FAIR Blog » Phil Griffins http://www.fair.org/blog The national media watch group Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:42:42 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 Brought to You by Starbucks… http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/06/01/brought-to-you-by-starbucks/ http://www.fair.org/blog/2009/06/01/brought-to-you-by-starbucks/#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:51:44 +0000 Peter Hart http://www.fair.org/blog/?p=9544 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 camera so often that some viewers have wondered whether it is a form of product placement, paid for by the coffee company. Starting Monday, it will be."

The deal is worth over $10 million, and will include "Starbucks graphics and mentions during each hour of the 6 to 9 a.m. program." The show might even broadcast from Starbucks locations from time to time.

Conflict of interest? MSNBC president Phil Griffins says no way:

Mr. Griffin said Morning Joe would continue to cover Starbucks as a news item if warranted. "They understand that we have standards," he said.

Standards indeed.

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