Posted May 16, 2015 2:52 pm by Comments

By Gregory Smith

gun show sticker

Advertisers buy ad space in advance, which is why this happens sometimes:

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/05/15/florida-times-union-faces-social-media-firestorm.html#i1

The article, about the reaction to a shooting on a school bus, was overshadowed by a bright yellow sticker advertising the show. Immediately, political writer A.G. Gancarski took note, criticizing the newspaper for being “tone deaf” for juxtaposing the two. Saint PetersBlog also took aim at the newspaper.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2015/05/15/florida-times-union-faces-social-media-firestorm.html

Suppose the story had been about a drunk driver, does that mean you can’t advertise a liquor sale next to it? The paper issued a statement:

All of us at The Florida Times-Union know that gun violence is one of the most emotionally charged and pressing issues facing our community. The tragedy that occurred on a Duval County school bus Thursday was as societally significant as it was frightening. As such, a team of reporters, editors and photographers approached this story with great sensitivity and professionalism, and we stand proudly by their report on page 1A of Friday’s newspaper.

The appearance of a gun-related front-page sticky note on the same day was an incredibly regrettable coincidence. It was born of the purposeful separation between our news and advertising departments, an approach we take because we value nothing more than the objectivity …read more

Source:: Selling the Second Amendment

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