Horrible ad runs in Tennessean

The Tennessean is investigating how an indefensible ad ran in print

Another reason having bare-bones newsrooms involved in production is a terrible idea.

I remember more than once having an ad rep try to slip a questionable ad by, then seeing it on the page during a copy editor shift and bringing it to the attention of the ME and EE, and them ordering it pulled before it could make it to print.

 

The ad in question. Seems like run of the mill kook stuff, which makes it seem even more confusing that no one looked at it and said, "Yeah, sorry, we can't do this."
Some ad rep is looking for work on Monday morning. But I wonder if any editors even saw the page? Either way, Gannett will institute a new 22-step process (for which they only have the staffing to cover three steps) to ensure it doesn't happen again for the rest of the month.

 

I had an incorrect mug run in my section today. Wouldn’t sweat it too bad, except the subject of it is a community leader who I talked to as part of a type of series I’m doing talking to black sports leaders in our community just to generate discussion on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Kind of brutal to make the mistake there. Not exactly a softball roundup.

He understood what happened, and he’s fine. I have a correction running tomorrow and two more parts of our conversation tomorrow and Tues. Plus it was correct in digital form, so I should be fine.

Still, it’s humiliating to me. And indicative of these times. Went in yesterday on a day off to make sure everything was carefully done. But I couldn’t sit around for hours to proof (I have others available for that) the PDF and figured the RDC could follow simple directions.

Well, it bit me in the ass. Guess I’ve gotta work 7 days a week to make sure things get done right.

 

They’ll be returning the money?

 

Investigating? Horseshit.

Here’s my investigation results: Somebody waved money at Gannett, which is too effin’ broke to say no.

 

My company used to run ads in its weekly shopper covering the two markets in our area from a nutjob whose ideas aligned with the KKK wayyyyyyy too closely. He kept getting rejected for submitting them as letters to the editor and someone over at the sister paper told him, idiotically, "If you want to run that, you're gonna have to buy an ad." And then, duh, the ad rep saw no reason to turn him down. I'm sure he chose the shopper because he knew that neither papers' editorial staffs would see the ad before it made it to print.

 

Damned libuhl media.

 

Exactly. The best - probably the only good - solution is to have a better chain of people check stuff like this.

Which means Gannett isn't doing it because that would mean better staffing. And that means hiring people. Too many executives need their fat bonuses for that to occur.

 

Well, this should change the conversation drastically.

 

The fact that it ran on Wednesday and no one noticed is probably more sad than troubling.

 

Y-I-K-E-S!!!!!!!

 

Such an epic flustercluck I don't even know where to begin.