While some forms of sponsored content blur the line between advertising and entertainment, there are some lines that should not–and cannot–be broken. Well make that should not, because the can is, alas, happening in a number of markets as product integration has made its way into local newscasts and other news programs.
As TV stations look to turn a buck, they’re capitalizing on interest from clients in getting their pitches–soft sell and otherwise–woven into the fabric of news programming.
For example, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Spanish language TV station KMEX, Los Angeles, has an integration partnership with healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente Southern California. It’s part of what the station calls its “Lead a healthy life, get the facts” public service campaign. But it’s more a public disservice.
Kaiser physicians are interviewed regularly on health topics for KMEX news pieces, news footage is shot at Kaiser facilities, and Kaiser patients and support groups are featured in news segments. Kaiser pays fees for the inclusion, an arrangement that isn’t disclosed during the programs.
Other examples cited in The Hollywood Reporter piece included an 11-day “Spa Spectacular” series in which 11 local spas were featured in the last half-hour of morning news programs on KRON-TV, San Francisco. Viewers were offered the chance to buy half-price gift certificates for spa services. Additionally Tourism Australia paid KRON to run a weeklong series featuring stories about Down Under in its morning news program. Tourism Australia bought traditional spots in the program while also paying an integration fee, and footing the bill for a five-member news crew to travel to Australia.
Call it an Estate sale–except in this case it’s the Fourth Estate in a transaction that wouldn’t have been fathomed years ago when preserving editorial integrity was paramount. But the ad industry isn’t entirely to blame. The emergence of the pay-for-play dynamic is symptomatic of what many news programs have become: entertainment.
Happy talk newscasts, team coverage of “the runaway bride,” freeway car chases/police pursuits, celebrity-driven fare ranging from movie reviews to romantic liaisons, features on the titillating instead of the intellectually stimulating, coverage of what the public supposedly wants rather than what it needs to know. Even much of the so-called issues-driven news fare takes the form of talk radio on TV, with “journalists” confronting anyone and everyone, generating controversy but rarely any meaningful insights, much less genuine illumination.
Sadly news in these forms is packaged entertainment, which dovetails nicely with product integration and other forms of sponsorship. But true journalism doesn’t mix with product placement and the like. The news shouldn’t be for sale–even the suggestion of impropriety is unacceptable.
While this publication has covered–and sometimes lauded–inventive forms of branded entertainment, there’s no room for such compromise in news programming. The ethics guidelines of the Radio and Television News Directors Association’s affirm that news reporting and decision-making “should be free of inappropriate commercial influences” and “should not show favoritism to advertisers.” The guidelines language goes on to urge that news organizations “protect the integrity of coverage against any potential conflict of interest.”
Clearly some news directors have ignored–or have been ordered to ignore–these guidelines. The ad industry shouldn’t be party to such abdication of journalistic responsibility.
Nominees Unveiled For Cinema Audio Society’s 61st Annual Awards
The Cinema Audio Society has unveiled its nominees in seven categories for the 61st Annual CAS Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing 2024.
The 61st CAS Awards will be held on Saturday, February 22, at the Beverly Hilton.
Nominated in the live action motion picture category were the audio teams behind A Complete Unknown, Deadpool & Wolverine, Dune: Part Two, Gladiator II and Wicked.
Animated motion picture nominees were the sound ensembles behind Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, The Wild Robot and Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl.
As previously announced, multi-award-winning sound mixer Tod A. Maitland CAS (A Complete Unknown, West Side Story, Joker), will be honored with the CAS Career Achievement Award. In addition, visionary filmmaker Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two, Blade Runner 2049, Arrival) will receive the Cinema Audio Society’s Filmmaker Award.
The CAS Award nominees highlight the outstanding contributions of sound mixers, recognizing excellence in the specialized craft of sound mixing for both film and television. Each year, accomplished CAS members—who possess extensive expertise in the art and science of sound—carefully review hundreds of projects to ensure the nominees truly reflect excellence in sound mixing in Motion Picture and Television entertainment.
“2024 was a year of remarkable achievements in the sound community, with exceptional talent on display across every category,” said CAS president Peter Kurland. “The innovation and artistry of these sound mixers continue to elevate the craft, and the upcoming awards will be a celebration of the outstanding contributions made this year. Congratulations to... Read More