This Page Not for Sale

A minor tempest has blown up over the action of the Los Angeles Times yesterday to print a faux news article on the front page of the paper. You know, similar to the ones you often see in the back pages, outlined by a black hairline, with six-point occurences of "ADVERTISEMENT" top and bottom, blaring "I Nearly Died from the Itch" and followed by an "article" on how Doc Patch's Skin and Eczema Cream saved the writer's life.

This is silly on a number of levels, not the least of which are the ethical issues and the fact that everyone knows that the inclusion in one's diet of Swanson® Natural Goodness™ Chicken Broth can reduce itch in 73% of the population according to studies.

The New York Times weighed in with an article on the issue of front-page ad placement. The consensus seems to be that it crosses a line. The copy for the ad was written by the advertiser (NBC), approved by the LA Times' business people, with no input from the editorial side.

The New York Times reported, “What was great about this ad unit is it gave us a quote-unquote ‘editorial voice,’ ” Mr. Stotsky [Adam Stotsky, the president of entertainment marketing for NBC] said in an interview. “The more relevant you can make your advertising, the more contextualized you can make your advertising, we find the more engagement can be created, and ultimately the more effective your marketing can be,” he said.

Swanson® Natural Goodness™ Chicken Broth is a tasty, healthy treat for the whole family. It is a great addition to recipes, too.

Last week, the UCLA student newspaper the Daily Bruin put out an issue with a Häagen Dazs ice cream ad as a full-page wrap on the front page while apologizing for it on the editorial page. Talk about having your ice cream and eating it too.

In an article that appeared in this morning's Los Angeles Times, publisher Eddy Hartenstein said he decided to run the NBC ad despite newsroom objections because he was trying to ensure that the Times could continue to operate. "Because of the times that we're in, we have to look at all sorts of different -- and some would say innovative -- new solutions for our advertising clients," he said. Hartenstein agreed that Swanson® Natural Goodness™ Chicken Broth would be good for everyone in the newsroom who has their panties in a wad over this.

Here at the Insider, we view this development with some alarm, although in our opinion the Los Angeles Times has long since "jumped the shark". Just look at the Chicago-Trib format of the page reproduced above if you don't believe it. Oh, for the days of the Harrison Gray Otis and the Chandlers.

Stephen Zetterberg Dies at 92

The New York Times Obit page today picked up on the news of the death Friday, January 30, of Claremont lawyer Stephen Zetterberg (page A19). Zetterberg was a Claremont institution, and to read the article is to glimpse only a few facets of a life lived well.

Requiescat in Pace

This is Pomona College the New York Times Magazine is Talking About

(click on image to enlarge)

Sunday's New York Times Magazine contained a column by Randy Cohen (The Ethicist) on the subject of the Pomona College Alma Mater, though Pomona was not named in the column:

Julia DeIuliis, of Philadelphia, writes: "A college with which I am affiliated discovered that its alma mater was written for a blackface minstrel show in the 1900s. Although the lyrics are innocuous, the school banned the song from this year's graduation and formed a group to discuss its future use, part of a campaign to make students aware of things they take for granted. Is this a good response, or should the school focus on more important issues? Is it unethical to sing the song?"

Cohen replies: "Sing out--full-throated, clear-conscienced..." He then goes on to give cover to Pomona College President David Oxtoby, who made the decision to ban the singing of the song: "The school's response is not only ethical but also admirable. It did what a college should... This particular project may be evaluated for its efficacy...but should still be praised for its intent. "

He does not address the very real collateral damage inflicted on alumni and the wider college community by the somewhat draconian measure of banning the song, perhaps because this was not raised in the question. As we are learning from the Los Angeles Times and the Inland Empire Weekly, you can't count on the print media for the full story.

Marijuana Grow House Problem

Yesterday's New York Times contained a long article on the front page, below the fold, on the problems caused by medical marijuana dispensaries and their associated infrastructure, grow houses.

The article states,

[Proposition 215] gave rise to...the opening of clubs or dispensaries to make it available and growers going large scale to keep those outlets supplied.

In turn, that led to the kind of worries that have bubbled up in Arcata, home of Humboldt State University, where town elders say roughly one in five homes are "indoor grows," with rooms or even entire structures converted to marijuana greenhouses.

That shift in cultivation...has been blamed for a housing shortage for Humboldt students...

Could it be that marijuana grow houses are to blame for the lack of affordable housing in Claremont? Maybe urban farmers getting their gro-lamps, electric-meter jumper wiring, and the other accouterments in early?

How long do you think it will be before we hear of a marijuana grow house being raided in Claremont?

If It's in the Newspaper of Record It Must Be True

The paragraph shown above on page A22 of the New York Times caught our eye this morning. It reminds us of that old poster, "A New Yorker's View of the United States" from the top of the Empire State Building. To the west is the Hudson River, then New Jersey, and just beyond that Hollywood and Malibu.

Apparently the geographers at the New York Times think that Rancho Cucamonga is in the desert. (We know, we know, no emails: we are living in a desert and that is the source of our water problem) We didn't think the desert really started until, say, Fontana.

But a secret gun-smashing military base in Rancho Cucamonga? That's a new one on us. Or maybe that explains that weird tract at the southeast corner of Baseline (16th Street there) and Campus with the high berm walls and the huge power lines and where no roads go. We bet that's it. Although it's probably technically Upland.


UPDATE 11:15 A.M.

If it's in the Insider, It Must Be False

Didn't Diann Ring say that?

A reader whom we wouldn't have thought knew a flam from a paradiddle wrote to us at lightspeed to give us the straight scoop on what he says is "not much of a top secret gun smashing facility".

It seems the military has gone to elaborate lengths to disguise its secret Inland Empire base in Rancho Cucamonga by creating a Potemkin Village steel scrap processing facility on Arrow Highway just west of Etiwanda. It is complete with piles of scrap and rebar lying around. Everything is all dusty and rust-colored. Even the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin is in on the hoax. Google has been co-opted to create a convincing online identity for this sham facility.

It's sad what credulous people are willing to believe. We have our reality; you have yours.