NYT's TV guru Bill Carter crawls out of NBC's anus long enough to expose the differences in how Fox News handles conflict of interest and NBC's "Today" show.
The backstory: Fox & Friends Gretchen Carlson interviewed hunky baseball star Derek Jeter without revealing her husband is his agent. Fox brass gave Gretchen and her producer a talking-to and issued a statement.
NBC refused to concede conflict-of-interest after Matt Lauer's interview with publicity whores Michaele and Tareq Salahi on their WH state dinner gate-crashing caper. Michaele is vying for a spot on Bravo's "Real Housewives of Washington" and is under a paid contract with Bravo. Bravo is owned by NBC.
In his interview Lauer never disclosed the connection. At the time NBC issued a lofty, hypocritical statement claiming the network didn't pay the con couple, but as it turns out the Salahis indeed were paid, albeit indirectly vis a vis Bravo.
Carter also brought up the Media Matters criticism of Glenn Beck shilling gold. One of the channel’s hosts, Glenn Beck, has been accused this week of pushing viewers to invest in gold even though he is a paid spokesman for a gold sales company, one that is also an advertiser on his Fox television show as well as his syndicated radio show. The senior vice president for development for Fox News, Joel Cheatwood, issued a statement saying, “In every mention of gold on the TV or radio program Beck is very clear that gold is an option for some and may not be for others.” Mr. Cheatwood did not address the question of whether it was appropriate for Mr. Beck to advocate for a business that is one of his advertisers.
So I'll address it. It is common for talk radio hosts to pimp products. A time-honored tradition. To wit: Rush Limbaugh is paid and/or trades to shill stuff like Lumber Liquidators, Bellawood, Damp-Rid and many other products. The spots run on his show. Rush and Glenn are both entertainers and not journalists. Now if Shep Smith were shilling the Hair Club for Men, I'd have a problem.
In talk radio sponsors demand the personal touch from the hosts themselves. It's the Way It Works in talk radio. Since we're dealing with what amounts to Talk TV - virgin territory - there's not much precedent.
What's the difference in say, NBC Nightly News boasting a single sponsor? Those of a Certain Age will recall NBC's John Cameron Swayze and NBC's Camel News Caravan.
Fast-forward to MSNBC's "Morning Joe" which, in some respects, is a three-hour pimp for Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is paying big bucks for product placement. Indeed, the anchors' frequent tease to commerical line is "Morning Joe brewed by Starbucks."
Class dismissed....
Carter also brought up the Media Matters criticism of Glenn Beck shilling gold. One of the channel’s hosts, Glenn Beck, has been accused this week of pushing viewers to invest in gold even though he is a paid spokesman for a gold sales company, one that is also an advertiser on his Fox television show as well as his syndicated radio show. The senior vice president for development for Fox News, Joel Cheatwood, issued a statement saying, “In every mention of gold on the TV or radio program Beck is very clear that gold is an option for some and may not be for others.” Mr. Cheatwood did not address the question of whether it was appropriate for Mr. Beck to advocate for a business that is one of his advertisers.
So I'll address it. It is common for talk radio hosts to pimp products. A time-honored tradition. To wit: Rush Limbaugh is paid and/or trades to shill stuff like Lumber Liquidators, Bellawood, Damp-Rid and many other products. The spots run on his show. Rush and Glenn are both entertainers and not journalists. Now if Shep Smith were shilling the Hair Club for Men, I'd have a problem.
In talk radio sponsors demand the personal touch from the hosts themselves. It's the Way It Works in talk radio. Since we're dealing with what amounts to Talk TV - virgin territory - there's not much precedent.
What's the difference in say, NBC Nightly News boasting a single sponsor? Those of a Certain Age will recall NBC's John Cameron Swayze and NBC's Camel News Caravan.
Fast-forward to MSNBC's "Morning Joe" which, in some respects, is a three-hour pimp for Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is paying big bucks for product placement. Indeed, the anchors' frequent tease to commerical line is "Morning Joe brewed by Starbucks."
Class dismissed....
A lot of people grit their teeth at the "fair and balanced" line, but there's more and more evidence that it's true, certainly compared with their competitors. And Fox is often more ethical on stories like this as well.
ReplyDeletenbc has drank so much obama kool aid that they too feel entitled.
ReplyDeleteDid Imus cause the Barnes And Noble E Reader - Nook to sell out early?
ReplyDeletehttp://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2009/12/santa-e-book-readers-imus-book-of-week.html
What conflict of interest, they are all Obama media whores.
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