Nowhere is a newspaper's credibility more at stake than on its front page. You would think publishers would be acutely aware of that. Surely, most are, but one has to question the extent to which that view's in place at the Los Angeles Times considering yesterday's controversial front page.
Over the objections of Editor Russ Stanton and many news staffers, Publisher Eddy Hartenstein put a huge, L-shaped ad on Page One that promoted an NBC cop show. Part of the ad looked like a real news story even though it was labeled as an ad and carried the NBC logo. It was a mind-boggling betrayal and abandonment of sacred space and a problematic gamble with credibility to play such games with readers, many of whom are resentful of advertorial content to begin with because they resent the element of deception that's part of advertising that tries to look like news.
Hartenstein said he was just trying to rake in much-needed revenue. NBC marketing guys said they thought it was a good idea. At least 70 readers disagreed, lodging complaints with the LAT. What a mess. True, papers are scrambling for money, but if they sell their credibility, they're goners.
Bob Steele of Poynter had some excellent thoughts on the matter, noting "this is an example of a news organization cutting ethical corners. The Times' execs are chopping away at the journalistic foundation. They are selling pieces of the paper's journalistic soul. And this may be only the beginning."
He also applauded -- as do I -- Times staffers' reaction that was shared with Hartenstein in a petition that complained: "This action violates a 128-year pact with our readers that the front page is reserved for the most meaningful stories of the day. Placing a fake news article on A-1 makes a mockery of our integrity and our journalistic standards."
All in the name of money. Maybe here at the end of Holy Week, it would be worth reflecting a bit on a couple of other instances in which hunger for money resulted in some bad ideas -- those things called "indulgences" that provoked the protestant Reformation and those 30 pieces of silver that sent a model of love, peace and mercy to the cross.
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