In Risky Move, Newscasts adopt Product Placements

IN RISKY MOVE, NEWSCASTS ADOPT PRODUCT PLACEMENTS
[SOURCE: Hollywood Reporter, AUTHOR: Gail Schiller]
While just about every television genre has jumped on the lucrative product-placement bandwagon, news programs generally have been considered off-limits to preserve editorial integrity. But with TV stations facing increased competition and pressure on advertising revenue, the barriers that shielded news programing from such deals are falling. Product placement, media and branded entertainment agencies say they are increasingly being pitched opportunities from local stations to integrate their clients' products into news programing in exchange for buying commercial time or paying integration fees. "There are more local news stations that are incorporating brands into news in innovative, cutting-edge ways," said Aaron Gordon, president of entertainment marketing firm Set Resources Inc. "The line, which has always been black and white in terms of what's news and what's commercials, is now being blurred." Radio-Television News Directors Association president Barbara Cochran warned that integrating advertisers into news programing could backfire, costing local stations viewers instead of having the intended effect of increasing ad sales. "You're selling the credibility of the news, and if viewers start thinking your news is for sale, then the credibility of your news is lost and your audience is lost," she said. According to RTNDA's ethics guidelines, "news reporting and decision-making should be free of inappropriate commercial influences" and "should not show favoritism to advertisers," and "news organizations should protect the integrity of coverage against any potential conflict of interest."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060316/tv_nm/newscasts_dc_1