I'm a fan of On The Media, a weekly Public Radio program that critiques the industry I've made my living in for a lot of years.
This week's show included a segment on payola...the process by which individuals on TV are paid to promote certain items without any disclosure to the viewers. At one point, the hosts play a segment from the ABC program "The View" in which a "toy expert" named Elizabeth Werner and the guests are babbling on about the supposedly "hot" toys for kids this Christmas. On The Media asks guest/Washington Post reporter Paul Farhi if Werner is a legitimate expert or a shill for some toy companies, to which Farhi comments "It's hard to tell".
Huh? Here's On The Media calling out Television with a clip and all, and then dropping the ball?
Sorry Paul (And OTM hosts), it's not that hard. In 2.2 seconds worth of Googling, I found a Los Angeles Times article from last year in which that paper reports lawyer and "toy expert" Elizabeth Werner is paid--- $11,000 for each toy she promotes--- during her TV tour.
As The Times also reports, the fact that she's being paid to promote specific toys is supposed to be disclosed to viewers, but sometimes isn't.
And another point: The View is called that because it is NOT journalism. It's an opinion show to which the largely female audience tunes for opinion. Does OTM really consider it a news program?
[The Monday (and sometimes Saturday) Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this website.]
Huh? Here's On The Media calling out Television with a clip and all, and then dropping the ball?
Sorry Paul (And OTM hosts), it's not that hard. In 2.2 seconds worth of Googling, I found a Los Angeles Times article from last year in which that paper reports lawyer and "toy expert" Elizabeth Werner is paid--- $11,000 for each toy she promotes--- during her TV tour.
As The Times also reports, the fact that she's being paid to promote specific toys is supposed to be disclosed to viewers, but sometimes isn't.
And another point: The View is called that because it is NOT journalism. It's an opinion show to which the largely female audience tunes for opinion. Does OTM really consider it a news program?
[The Monday (and sometimes Saturday) Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this website.]
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