Newsdesigner.com | Detroit Flagwaving*

Detroit Flagwaving*

8:51 PM, May 26, 2005

The Detroit Newspaper Agency's decision to wrap Wednesday's editions of the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News in the flag, or, more accurately, a four-page Marshall Field's ad that looked like a flag, has successfully annoyed everybody from designers to copy editors to CJR-types to actual real readers.

There may be a precedent for a capitulation as crassly commercial as this one, but if there is, our minds have mercifully blocked it out. - CJR Daily

Hell, newspapers have just as much right to make money money as anyone else. But, in this instance, a line has definitely been crossed. ... a line in what the local newspapers represent in our community. That's not to say they can't earn it back, but on the heels of the Mitch Al-Bomb scandal and the revolting way that Carole Leigh Hutton handled the results of investigation, your Uncle Grambo would say that hill just got a little bit steeper. - Uncle Grambo, whatevs.org

What galled me about the honor-box photo was that the only thing visible from outside the box was the American-flag design. It's not until you had put in your four bits (or however much that thing costs), your cockles warmed by this wonderful patriotic gesture by the newspaper, that you'd discover you'd been rooked by a farging Marshall Field's ad. - Testy Copy Editors

I know we're desperate for ad revenue, but I don't think these ideas are being very well thought out. It's the typical focus on the short term without worrying about the future. - VisualEditors.com

I see that the Free Press put their profit for selling this wraparound ad before the true meaning of Memorial Day and what it really stands for. I don't think that those who sacrificed their lives for this country ever expected their day of remembrance to be justification for a store to hold a "sale" in their honor. - Free Press reader

Update: Here's an image of the Freep's ad front from E&P. Also, Henry S. Ford, vice president of market development of the Detroit Newspaper Agency, told E&P: �It just seemed like nothing far off field from a gatefold or a wrap.� And in a letter to Romenesko he said, "Initial reader response has been positive." I guess the Freep forgot to publish those letters!

Comments

Heads up: After you hit "post" things may be slow and you may get an error. Most likely, your comment did post. Apologies. I'm looking for a fix.

Great roundup, Mark. Thanks.

Posted by: Nicole at May 27, 2005 12:40 AM

This is the problem that I think is facing a lot of journalism right now, especially newspapers. The line between advertising and editorial has been blurred.

I know that recently, I called up someone in my my own company, and just started to recite the SPJ Code of Ethics, talking about never allowing the lines between these two departments become blurred.

I love reading how, "It's just a wrap! Who cares?" So, if an ad appears in the flag, or when individual news stories suddenly become sponsored by advertisers, it's OK, because newspapers are a business and need to make money at any cost?

I am just not in that mindset. Maybe I'm a little too old fashioned, but that's just the way I think. Could you imagine picking up the Washington Post 30 years ago and reading, "This Watergate story was brought to you by Colgate Toothpaste."

I am not sure where the mindset went with this. I know that more than a decade ago, publishers more and more were coming from sales rather than editorial, and with that maybe came more of a bottom-line mentality. It turned into being the Fourth Estate to being "Let's see how much money we can bleed out of all of this."

Posted by: Michael Hinman at May 29, 2005 12:26 PM

Incidentally, Finland's leading newspaper Helsingin Sanomat regularly carries front page ads:
Ad rates

Posted by: Alexander at May 30, 2005 12:39 PM

There should always be lines between ads and news. No matter how you slice it, readers will lose faith in a newspaper that is too eager to bend over backwards for ad dollars.

Posted by: djizzle at May 31, 2005 5:14 AM

Oh, c'mon, Mark: "I guess the Freep forgot to publish those letters!"

Just for the record: http://www.freep.com/voices/letters/efrontpage26e_20050526.htm

Posted by: Steve at May 31, 2005 6:16 AM

Steve,

No, I meant all those positive letters Ford talked about. You know:

Dear Free Press,

Wow! What a great ad! Bright, colorful and so conveniently placed!

M. Field
Grosse Pointe

Posted by: Mark at May 31, 2005 10:45 AM

Ah. My bad. Sorry (BTW, I keep those in a file. A very. Small. File.) :)

Posted by: Steve at June 1, 2005 6:22 AM