newspaper masthead desecration

All you notice on the front page of this issue of the Herald Sun is an ad for a university. This shows how ad revenue is more important than editorial, even more important than an AFL story in Melbourne.

The news of the day took a back seat for The Sunday Age yesterday as Fairfax used the whole front cover to pitch their retail business. Some customers said to me – where’s the newspaper. This product certainly does not look like a newspaper:

A stuck on ad covering the photo the editorial team considered important enough to be the page one photo on the newspaper. In this case, a house ad for a Fairfax business trashed from front page of The Age yesterday.

An ad for a David Koch Christmas course is deemed more important than the main news story of the day by the publisher of the Herald Sun.

News Corp today covered up part of the photo accompanying the front page story today about the CFA volunteer protest. While many here don’t care about these stuck on ads, I do and post about them here as a matter of record for those concerned about such things.

It is hard to tell if this is a newspaper at first glance.

Whatever is under the Audio Clinic stuck-on ad misses being promoted.

Since I go on (obsess maybe) about the post-it type ads stock over newspaper headlines and mastheads I thought I should comment on this ad that covered access to The Age on my phone yesterday. The thing is, I don’t mind this type of ‘stuck on’ ad as it is easily dismissed, does no damage to the product and barely impacts my experience. I was surprised, however, to see this movie linked to The Age as it’s more Herald Sun product.

Yesterday’s Daily Telegraph… Jobs for what?? What a waste of a headline.

Check out how the Herald Sun looked for one newsagent today. The sticker stuck on the front page is for the Dr Seuss promotion. Being half stuck like this looks bad. I know plenty of customers who would look for an undamaged copy.  On a copy I saw earlier today, the sticker was obscuring a chunk of the photo about the main news story. Dreadful.

This morning’s Daily Telegraph shows, once again, how irrelevant newspaper headlines are deemed y newspaper publishers in promoting their product.

It surprises me they treat promotion of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here with more respect than they do what the editorial team considers to be the main news story of the day – our country’s treatment of babies held in the asylum system. Those making such decisions ought to be ashamed of themselves.

I wonder is sticker placement resulted in a headline of MASA’S HIGH PRIC for some.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal today (Sunday in the US) has a post-it note ad covering up part of the masthead and editorial designed to drive newspaper sales. The ad is for a business called Mr Rooter so I guess there is karma in that for whoever approved this.

Ad revenue is far more important to Fairfax than the front page newspaper story.

Shame on those at News Corp. involved in the decision to place an ad promoting the Courier Mail over the top of the heart wrenching page-one story of the parents who gave up their one for adoption. What is more important – news or a newspaper promotion? Sure, it is a chicken or egg question. However, since News Corp. invests millions in preaching to Australians on a range of matters, telling us daily what to think, it is reasonable to expect their own behaviour to be better than this. Shame on those involved.

It is disappointing to see a house ad from News Corp. stuck over editorial content on the front page of the Herald Sun today. The newspaper is celebrating 25 years. Today’s front page is not a glorious representation of the publisher’s respect for news.

What is Kelley joining? The stuck on house ad on the front page of the Weekend AFR covers it up. Another disappointing cover-up of front page newspaper editorial content.

The ad from GIO is considered more important than page 1 editorial content at the Sydney Morning Herald.