Page 195 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

1 | Hypercommerc al sm

complimentary copy. When articles are placed on facing pages or used to sur-
round the ad text, they are referred to as adjacencies. Much of magazine content
is filled with stories generated from advertising departments as complimentary
copy, not from the creative inspirations of editors, or the investigative instincts
of reporters. Magazines also carry advertorials and special advertising supple-
ments formatted to look like feature journalism. They hope the format tricks
readers into being less critical and more open to the messages. Indeed, many ad-
vertisers reject independent story ideas. In addition, magazine and newspaper
editors increasingly rely on public relations professionals who represent corpo-
rate clients and celebrities who pitch stories and even write copy.

CrEaTivE anD EDiToriaL JuDgmEnT
Now magazine copy, much like many film scripts, is submitted to ad agencies
offering them the chance to find appropriate insertion points for their products.
This merging of media content and product promotion has resulted in increas-
ing demands by manufacturers and their agents that content conform to the
messages of the advertising. Chrysler publicly announced such economic prior
restraint as corporate policy in January 1996. The company’s advertising agency
sent a letter to magazines carrying its advertising requiring them to submit ar-
ticles to Chrysler for advanced screening. If the company deemed any editorial
content provocative or offensive, it warned, it would pull its advertising.
The American Society of Newspaper Editors prepared a response and on
June 30, 1997 sent out an appeal to editors to take a position not to bow to
such advertising pressure and to reassert their right to have final authority over
the editorial content of their magazines. Milton Glaser, a graphic designer and
cofounder of New York magazine, hearing of Chrysler’s policies wrote, “Censor-
ship of this kind that acts to curtail the exchange of unpopular ideas is unac-
ceptable for all those who care about human freedom and a healthy democratic
society” (Glaser 1997). He added that such a practice “violates our sense of fair-
ness and our notion of how a free press work.” Chrysler Corporation responded
with surprise to the protest, saying it was only making public a policy that many
other companies practice covertly.
In film as well, advertisers sometimes try and succeed, in shaping content to
their demands. The fight over how to end the popular film Jerry Maguire is a
case in point. In Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise stars as a struggling sports agent and
Cuba Gooding Jr. plays the lovable football player Rod Tidwell, trying to make
it big time. Products such as Coke, Visa, and Reebok are plugged, but the film
goes further in its support of advertising. Tidwell’s very success is measured by
his popularity with advertisers. His career goal is to appear in a Reebok com-
mercial, not on the late-night, low-budget, water-bed pitches that are a sure sign
of failure. Reebok’s placement in the film led to contentions about creative con-
trol, ultimately won by the shoe company. The director cut 47 seconds of Tidwell
appearing in a Reebok commercial at the end of the movie. Reebok sued, and
when the film aired on Showtime, the pitch had been reinserted. At this point
advertisers have enormous control over motion picture plot and dialogue, and