By Maria Aspan
The New York Times
Published: 7/3/06
Excerpt:
The line separating editorial content and advertising in magazines
may have been blurred even more with a film ad in the latest issue of
Premiere, the movie magazine.
Premiere's July/August
2006 issue includes a two-page, bright yellow ad for "Little Miss
Sunshine," a new film from Fox Searchlight Pictures. The right-hand
page contains the usual elements of a print ad for film (a cast list,
some blurbs from critics). Under a small "paid advertisement"
disclaimer, the left-hand page is devoted to an interview with Greg
Kinnear, one of the film's stars, conducted by Howard Karren, who is
identified in the ad as a "film journalist."
Premiere readers
who flip ahead a few pages can see that the magazine's masthead also
identifies Mr. Karren as a "contributing editor."
Paul J.
Turcotte, the vice president and publisher of Premiere, said he did not
see a conflict of interest in Mr. Karren's involvement in the ad. "He's
a contributing editor as opposed to someone who's on staff," Mr.
Turcotte said. "That's the line." ...
...Mr. Karren's involvement is "pretty muddy," said Kelly McBride, ethics
group leader at the Poynter Institute, a journalism organization. "As a
member of the audience, how do I know where his loyalties are when I
see his byline on something else?"
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