Yesterday's daily news (Press & Sun Bulletin out of Binghamton, NY) carried three front-page articles about the EPA public hearing that never happened in NY. This is an important meeting for all stakeholders - landowners, industry representatives, researchers and environmental advocates were looking forward to an opportunity to share their thoughts about the EPA's study on fracking.
So, the articles attracted lots of eyeballs from all sectors of the reading public (at least those who get newsprint on their fingers).
What struck me, though, is that all the articles continued to an inside page, and opposite them was this full-page ad.
Not sayin' anything. Just makin' an observation about "product placement". But a fellow journalist points out that placing an ad for an industry next to the jump page for controversial articles about that industry is not kosher (read his comment below).
This O & G industry is not only loaded with money and free of most environmental controls, they are also agressive. And the more vocal those of us who oppose irresponsible, unsafe drilling become, the bolder, more in-our-faces they are becoming. I think it is very telling.
ReplyDeletere-posting a comment from a fellow journalist [it got posted to previous article by mistake]
ReplyDeleteMantius@aol.com said...
The Press and Sun has caved to a sad trend: the blurring of lines between news and advertising. Controversial stories should NEVER be jumped to an inside page that displays an advertisement bought by one of the players in the story. The journalists at the Press and Sun should be embarrassed, even if the paper's ad department (and the gas drillers) celebrate a victory.
This really is inexcusable - as are the EPA's last minute venue changes. I, for one, wasn't able to make the jump from Binghamton to Syracuse and upstate NY is out of the question. I wonder how many other environmental activists find themselves in the same boat?
ReplyDeleteWow! I wonder if the gas companies requested this "product placement".
ReplyDelete