“Egg on our face,” is how Pamela Henson, Star Tribune senior vice president for marketing and sales, describes the decision to publish a four-page insert last Sunday absent the caveat “advertisement.”
The insert reported the results of the Life Time Fitness triathlon for about 1,500 members.
The cover of the insert displayed the Life Time Fitness logotype at the top with the words “presented by Target.”
The word “results” appeared vertically down the left-hand side of the first page, and on the front and back pages were the logotypes of 22 sponsors, including the Star Tribune, plus Target.
To the nonjournalist, the type face resembled the agate type found in sports page summaries and box scores. So it might have been understandable that a number of readers called me, asking for corrections on their performances.
But it wasn’t news copy, Henson noted:
“It was paid space. We handled [preparation of] the ad.” That explained the newspaper’s sponsorship.
The copy arrived on deadline, and the failure to properly identify the section was an “oversight,” said Henson, plainly miffed.
The intent was to label the section in a manner that made it clear to readers that its content was controlled by the advertising department.
The newspaper’s stylebook says a reasonable person must be able to easily and consistently differentiate paid advertising from editorial content.
Comment: The absolute separation of advertising and news, and the strict identification as “advertising” of matter about which there might be some doubt, is essential to a newspaper’s integrity.
It is good news that advertisers can be told that the newspaper’s policy remains unchanged. That’s healthy for them and us.
Be direct
Corey Gordon challenges the inclusion of Judaism twice in last Sunday’s front-page story headlined, “Artwork scam fleeces many, suits allege.”
The scam artist is Miroslav Klabal, sued more than 90 times for allegedly overcharging clients.
Staff writer Mary Abbe quoted retired attorney Peter Dorsey: “He presented himself as a refugee from Czechoslovakia and a self-proclaimed Jew and self-proclaimed veteran of the Czech army, but whether any of that was true, I don’t know.”
The article identified Klabal’s wife as the daughter of a stockbroker who “was a leading civil rights activist and prominent supporter of Jewish causes.”
Gordon wrote, “I cannot for the life of me figure out what earthly significance this fact has for any understanding of the story.”
Abbe said her intent was to offer “an overview of Klabal’s social milieu and personal background. His father-in-law’s life provided a well-rounded portrait of a very active, community-minded individual whose prominence benefited his son-in-law.”
Comment: If the intent was to illustrate Klabal’s marketing scheme to sell art to the Jewish community the article should have said so directly, not circuitously.
Privacy
A woman called to protest the inclusion of her Minneapolis Mount Curve address in the Klabal story as a residence he had purchased and remodeled into a gallery. She was not named.
She said she has lived there six years and does not appreciate the newspaper generating gawkers.
Writer Abbe said the address “does fill in helpful detail about how and precisely where the dealer operated.” Using only the name of the street would have been “unnecessarily mysterious and vague,” Abbe added.
Susie Hopper, assistant managing editor-features, responded: “I’d concede that saying a mansion on Kenwood’s tony Mount Curve would have sufficed.”
– The reader representative catches bouquets and brickbats from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 612-673-4450. Outside the metro area call 800-827-8742. He can be contacted atreaderrep@startribune.com.
