Should Media Buyers Say No?

Media is a Wonderful Thing

We are surrounded by an inescapable sea of media.

For me, my job is all about understanding media, particularly as it relates to content.

Content – in the form of web sites, TV shows, video games, newspapers and so on – rushes at us wave after wave and only on the rare occasion can we turn it off.

Content is good.

All of us can close our eyes and think of great shows, favourite sites, new tools and other media that have brought us lots of memories and fun.

But what about the dark side of media?

Is There a Dark Side to Media?

The answer to that question: I guess it depends on what side you’re on.

Historically, ‘media’ in most of its forms emerged as naive and simple messages to the public.  The thought of uttering hateful or spiteful commentary seemed repugnant and the idea that someone – including a large corporation – would allow any kind of racial or threatening discussion to emit from their airwaves seemed impossible.

In the 1930s and 40s, media was manipulated by the likes of Joseph Goebbels to convince people to do horrible things to each other.

As we emerged from World War II battered and bruised, we thought we learned our lesson.

But here we are.  We’ve learned nothing.

Can Media Buyers Say ‘No’?

Several years ago, I turned to selling online media for a small, independent publisher.  I approached several people – including a much-respected mentor of mine – to encourage them to buy online media with this property.  I was told rather flatly that they don’t buy media on sites that have a political nature to them.

In short, they had no problem saying no.  They were keen on protecting the brand value of their clients.

I appreciated that.

However, the feedback really didn’t register at the time, but the comment has remained with me and has me raising these questions about when or if a media buyer should say ‘no’.

You may be asking what the dilemma is all about.  I suppose it just comes down to what publishers we’d be rejecting.

Here’s an example of an interview that needs to be questioned.  This was on the CTV, one of Canada’s national broadcast networks.  They were covering the story about the Sun Sea, the vessel that carried refugee claimants from Sri Lanka to Canada.  One of the people interviewed was someone named Paul Fromm, someone I’ve never heard of before, but someone who’s been identified as a Neo-Nazi.

I just completed a media buy that included the CTV.  Should I recommend that it be cancelled?  Should I contact my rep and have a conversation with them?  To be honest, I’m not sure what to do, because I also don’t want to embarrass myself with my client.

Just to make the case about content that’s drawing negative publicity, here’s another example of questionable behaviour in the US.

This example pushed Media Matters to lobby all listeners to respond not to the network of radio stations that hosts her show (owned by Clear Channel), but to petition the advertisers that place ads on those sites.

There are more than a dozen companies listed as sponsors, including well-known names like Pfizer, Geico, Motel 6, OnStar, Chase Bank, Home Depot and NetFlix.

Should their media buyers have said no?

Who am I to Judge?

I’m probably not a qualified judge of what should be on the airwaves and what shouldn’t be, but I don’t think either situation listed above should be considered a case of hyper-sensitivity.

It’s a case of respect.

And if our media partners aren’t capable of creating content or are supporting people that don’t respect others, then when can media buyers put a line in the sand and say ‘I refuse to buy from you because you’re supporting … (fill in the blamk)’?

And should they?

As media buyers, who are we to judge?

Funding the Onslaught of Questionable Media Practices

Every time a media buyer says yes to a publisher that helps perpetuate questionable content, objectivity or research, they enable this content.  They endorse it with the advertising dollars of someone else.

The great challenge is that we’re not talking small, indie publishers that might be able to cruise under the radar if one of their commentators or journalists step out of line.

Clear Channel represents hundreds of radio stations across North America and the CTV is part of the CTVGlobeMedia network, arguably Canada’s largest media company (and therefore, content provider).

These are organizations are at risk of being seen as shaping public opinion rather than sharing public information.  After reviewing the two segments above, their approach to shaping public opinion is teetering on the extremely dangerous, to say the least.

As I listened to these segments I asked myself two questions:

1. What ever happened to objective and balanced reporting?
2. Have these people not learned any lessons from history (ie. racism = bad)?

Surviving Canada’s Faux Future

I’ve been in the online buying and planning business for more than 10 years now and every once in a while, something crosses my plate that I just can’t stomach supporting.

The news of the launch of the highly political channel ‘Fox News North’ (owned by Sun Media, which also owns Canoe and the London Free Press, just to name a few) has revised this sentiment.  It puts me in an awkward position, particularly when clients ask me about it and want to know if they’ll have a web site.

Of course, they’ll have a site.  It will be political.

As described by the folks with OpenMedia,

Having a news network driven by ideology is not a good sign for those of us in favour of reasonable public discourse, an informed public or quality journalism.

And since it will be political, I can say no, right?  Just like my mentor who said no several years ago?

From a broader perspective, the Fox site will be operated by Sun Media, so do I also ‘boycott’ their other publications, as all of them help support this initiative in Canada?

Here’s just a glimpse of an editorial from the Toronto Sun that appeared today:

If the MV Sun Sea were carrying 500 “migrants” from Afghanistan, home base for the Taliban and al-Qaeda, would we be allowing it to enter Canadian waters, or would we put firing a shot over the bow with a message that the next would be midships?

Lock and load would be our approach.

And this case is no exception.

Are you kidding me?  I’m sorry, but that is not my Canada.  I don’t condone the murder of people, or even joking about it, particularly when they are supposed to be innocent before proven guilty.

Finally, if Faux News isn’t deemed to be political, then what is and what can’t be on a media plan if this ‘content’ is considered safe or fair game?

The High Cost of ‘No’

It’s unfortunate that taking the high road will likely have a very deep and dear price.

When I say ‘no’ to Faux News in Canada, will I lose a paying opportunity to provide advice for a client?  Surely someone else who likes Fox or other politically charged programs will jump in and help the client execute this buy.

The reality is that there are a lot of media buyers who simply don’t care about the situation and who won’t trouble their clients with questions.  In other instances, there are a lot of folks who do care, but who can’t say no because this job is their only source of income and they’ll face pressure from their employer to move on and check their emotions at the door.

And where does it end?  Insert your thoughts here about the most deplorable company or organization that you know and ask yourself if you’d feel OK with promoting their product to someone else that’s less informed.

Which publishers would you avoid buying from and why?  Turning things around, which companies would you refuse to do work for and why?  Feel free to post anonymously as I’m hoping to get some feedback on this.

In time, the glimmer of hope is that there are more publishers out there that actually care about the future of this planet, the people that inhabit it and other ‘gifts’ that we take for granted like wildlife and natural resources.

I also hope that a slew of companies will emerge that offer people realistic alternatives to some of the questionable options we face today.

By the way, if you’re with one of these organizations and you’re looking for digital strategists that are prepared to say no, give us a buzz!

Bill Wittur
Managing Director
Bottree Digital Services