Full marks on cross-promotion

Our Media Glass House teams have often identified stories appearing in News Crap Australia’s various online or hard-copy newspapers designed to promote or help promote the companies commercial interests.

Most often our researchers become very hot under their collective collars when such links are not disclosed in so-called “news” stories that are essentially “News” stories.

Any large and diversified media organisation can cross-promote content. The ABC does it all the time by running items on ABC News platforms based on, say, a Four Corners investigative report.

The story invariably lets news consumers know that they can see or hear or read more on the other program’s website or by watching, say, Four Corners.

But the ABC doesn’t do that to gain a commercial advantage, unlike News Crap Australia which regularly runs items alluding to content on its part-owned Sky News subscription channel which, our MGH teams admit, is free to air in some parts of regional Australia.

The latest case of such cross-promotion they detected was the campaign to boost the new Sky News “after dark”  program being hosted by News Crap Australia journalist Sharri Markson.

She will front Sharri each week night, having previously hosted a weekly commentary show (is there any other kind on Sky?) each Sunday evening.

Her new show kicks off tonight on Sky News and has been preceded by stacks of advertisements in News Crap Australia newspapers – maybe that should be Newspapers. Just a handful of the ads running in recent weeks are in our main picture above.

It must be good to be able to run what is essentially an in-house ad national campaign without being bothered by the pesky issue of paying top dollar, or perhaps any.

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Of course our MGH teams do point out that running such an ad campaign has its risks.

What if the Sharri show tanks? Won’t that prove that either it’s host is a dud talent – a theory they don’t support given her CV.

Or would it prove the lack of reach and effectiveness of advertising in News outlets – a theory they are willing to entertain.

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The cross-promotion undertaken by News Crap Australia didn’t stop at ads for Sharri in its turdbloid papers.

Oh no, there was also a four-page spread in The Weekend Australian’s colour magazine. (below)

Our MGH teams point out that the profile did allude to Ms Markson’s new Sky role, but while promoting her and her new show it might just have put one of her “after dark” colleague’s nose out of joint.

In the profile canvassing Ms Markson’s career was a reference to a documentary she made a few years back about then US President Donald Trump.

It claimed “she remains the only journalist working for Australian media to interview the former president”.

But hang on, does nobody at News Crap Australia remember this…….?

To be fair, those who saw the Paul Murray encounter with Trump did remark that it was less of an interview than a human enema.

Still, our MGH researchers wonder what sort of frosty welcome Ms Markson will receive from Mr Murray when she turns up at the Sky studios this arvo.

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Another curious aspect of the Weekend Oz’s glowing profile of Ms Markson was the inclusion of laudatory comments about her by its own ex-editor in chief Chris Dore.

You will recall Dore was shown the door not that long ago after misbehaving at a corporate Christmas party.

Was the inclusion of his comments evidence of the long lead times involved in publishing the colour magazine, or the first shot in rehabilitating him and his reputation?