Frontline?
What's up with the background of TPM this morning? Are they turning over the entire site to one single advertisement, in this case PBS' Frontline? Can we expect a full background advertisement for Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2: Electric Boogaloo should that atrocity ever get made?
Do tell...
Do tell...
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Not sure about the ad arrangement, but the contrast between the background and the foreground on the TPM pages now is much better--they should consider keeping that type of contrast.
October 21, 2008 11:30 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm assuming it's not an ad as I use AdBlock Plus and don't see the ads.
October 21, 2008 11:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
While agree the background contrast is good, I think TPM should choose another color, perhaps the red used in the header.
October 21, 2008 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
I don't care if they do advertise for Beverly Hills Chihuahua - that's how they make their money. We're liberals, not communists.
October 21, 2008 11:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
No one in the blogosphere as far as I know has tried the alternative: pledge drives where they keep taking all content off-line for long spans until they meet their fundraising goal. :-)
Which brings to mind this mind bender for me: why is "Frontline" buying ads? Why do they care about boosting audience size like a for-profit show? Well, it's because they can't get good funding without showing proof of impact. One can't easily do quality non-profit without being able to show you could make a profit if one wanted to. :-) It's an old story of little independent periodicals of quality, they never lasted long without getting a bigger audience. And patronage by single wealthy entities virtually alsways means the patron has a lot of power over content.
October 21, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Part of it is also that the people who fund the production of the content also want people to see it, so they fund the advertising for it.
October 21, 2008 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
True. And you thinking of that right away shows you are less cynical about these things than me. :-) The funders also might get into telling the producers/directors something like this: next time, can you just maybe do something a little more palatable to 'Joe Sixpack'?....or how about something on this topic rather than that one?...your stuff has been a bit on the radical side lately, no?....
P.S. Made me think about this book, a classic in American art history. It's not really about art, but about how it's funded and the interaction. You might get some interesting insights as to your own interests from a perusal of it if you ever get the chance. It covers the gradual change from the problems associated with patronage of the upper class, to problems of capitalist sales to middle class, and what that portends, as well as "patriotism," among other things.
October 21, 2008 1:59 PM | Reply | Permalink
People who fund Frontline do it because they like that it's hard hitting. They're easily among the least corrupted news products in the country (have you watched it?). You should look elsewhere to do economic media criticism.
October 21, 2008 2:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey, I'm a big fan of "Frontline." (Besides the content, I'm even a fan of the narrator guy's voice. :-)) I just worry about the funding situation in this country for such endeavors, less and less by public funds, I pay attention to the news on that front. Advertising in way makes you free of the problems that come with other kinds of donors.
October 21, 2008 2:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ya, both models have their flaws.
October 21, 2008 2:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
We sold a background ad to Frontline for an hour. We won't be having background ads all the time, but occasionally.
October 21, 2008 12:25 PM | Reply | Permalink