There's been a lot of news on the big credit card security breech at the Hannaford supermarket chain.
Hannaford, headquartered in Maine, is taking issue with the coverage of a local television station,
WGME.
For the time Hannaford isn't saying what it objects to, only that the WGME coverage was "overly aggressive." The
Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram have thorough
coverage, complete with its own home page and a cool graphic. Hannaford isn't complaining about that.
Who knows if Hannaford has a legitimate beef with WGME? What's cool is that WGME is cluing the audience in. They did a short piece on air last night, which unfortunately is not available on their website. But they have an
audience survey that has sparked a very nice discussion about where WGME's loyalties should reside.
OK, nobody's really using that word, "loyalties." But it's implied. And people get it. Most of the respondents are siding with WGME, because they believe WGME is working on behalf of consumers. But a few folks accuse the station of being sensational. Others point out that Hannaford has a right to spend its advertising dollars where it chooses.
Supermarkets spend a lot of money on advertising. I'm sure the hit to WGME is a big one. Kudos to them for bringing the audience into the conversation in a way that promotes news literacy.
Media generally forgets that it exists to sell advertising. It...
