The debate on native advertising rages on. Earlier this month the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) again reminded publishers that dressing up ads as journalism calls for clear labeling on the product. Mary Engle, associate director of advertising practices for the FTC, said at the Clean Ads I/O conference, “For us, the concern is whether consumers recognize …more
Remember the revolt from journalists when The Atlantic published a native ad on that “wonderful” organization known as Scientology? Putting the disdain from journalists to the side, by appearing to be editorial content to many readers the ad did trigger more clicks, which in turn generated more revenue. I thought the phrase “ecclesiastical leader” was …more
The reason PR fails at storytelling often has nothing to do with understanding the makings of a good story or writing expertise. Instead, the root cause can lie in the interviewing process for sourcing the content. If you don’t get this upfront step right — pull out the type of content that the outside world …more
Since Craigslist eviscerated the classified ads business in newspapers, journalists have been writing the “poor me” story. At some point, it became fashionable for these “poor me” stories to blame the PR industry for journalism’s shrinking job pool. Before jumping into the latest “poor me” piece in The Washington Post, the Pew Research Center delivers …more
It occurred to me that I could write a grab bag post every single day. Social media platforms like Twitter serve up wacky as well as useful fodder in a never-ending stream. Of course, the challenge lies in the fleeting nature of this information. These grab bag posts provide a forum to “stop” on three …more
When The New York Times and Ravi Somaiya fired the first shot at The New Republic on Dec. 4, I figured the paper couldn’t resist a “hell hath no fury like an editor wronged” story, and life would move on. But the stories kept coming and coming. And coming. Seven articles on the turmoil at …more
With the story “The Invasion of Corporate News, The Financial Times became the latest publication to skewer brand journalism. I suppose the FT figured a headline along the lines of “You’re Too Stupid to Figure Out Journalism from Propaganda” might alienate readers. Because that seems to be one of the themes in the FT piece. …more
Journalists enjoy taking a shots at the PR profession, often with justification. From classics like BusinessInsider’s “Dear PR Lady, Here’s Why I Didn’t Open Any of Your 3 Email Pitches” to my own “Why Journalists Get Cranky About PR,” this genre delivers a never-ending stream of commentary. Flipping the equation, PR is reticent to return …more
Naturally, journalists want more from the Obama administration. More openness. More access. More information. Given that the journalist’s agenda will always differ from the government’s agenda, it’s inevitable that a contentious dynamic shadows the relationship. This seems healthy to me so I wasn’t surprised to stumble across a recent letter from the Society of Professional …more
