Monday, March 16, 2009

And Now, From the Makers of ...

JOEL STEIN WANTS to save journalism.

The LA Times and TIME magazine columnist proposed a system where product placement would pay for the production of stories. He even got Pom Wonderful, a pomegranate juice, to pay $25,000 for a mention in Stein's TIME magazine column.

Is there anything wrong with that?

The makers of Pom did not require reading the story before print. So, Stein could pretty much say whatever he wanted, right? He didn't have to blatantly sell the product. He just had to mention it, and add that it keeps you healthy.

Would you take the money?

(FYI: his editors at TIME made Stein donate the money to charity).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well that is a junket, and according to the principles of journalisms that is not okay. I wouldn't take the money, the juice should make their own advertisement and sell it to the paper, should be giving money to writers to advertise for them, that isn't what writers are paid to do.

Brittney Corridean said...

It's hard to say really, product placement has been said to be huge in the future of advertising so maybe it's just a preview to what is to come. Also, didn't he give the money to his column? That's not so bad

Amanda DiStefano said...

I am not against DVR and TIVO but that is also making product placement the way of the future. Things need to be advertised somewhere to pay for media to keep it going. As for magazines...they are a medium so I don't see the difference in that from placing cool looking cars in the BOURNE triologys.

The charity donation is very cool too.

Amanda DiStefano
(current JnS Student)