FTC Cracks Down on Major Underwriters of Talk Radio
Here’s what some might think of as an “unusual” question coming from BizzyBlog (that’s because they don’t know, or don’t remember, that not taking advantage of a person’s ignorance to get them into a bad deal is a fundamental BizzyBlog tenet) — Did you ever notice how much talk radio shows (this goes for conservative, liberal, sports, advice, you name it) is underwritten by advertisers of really marginal stuff?
What made me think of this is the fact that many providers of dubious vitamins and diet pills (e.g., CortiSlim, TrimSpa, and others) were on the receiving end of signficant FTC fines last week.
I think it’s legitimate to ask at what point the talkers have a responsibility (moral, not legal, unless the product itself is illegal) to screen the people who are willing to pay them for the priceless visibility and, to an extent, credibility that these shows provide the advertisers. Even if it’s not a direct endorsement, an association with a given show removes much of the resistance on the part of a lot of people who might ordinarily be on guard against getting taken.
I don’t see how some government entity cracking down on stations will help anything. Consumers are the best likely remedy, if they can quit being apathetic and gullible.
If government would quit running around protecting us from us, we might just learn how do it ourselves.
Comment by Curt409 — January 8, 2007 @ 10:31 am
#1, that’s why I said moral responsibility, not legal. I DON’T want the government giving talkers grief over this. I would hope talkers aren’t OK with selling anything someone will pay them money to sell, but it’s up to them to police themselves, and to an extent for listeners to give them grief (or tune out) if too much of it is happening.
OTOH, I do NOT have a problem with FTC going after advertisers for truly false claims. That’s what econ types would call enforcing “the rules of the game,” and is considered one of the limited number of legitimate functions a government is supposed to have.
But yes, responsible consumers is the most important element of all.
Comment by TBlumer — January 8, 2007 @ 11:49 am
Is there no requirement by the FCC or the broadcasters for some kind of standards? Over the years, I have heard about ads being rejected, but I cannot recall the reasons they were turned down, or what they sought to sell or promote. I do know most newspapers and broadcast outlets refuse to carry or air ads for porno of sex-trade sites. Tom, you have brought up a great issue, and I hope we learn more about it. Broadcasting is not exactly a market-driven industry because you can I cannot get into the market w/o a license issued by the government.
Comment by bill sloat — January 8, 2007 @ 1:22 pm
#3 Bill, your last point might be changing because Internet broadcasting is doing an end around (see wideawakesradio.com) and even video (see HotAir.com). I think unless the govt gets really stupid and tries to regulate that anyone with a mic will be able to do radio, and everyone with a web cam will do TV.
What will arise out of it is anyone’s guess.
As the issue — it doesn’t seem to get much attention. The thing that got me is when one of the Top 20 talkers was PERSONALLY endorsing CortiSlim. I think he got convinced that it worked, but what does that say about him?
Comment by TBlumer — January 9, 2007 @ 2:38 am