Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Truth in Advertising...

Via the legacy media at the AP, we hear the following:

As blogging rises in importance and sophistication, it has taken on characteristics of community journalism — but without consensus on the types of ethical practices typically found in traditional media.

Journalists who work for newspapers and broadcasters are held accountable by their employers, and they generally cannot receive payments from marketers and must return free products after they finish reviewing them.

No word on when Chris Matthews is planning on boxing up his free Barry O. and sending it back to Chicago. I guess when he gets tired of the thrill running up his leg...


(H/T to SurvivalBlog.)

19 comments:

Steve Skubinna said...

"... ethical practices typically found in the traditional media..."

Ha ha ha HAR HAR snort choke... gasp, wheeze... HAW HAW HAW stop it you're killin' me here... ah ha ha ha HA HA HAR...

Damn, I wet myself. Next time, give us a beverage alert or something. Jeez. I snorted hot tea right out my nose.

Haven't clicked the link yet, but that HAS to be P.J. O'Rourke.

Anonymous said...

So more hand-wringing about how we terrible groundlings may or may not exercise our 1st amendment rights?

I think I see the issues here. Our ethical betters would gladly sell their souls for swag if their bosses let them, so we must do that since our boss (.gov) doesn't stop us.

I still want a part of this. STI, I will blog nonstop about how wonderful you are and how you make the world continue to spin and the sun break dawn in the wee AM if you but send me a tricked out 1911. I’ll even come get the darn thing.

Anonymous said...

No my dear Tam, it's not Chris Matthew's Barry O.

It's Barry's free Chris Matthews.

And he's not giving it back voluntarily.

Assrot said...

"ethical practices typically found in traditional media"

You're kidding me right? Since when has anyone in the MSM practiced any kind of ethical behavior?

Bejus! When are you and Breda going to buy that island and start a new country. I need a place to retire other than the United Socialist States of America.

Joe

Stranger said...

Once upon a year Harry Truman was running for office and a lowly photog got a thorough grounding in journalistic ethics. Believe me when I say that ABC's dog and pony show, with pre-scripted questions from the vetted and approved "press" is not in any way ethical.

And the mere idea that most of the blogosphere is less ethical than the Alphabet networks is indeed hilarious. Nobody can think up lies like the network news.

Stranger

Jay G said...

Dan Rather called. He wants his memo back.

Chas S. Clifton said...

Someone needs to tell this to magazine writers (disclaimer, I was one), who routinely receive products and freebies and often get to keep them. Not to mention the free/discounted trips for travel and outdoor writers, etc.

When I taught magazine writing, I would tell my students that the "Chinese wall" between editorial and advertising departments in magazines was made of tissue paper.

When I was a newspaper reporter, there were indeed rules about taking freebies. In print magazines, it's much looser. In blogs, it's looser. This is a surprise?

Tam said...

Disclosure: I got two free plastic holsters from ¡Blackhawk!.

They're okay, if you like plastic holsters. At least the non-retention one is okay; I don't trust the flimsy plastic button on the retention holster. I use the non-retention one to shoot at bowling pins. They're nicer than the Uncle Mike's plastic holsters, and light years better than that crap from Fobus. But they're not likely to make me trade in my plastic holsters from G-Code or Comp-Tac anytime soon. (Although G-Code and Comp-Tac don't have fake carbon fiber stickers on their holsters.)

fast richard said...

The FTC is pretty high on my list of government agencies to eliminate, if I were in charge of the budget. We wouldn't need a federal budget in the trillions, if we got rid of the useless nanny state bureaucracies.

Anonymous said...

Read that.

Went and got three good long glugs of Bulliet bourbon straight from the bottle.

I feel sooo much better now, 'cause shurern'shit, that leedle coupla paras just about maxed my guages.

Guages!!! 10, 12, 16, 20, & .410 w/ hefty back-stocks for potentially tactial models.

Now THAT makes me feel better. Primitively so; but better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
and a gift: phype -- makes me vanta use such delusion pubs, vith vhich to phype myne axx

John -- the shortly to sleep.

Arcadia Iris said...

So there's more integrity when somebody with a big office says, "I don't care if it is true, it's not nice to call them 'illegal aliens'. Now go change it!" than when a blog reader says, "I was watching that press conference, and my Congressman did NOT say, 'I totally advocate boiling kittens in oil'! I'm not reading this crap blog anymore"?

I just don't remember that being covered in High School Journalism. In fact, we were told journalists keep their personal views out of things and simply report the facts of what happened. Too bad I went to a public school... I wish I could ask for a refund on the tuition. They obviously lied to me.

phlegmfatale said...

Nothing short of a surgical procedure could extract Chris Matthews from Big O's nethers. So happy together...

mts1 said...

What some fail to realize, though, is that such reviews can be tainted: Many bloggers have accepted perks such as free laptops, trips to Europe, $500 gift cards or even thousands of dollars for a 200-word post. Bloggers vary in how they disclose such freebies, if they do so at all.

How on Earth am I missing out on this bonanza, and how do I get in on this gravy train? I feel left out. Life's not fair. I'm even writing in the notebook with a fountain pen before banging the keyboard, so my words should cost more.

Anonymous said...


Nobody can think up lies like the network news.


That's a leftist slur.
Fox News are controlled by Rupert Murdoch. He's a very successful self-made man after all. His credentials are impeccable.
You should pay attention when he wants you to know something. What's good for his business is good for you.

Tam said...

Anon 4:42,

Shut up and go eat your muesli, limey ponce.

"He's just this guy, you know?" said...

Sheesh.... I get 30K views a month on my little shooty blog, and not ONE product maker has EVER offered me anything for a review.

I must not be asking in the right way (g).

Journalistic ethics.... Those words go together like 'Diet Candy Bars' and 'Dry Water'.

theirritablearchitect said...

The FTC can eat my shorts.

Seriously, what are these twits going to actually do to the supposed offending party, take away their birthday or something?

When they come knock on my door, they'll get shot dead on the spot.

How's that for a threat?

Anonymous said...

Hmm. I've sent out LOTS of product to journalists, and only one, from the NRA, has ever returned anything. -- Lyle

TJP said...

Hey Tam,

Did you return this yet? I mean, come on, it's been 97 years already! :D

Heh, Big Media is having a hard time these days finding gaps large enough to fit some criticism.