And so it begins - Leslie Sbrocco and collateral damage online

WINE TALK
21

I think that any straight news guy (they probably have other folks for the fluff human interest stories) would be offended by having an informercial thrust upon him. Locally, I could see Jillian Barberie doing that and not caring (half of what she does is shill clothing, shoes and beauty products anyway) but not Steve Edwards.

22

How did he not know and then ask about it? Um…

23

Here’s how. He’s into wine enough to see that all of the wines are from the same label / group and says to himself, “I’m getting hosed here and I don’t like it one bit”…

Related story: We have a customer who is a Navy doctor in San Diego. One day he brought in a list of about 20 wines that he and the other members of the Officer’s Club board had tasted for the list there. When I pointed out that they were all GALLO brands (Amapamu, Turning Leaf, ect) he was PISSED even though they had liked the wines that they had chosen from the list. He had lobbied to get a choice with multiple vendors and a blind tasting to choose.

24

Looks like this station takes the concept of ‘news is news’ and ‘advertising is advertising’ seriously. Good for them!

But… television is so full of paid for promotion and product placement that it’s pretty much taken for granted. Does anyone seriously think that all that product stuff that is shown on the early AM network shows, The View, Oprah, etc., isn’t pre-arranged promotion. It isn’t very often that any of those shows mention that the person showing the product ‘represents’ that company, but I HAVE seen that. That kind of promotion is better and cheaper than normal paid advertising tthose companies. Usually you see something in the rolling credits at the end about ‘products provided’ or ‘consideration received’.

The other night Charlie Rose had Al Gore on and disclosed that they have a “mutual financial interest”. Rose does that a lot.

25

I actually find fault with both parties. She should have divulged her relationship with the distributor and the anchor should have come clean with her that it is unacceptable before the taping. As a result both parties came out looking badly.

26

Agreed… I’ll bet the station manager had a few words for the ancor after that taping.
I liked it though! [stirthepothal.gif]

27

Hell, I’m into wine but I wouldn’t know all of the Beringer labels since I don’t drink CAli wine and I especially don’t pay attention to conglomerate wines. Sure, you’re explanation COULD be the one, but I prefer the simplest explanation - he’s not being upfront about whether he knew beforehand.

28

As I have said elsewhere they got a “full segment pitch”. Call me crazy but pitches are usually designed to sell something or someone (so they can sell something). There is a difference between a guest reaching out and the journalist doing the reaching.

Certainly one could expect that the question, (during due diligence prior to the interview) would be asked. IMHO, that question was more about putting the guest in an awkward position than informing the audience. If the journalist felt the answer to the question was important enough to press the way de did, you would think that it would have been addressed prior to the interview. Remember that the idea is to help the audience take into account that the suggestions may be influenced by the sponsorship. IMHO, that should have been done at the beginning of the segment AND done by the journalist.

Has anyone ever seen a journalist ask a guest their financial motivations for their positions/suggestions during a lifestyle puff piece prior to this example?

Lastly, I do think its unfair to assume she was trying to hide or deceive anyone. Was the omission one of deception or just an oversight? I do not know the answer nor would I assume one. I would say that this whole disclosure issue is rather new and it will take time for everyone to adjust.

p.s Was the segment live?

29

Posted by Jay Selman:

Certainly one could expect that the question, (during due diligence prior to the interview) would be asked. IMHO, that question was more about putting the guest in an awkward position than informing the audience. If the journalist felt the answer to the question was important enough to press the way de did, you would think that it would have been addressed prior to the interview.

The following excerpts of Evan Dawson’s reply shed much light on your concerns
(Advertorial, Leslie Sbrocco, 7-11, chocolate milk, freer trade - sipped and spit Dr Vino's wine blog" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;):

Ms. Sbrocco is hardly a villain and my question should hardly be unique. But the intent becomes clear when you see her answer: > She and her clients were hoping the viewer would see her as an expert who was offering advice based on her own experiences, not based on getting paid. > That’s deceptive. Again, it’s hardly the most malicious practice I’ve come across, but it’s deceptive nonetheless. Had I not asked the question, I would have been ignoring my duty to make sure viewers understand what’s going on.

…

In some cases, for various reasons, the anchors might not know of a particular booked segment until the night before. That was the case with Ms. Sbrocco; our EP knows nothing about wine and thought it would be helpful advice for viewers. I indicated to him that there are myriad local possibilities to provide this service. He agreed that if we interviewed Ms. Sbrocco, we ought to also invite a local expert on at a future date. We intend to.

…

The point is, the funding and motives of some segments are easily discernible to us, and sometimes easily discernible to viewers. But often viewers are not thinking about these things. We turn down the vast, vast majority of pitched segments. > When we book one, we expect to find out about any relationships and funding sources. If those are disclosed to us, we’ll let our viewers know in advance. If those are not disclosed, we’ll seek an on-air explanation.
…

Howard –
I think your idea is a good one. It would certainly diminish the number of potential segments, but I think that says a lot about the current expectations of some of those doing the pitching. I don’t like the “gotcha” game, and full disclosure in advance makes sure I never have to go there (though I try to do so amicably and calmly).

Many “consumers” are just now becoming more aware of the cosy relationships behind communications such as peer-reviewed medical journals and the recent spate of ghost-busting instances of ghostwriters from the pharmaceutical industry. I say let the sun shine brightly on such dubious practices.

30

I, for one, don’t really care if he knew that he was going to embarrass his “guest” in advance. Look at her press release. Never mentions anything about a specific product line or a sponsor. She deserved to get outed and I’m glad that he had the balls to do it.

She probably went on 10 other similar shows and never had to deviate from her pitch once. Producers are so glad to fill segments that they would have been happy to put on a pretty lady to talk about wine.

31

Welcome chrisinroch !

32

The following weblinks just caught my eye:

http://blogs.kqed.org/food/2009/06/05/check-please-bay-area-sponsorship/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

feed://blogs.kqed.org/food/feed/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Check, Please! Bay Area is looking for an underwriter!
If you are seeking a unique sponsorship opportunity for your business and want to reach a prime demographic group through multiple platforms email us today at: > sponsor@kqed.org > or call: 415-553-2388.

…

My name is Leslie Sbrocco and I’m the host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Each week, I will be sharing my tasting notes about the wine the guests and I drank on set during the taping of the show.

[rofl.gif]

33

No deception here…

First, there was no “deception” involved with my appearance on a recent media tour. During the holidays I have been promoting my latest book, The Simple & Savvy Wine Guide, and while I wish publishers could afford the expense of this type of promotion, most simply cannot these days. Therefore, I have chosen to partner with producers I’ve highlighted in the book to do so. Beringer is one of those partners.

Leslie, your book was published 3 years ago…a little late to start a tour…and it can be purchased on Amazon for 1 penny, probably the reason your publishers are not spending money on you these days!

Her excuse is poor. Her pitch to the network NEVER mentions any sponsorship. She blames that on the media company, yet her signature lies at the bottom of the page.

Leslie, I look forward to your next excuse.

Evan Dawson, based on what she showed his network, had no way of knowing that she was being paid by the wineries. I find his question, based upon information supplied by Leslie, to be more than fair. There was no blindsiding, it was an honest question, that she was “forced” to answer honestly. More coffee was needed…yeah that was it.

34

Fun stuff. I think the host could have ask the question ahead of time and introduced her as such and mentioned that Penfolds, CSJ and Beringer are part of Fosters - in the interest of full disclosure of course. However, he chose to ask during the interview and she did appear flustered.

Jamie did not mention in his eBob post that his wife Kristen has been Leslie’s PR person for years. I don’t know if she currently does Leslie’s PR but she definitely was in the past. I had Thanksgiving dinner at Leslie’s house once with Jamie and Kristen

35

No mention there of ‘full disclosure’ during the taping?

36

I’m glad to see another stealth bit of advertising/“news” called out for what it is. And the question was hardly hardball–a straight-up question.

I also chuckled at her comment up front: “there are no wrong answers” when it comes to pairing food and wine. I agree that you can go too far with strict food/wine pairing rules, but that doesn’t mean there are NO wrong answers. Grilled steak with Sauternes is a wrong answer…Sole with lemon sauce and Cabernet Sauvignon is a wrong answer…

Bruce

37

Gold Bud with a Mickey’s Big Mouth though . . . [berserker.gif]

38

but not Sole with lemon sauce and BERINGER Cab…sheeesh Bruce.

39

Chocolate cake with Sauvignon Blanc? Is that a wrong answer?

40

Not if Sauv. Blanc is all you have left! White after Red…don’t scratch your head. [scratch.gif]

Just do it!