A reader says “it’s getting worse” and points to new evidence: “Good Morning America” interviewed model Gisele Bundchen and Olympic athlete Lindsey Vonn this week about their new Under Armour campaign, but not necessarily for the pure news or entertainment value of it all. At the end of a segment on Friday morning, a voiceover told … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
A reader sends the above screenshot: Perhaps this has already become the style at other prestigious media outlets, but I think it’s somewhat remarkable that the editors at The New Republic didn’t see fit to tell readers upfront that the article is sponsored content. (I apologize if I’m late to the party on this particular … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
A reader writes: I noticed today that “partner” has invaded the Cheat Sheet at the Daily Beast. When you moved from the Atlantic to DB, I loved the Cheat Sheet as a quick-glance headline source for important news before I delved into more long reads and blogs. Today, they have the #8 spot as an … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
A reader points up north: Your watchful eye on the metastasizing world of advertorials and so-called “native ads” is an essential counterpoint to what’s becoming an alarming trend, even outside of US borders. Case in point: a series of unmarked oil industry advertorials that recently made it to print in newspapers owned by Canada’s right-leaning … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
Dish readers remain vigilant: It’s official: the New York Times takes sponsored posts on its regular website. Screenshot attached. Same typeface – pretty sneaky! How long does it take you to spot it? Update from a reader: Umm no, it’s not the same typeface for either header or blurb. The font size is about the … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
Greater Israel edition: Zionists are having to think of new, more subtle ways to defend the occupation and dispossession of Palestinians. A new battlefield has opened up in an unlikely place: BuzzFeed, the fast-growing soft news website that rose to prominence by disseminating videos of cute animals, but now has pretensions to serious journalism. A … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch: “Propaganda, If You Will”
Alex Mayyasi wonders why that those “recommended links” you see appended to so many stories on legitimate news sites seem to have gotten a pass in the sponsored-content debate: On one hand, that might be understandable. Taboola links don’t seem nearly as deceptive as a full article. Over email, Taboola CEO Adam Singolda pointed out that companies like Facebook and Google … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
A new low: journalism guru, Jim Romenesko – the kind of guy who once would have trashed this kind of thing – runs a sponsored post from the Koch brothers. Update: A reader points out that Romenesko has been posting sponsored content for nearly a year now.
by Chris Bodenner A reader sees it moving to TV: With all the discussion about The Atlantic, Buzzfeed and others blurring the line between journalism and sponsored content, I thought this might add to the discussion. Robert Feder is a longtime Chicago media journalist who has moved from his spot at the major papers in … Continue reading Sponsored Content Watch
National Review joins the movement disguising ads as articles.
