Blurring ad and news boundaries
There's a post on Creative Review about the recent fake front cover of The London News.
The London News is an afternoon publication by Rupert Murdoch's News International competiting in the hotly contested free newspaper market. As with the other free newspapers such as Metro and The London Lite, the publication is supported via a variety of ads. However, in a bid to gather a greater advertising cut, The London News makes use of ad-sponsored cover wraps which enclose the actual newspaper. The problem in this instance is the actual ad campaign. Plastered across the front page was a poster shot depicting "the Assasination of George Bush"; as a subject matter, it couldn't be any more deceptive. Whilst I imagine they were compensated quite comfortably for the campaign, I can't help feeling that they've shot themselves in the foot by allowing this to go through.
The backbone of any newspaper is it's credibility; by allowing the boundaries between news and marketing to blur, The London News has given the impression that it's willing to sacrifice it's credibility as a serious paper for the sake of commercial interests. A dangerous precedent to set and a warning shot for the future of journalism.
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