-
-
Product placement hits the FOX newsroom
Several TV outlets have begun to sell the fast food giant McDonald's the right to place cups of its iced coffee onto the desks of news anchors as they present morning current affairs shows.
Typical is Fox 5 News, an affiliate of Rupert Murdoch's Fox television network in Las Vegas.
Two cups of coffee, their cubes of ice glinting in the studio lights, now daily stand before the channel's morning presenters. The presenters conspicuously do not drink from the cups, which is just as well – the cups contain a bogus fluid and fake ice to prevent the cubes melting.
The New York Times has reported that similar deals to place McDonald's products in news shows are up and running in TV stations in Chicago, Seattle and New York.
Product placement has become a major branch of advertising in the US, creeping into all areas of entertainment television. Not only are products seen on camera, they also make their way into drama scripts such as a recent episode of the popular soap, OC, which had one character talk about having "a9.Com'd" a friend on the day the internet search company A9 launched a new Yellow Pages service of that name.
But this is the first time that the form has percolated through to news broadcasting. Journalism ethics groups have protested that this is another erosion of standards.
"There has been in broadcast journalism certainly, and arguably in all journalism, a drifting away from the standards of straight news in the direction of entertainment," said Roy Peter Clark of the school for journalists at the Poynter Institute.
Fox 5 News has declined to reveal how much it is being paid by McDonald's for the six-month promotion. The station's news director Adam Bradshaw said that the product placement was only allowed in programmes that were appropriate, including later morning shows with an accent on lifestyle.
---
Just another example of local news failing to perform the BASIC FUNCTIONS of journalism. Several TV outlets have begun to sell the fast food giant McDonald's the right to place cups of its iced coffee onto the desks of... more -
Klein: Obama Plans Not To End War, But To Downsize Occupation
love or hate her, its worth a listen.
the stimulator writes:
"Naomi Klein's speech at the National Conference for Media reform was not included on the conference website. subMedia.tv contacted Free Press, the organizer or the conference, to ask why Klein's speech could not be found online, and the person explained that Free Press is a non-profit organization and that I should reefer to the disclaimer on their website which reads:
"Despite our best efforts, we feel that some of our speakers encroached on electoral space during their remarks at the National Conference for Media Reform. It is not in our interest to disseminate these recordings. We are reviewing all of our video content and will add that which we determine to be free of electoral statements to this page."
I don't quite understand how these things work, but whatever. Two sources have told me the reason Free Press did not include the speech was Klein's criticism of Barack Obama. It would be pretty fuckin lame if it were true.
But fuck it, I got a hold of a copy of the speech and here it is."
-stimulator
I'm sorry if this is old news, my 1st post here -jdm love or hate her, its worth a listen. the stimulator writes: ... more -
A free and self-governing people
Journalist Bill Moyers address the National Conference for Media Reform in Minneapolis, June 7, 2008. Presented by FreePress.net
-
Veto the FCC
Please help stop big media consolidation.
It's already WAY out of control. Please help stop it from being further controlled.
Thanks for speaking out- Please help stop big media consolidation. It's already WAY out of control. Please help stop it from being further controlled. ... more -
Message to America from Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Three short videos of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. explaining how the US news media has failed us, what the neocons represent, and what the mainstream perspective really is - every American citizen should watch these. Three short videos of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. explaining how the US news media has failed us, what the neocons represent, and what the ... more
-
Moyers: 'Democracy in America is a series of narrow escapes, and we may be ru...
For all of America's shortcomings, we keep telling ourselves, "The system works." Now all bets are off.
The following is an excerpt from Bill Moyers' new book, "Moyers on Democracy" (Doubleday, 2008).
Democracy in America is a series of narrow escapes, and we may be running out of luck. The reigning presumption about the American experience, as the historian Lawrence Goodwyn has written, is grounded in the idea of progress, the conviction that the present is "better" than the past and the future will bring even more improvement. For all of its shortcomings, we keep telling ourselves, "The system works."
Now all bets are off. We have fallen under the spell of money, faction, and fear, and the great American experience in creating a different future together has been subjugated to individual cunning in the pursuit of wealth and power -and to the claims of empire, with its ravenous demands and stuporous distractions. A sense of political impotence pervades the country -- a mass resignation defined by Goodwyn as "believing the dogma of 'democracy' on a superficial public level but not believing it privately." We hold elections, knowing they are unlikely to bring the corporate state under popular control. There is considerable vigor at local levels, but it has not been translated into new vistas of social possibility or the political will to address our most intractable challenges. Hope no longer seems the operative dynamic of America, and without hope we lose the talent and drive to cooperate in the shaping of our destiny.
The earth we share as our common gift, to be passed on in good condition to our children's children, is being despoiled. Private wealth is growing as public needs increase apace. Our Constitution is perilously close to being consigned to the valley of the shadow of death, betrayed by a powerful cabal of secrecy-obsessed authoritarians. Terms like "liberty" and "individual freedom" invoked by generations of Americans who battled to widen the 1787 promise to "promote the general welfare" have been perverted to create a government primarily dedicated to the welfare of the state and the political class that runs it. Yes, Virginia, there is a class war and ordinary people are losing it. It isn't necessary to be a Jeremiah crying aloud to a sinful Jerusalem that the Lord is about to afflict them for their sins of idolatry, or Cassandra, making a nuisance of herself as she wanders around King Priam's palace grounds wailing "The Greeks are coming." Or Socrates, the gadfly, stinging the rump of power with jabs of truth. Or even Paul Revere, if horses were still in fashion. You need only be a reporter with your eyes open to see what's happening to our democracy. I have been lucky enough to spend my adult life as a journalist, acquiring a priceless education in the ways of the world, actually getting paid to practice one of my craft's essential imperatives: connect the dots. For all of America's shortcomings, we keep telling ourselves, "The system works." Now all bets are off. ... more -
YouTube - Martin Luther King III Discusses Media Ownership
Martin speaks about the consolidation of media ownership.
-
FCC approves new media ownership rule ...
Broadcasters can now own newspapers.
The Federal Communications Commission, overturning a 32-year-old ban, voted Tuesday to allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper.
Media consolidation = censorship. Broadcasters can now own newspapers. ... more -
Whats Wrong With Our Media
Four years ago, without public input, the FCC rolled back 30 yr old rules that limited a single companys ability to be able to dominate local TV, newspaper and radio media markets. Thankfully, the rules changes triggered a massive public response and through legislation and lawsuit, they were defeated. Now FCC chair Kevin Martin is attempting to do it again by trying to push through a similar set of changes allowing further media consolidation as soon as December 18. This time, we neednt wait until we have been sandbagged. You can help by contacting Congress and the FCC now to stop Kevin Martin before he gets away with slipping this one by us.
http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&am...
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/11/04/bill-moyers-on...
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/index-flash.html Four years ago, without public input, the FCC rolled back 30 yr old rules that limited a single companys ability to be able to domina... more
-
related topics
Media Consolidation
Contributors (43)
Media Consolidation
