SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
Seattle Times criticized for buying political ads in its paper
Oct 18, 2012, 3:30 AM | Updated: 5:39 am
The Seattle Times buys advertisements in its own paper to support a political candidate. Linda Thomas photo.
A new political ad in The Seattle Times is being criticized because it was paid for, not by a campaign, but by the newspaper.
The advertisement – covering a half page on page A10 today – touts gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna as “a new direction for Washington.”
The newspaper will run a similar ad supporting Referendum 74, which would legalize same-sex marriage.
The Times says it launched the advertising initiative as a way to convince political campaigns how valuable it is to advertise in the paper.
In a written statement, Alan Fisco, Executive Vice President for Revenue and New Products, says “This is a business decision that is completely separate from journalism functions of the newspaper. The ads will clearly be identified as ads and there is no intersection between the advertising and our editorial commentary or news reporting.”
Jay Inslee’s campaign criticizes the ad, saying it calls into question the credibility of The Seattle Times.
Does the average reader see a difference between opinion pages, news pages and advertisements?
Dozens of Times news staffers oppose their paper’s decision to buy ads for a political candidate and campaign. Some are drafting a letter to Times Publisher Frank Blethen protesting the ad campaign.
The campaign in support of McKenna will cost about $75,000. The company says it will report as an independent expenditure. The Approve R-74 ad will be an in-kind donation to the campaign.
The newspaper says it will analyze the impact the ads have in the election and present the data to political consultants and candidates to make the case that advertising in the Times is an effective way to reach voters.
