (3/12/09, ad-viewing required) of PBS's latest infomercial. "By airing another self-help show disguised as medical science–the dubious UltraMind Solution–the public network continues to undermine its credibility," Burton writes: In May I reported that PBS … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Healthcare | Tagged Daniel Amen, infomercials, KQED, Mark Hyman, PBS, public broadcasting, UltraMind Solution | 7 Comments

CNN's Resident Drug Pusher

Posted on 03/12/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Los Angeles Times reporter Mike Dorning has some important information (3/6/09) absent from coverage of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's recent surgeon general candidacy–"For several years, Gupta has been co-anchor of a CNN-produced healthcare show distributed monthly via flat-screen TVs provided free … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Healthcare | Tagged CNN, Sanjay Gupta | Leave a comment

Local News' Content Sales Scheme

Posted on 02/13/2009 by Gabriel Voiles

Expressing "concern that these deals could break FCC rules about commercial clients within news programs," the New York Daily News' Richard Huff reports (2/10/09) a local scandal related to the WPIX/Channel 11 Pix Morning News program that "features a local … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business | Leave a comment

Oppose Public TV Grant From Fearmongers

Posted on 02/10/2009 by Jim Naureckas

FAIR has a new action alert out calling on New York public TV station WNET to reject a $1 million grant to report on Social Security and healthcare from a foundation that supports cuts in Social Security and opposes universal … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business, Media Criticism | Tagged public television, WNET | Leave a comment

Walter Isaacson's Plan to Save Newspapers

Posted on 02/06/2009 by Peter Hart

Walter Isaacson's Time cover story ("Howto Save Your Newspaper") finds the magazine's former editor offering advice for the ailing corporate media. As he (and others in the business) see it, the problem is that newsis now being consumed onlinefor free, … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Media Business | Tagged Walter Isaacson | 1 Comment

Creating Black Friday

Posted on 12/01/2008 by Peter Hart

Is the total frenzy over post-Thanksgiving shopping a recent creation? That's what David Carr writes in the New York Times today: Media and retail outfits are economic peas in a pod. Part of the reason that the Thanksgiving newspaper and … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisers, Economy | Tagged David Carr, New York Times | 1 Comment