Enquirer Blurs Line Between News, Ads
Some local bloggers and media critics have taken to calling The Cincinnati Enquirer an "adpaper" instead of a newspaper, in their belief that advertising overly influences editorial decisions at the Gannett Co. publication and takes prominence over news.
Thursday's unusual front page seems to reinforce this assertion about The Enquirer and raises disturbing questions about the blurring line between newsrooms and sales departments at corporate media outlets.
A large headline and part of a photograph featured above the fold on page A1 trumpeted the start of this year’s Cincinnati Auto Expo at downtown’s Duke Energy Center. Above a photo of a gleaming, red BMW 135 coupe was the title, “Auto Expo Stars Are Ready to Roll.” The accompanying article by business reporter Mike Boyer referred readers to a special section inside the newspaper that featured an expo preview, car reviews and other material. To make sure readers knew just how special all of this was, a red box declared, “Premium in this edition.”
The article quoted the president of the Kenwood Dealer Group, which owns 12 automobile dealerships throughout the region, making his pitch for potential attendees and telling them how convenient it is to have so many different makes and models under one roof.
Meanwhile, the front page didn’t include any articles about the Iraq War and contained only a brief blurb referring readers to the newspaper’s interior and online to get information about the presidential race.
Astute readers whose eyes veered to the bottom of the page, however, noticed a banner ad for the expo, along with the Kroger logo and a coupon for $3 off the admission price.
Only the editors who compose the front page know for sure if the photo and article were placed on page A1 in a tit-for-tat deal with advertisers. If that’s the case, then Gannett executives need to check out the company’s own ethics handbook for the news division. One provision reads, “We will be free of improper obligations to news sources, newsmakers and advertisers.”
Another provision states, “We will avoid potential conflicts of interest and eliminate inappropriate influence on content.”
Yet another reads, “We will remain free of outside interests, investments or business relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news report.”
If there was no deal with advertisers, then the placement of the auto expo article — and the realization of what other articles could’ve taken its space — suggests the news judgment of top editors is suspect. At the very least, Enquirer subscribers should wonder if they’re getting a good value for their money by subsidizing such coverage.
— Kevin Osborne
I think the Enquirer lost any shred of credibility it had left when they ran a front page story last year on the "gateway" markers to upscale developments.
Who gives a sh*t about the gateways, other than developers?
Posted by: Political Junkie | February 23, 2008 at 11:28 AM
The Enquirer also embraces the shameless self-promotion as news. Apparently, their redesigned CinWeekly website is such a big story that it was worthy of the front page of Saturday's Life section. The exact same article, written by CinWeekly staff Amber Samblenet, also ran in the Life section of the Enquirer a week and a half ago on the day that the reworked site launched. Guess not enough readers saw it the first time around.
Think that's bad...watch for Jackie Demaline's shameless pimping of the Enquirer's upcoming theater awards. You'd think it was the biggest arts story of the year given how much news space it does and will continue to receive in the paper. In today's (Sunday) Enquirer there's yet another plug for their event. In a measly 8-page arts section, Jackie gets the lineage she needs for her Acclaims project... space that's far more deserving of coverage of other local arts organizations and events who have a right to be royally pissed off.
Posted by: Dan | February 24, 2008 at 08:47 AM