McMorning - news channels sell the right to McDonald's to place products in news shows

This is ridiculous, a sweaty burger replacing the traditional newsreaders notes. I wonder if they will tuck in instead of the customary closing paper shuffle? I can just see it now ... "and finally in the news today .... om nom nom nom nom."

I doubt they will be eating burgers whilst trying to present the news .... I thought product placement was pretty standard on US television. I only know that the American Idol judges always drink out of these huge Coca Cola cups, so I don't really get why people are making such a big deal about McDonalds getting in there as well.

Why the big deal JP? erm maybe beacuse this is a news programme and not entertainment? This is serious news, surely the last place were organisations should be product placing - I don't think a news reporet on deaths in Iraq and McDonalds go really hand in hand...News in the states is bad enough, we don't need to see brands on the screens

This will make watching the local news a bit more interesting. Now I get to tune in every morning and watch the newscasters become more and more overweight.

Product placement while talking about sad depressing issues? That doesn't seem like such a good marketing strategy.

We are all bombarded by way too much advertising every day already. I don't need my local or national news media telling me to eat at Mcdonalds in between the commercials. This is just another attempt by greedy broadcasters trying to sell more advertising air time.

It's actually good news, since now we all know not to watch that particular news channel since it's integrity is compromised.

So... to look at all sides of the argument, what is everyone's thoughts on this kind of product placement compared to traditional advertising on news websites and in newspapers?

Often a newspaper will have an advert placed right next to a news story, whether it's a serious one or not. Is the product placement mentioned in the story an inevitable progression?

If the cooperation with certain companies restricted the station's objectivity in the sense that their promotion deal with McDonald's stopped them from delivering negative information about the fast food chain, I would think that this is problematic. As long as we are merely talking about a plastic cup on a desk. however, and are still able to separate between the content of the show and the advertisement, I don't think this is really worth getting so upset about.

There is no such thing as commercial-free media.

And when people are getting sick from tainted food at McDonalds or even lower earnings for McDonalds I bet these news stations don't report it.

Sad... This is just sad. How stupid do they really think we are? And how many of us are really unaware of this type of treatment?

Is it any different then logging on to yahoo, and getting bombarded with Duncan Donuts ads?

Are you fucking kidding me?!

Sell outs, every single one of them. Do people not understand the power of advertisement, and not good power.. greedy corporate minding controlling power. Ex.- Stay at home mom sees the morning news everyday, sees an iced coffee, says yummm. Goes to Mickey D's, takes her kids, feeds them crap that'll make them obese, and spends money she doesn't have.

Unnecessary

The only thing I find offensive about this story is the fact that the stations are referred to as "news" channels. The traditional media outlets that we typically think of as news channels are in the business of making money by selling advertising, nothing more. This type of product placement seems right up their alley.

The problem with a news provider selling advertising is of course, at some point, the station(s) will face a situation in which they have an important news story that will cast their advertiser(s) in a negative light, and will be forced to choose between providing the news, and making their $$. The real bias in the media is not the stories they choose to run, but the stories they choose NOT to run.

I don't think a Big Mac will help with hearing about a suicide story.

What is this McDonald's, haven't heard of it.
This seems like a great way to get there name out there.

and next they will be broadcasting advertisements into our dreams, like in Futurama.

show me a fat check and I will drive a mcmobile to work.

The original concept was that television news, in exchange for being handed large swaths of the public airwaves for completely comercial purposes, would give something of value back to the people. Network CEOs actually cared about people, the government was not yet bought and sold, the FCC had some integrity, corporations were not consciously evil, and the people of this country held the government and corporations accountable for immoral and irresponsible behaviors and were not yet fat, mindless monkeys sucking on the poisonous gerbil feeder of infotainment and the lazy carcinogetic modern American lifestyle.

There is no Tv without Commercials unless you want to pay 10 dollars a month for every station.

Wow... who really cares about that. Product placement has been going on for years. It's only natural that it would spill over into different areas of entertainment.

I wonder if TROJAN wanted to sponser "the O'riley Factor" if they could make a rubber big enough for his head?

So product placement is finally making it's way to the news ... I knew the day would come.

What are they going to do if there is a story about McDonalds? Move the cups out of the way? Or pick them up and drink them?

There's no advertising on the BBC. I'll be honest, it makes me happy to pay my TV licence.

product placement has happened since the beginning of broadcast television...at least this is not as bad as one of the yesterdays current viral where it showed Fred and Barney slipping around back to smoke some Winstons...

McBullshit, get the McDonald's Logo on your eyelids. Subliminal advertisement or not so subliminal, at least its obvious.

How stupid. This kind of propaganda has me wanting to leave the states and into Canada.

I don't know what's more disgusting, the complete deterioration of network news now lacking any redeeming value to satisfy sponsor driven agendas or McDonalds, which doesn't even qualify as real food, lacking any nutritional value. But can you really get any lower than this combo, when most people unfortunately rely on network TV sources for a majority of their news, attempting to stay informed about relevant & rapidly changing local, national & worldwide developments that are rarely even aired because they cut into valuable commercial time?

This should come as no surprise given the consistent deterioration of network news, licensed by our government’s regulatory joke, the FCC who is supposed to ensure viewer programming meets certain minimum standards. If you’ve seen the eye-opening movie "Super Size Me", then you know you’d never eat another Big Mac no matter how hungry you were, given the stomach churning truth of what really lies under the golden arches other than your wasted money. And while you’re at it, watch “The Yes Men” for dessert. I guarantee you’ll come away a far more educated consumer than spending the same amount of time watching network news-or your money back!