Is Hearst Clamping Down? (Patreon)

Today we have two Patron stories for the price of one.

FTVLive has written a number of stories on the topic and it appears that at least one company is starting to get serious about it.

FTVLive has shown you many social media posts of TV news Journalists, who appear to pimp or plug businesses on social media.

We often mentioned that anytime we joined a news TV station, we were required to sign payola/plugola forms, which was taken very seriously. You were told that you could not take any free goods or services from a company, and you should never be involved in promoting any company.

You log onto social media and you will often see a TV news person plugging a spa or restaurant that they recently visited.

Imagine if an Anchor plugged her day at a day spa, taking about how great it was and how relaxing it made her feel. Then the next day, the spa is raided and charged with human trafficking, or some other crime.

Think about an Anchor who goes to a local restaurant, gets his food free and then boasts about how great the food was and how awesome the restaurant is. Then a week later, the restaurant is shutdown by the health department for critical violations in its kitchen.

This is why TV news people should not be pimping businesses.

But, it still continues, here is a post by KMBC Chief Meteorologist Bryan Busby bragging about getting a free steak dinner.

KMBC is owned by Hearst and a source tells FTVLive that Hearst just passed out payola forms for employees to sign.

It seems that Hearst executives have been reading FTVLive and taking a closer look at their people's social media.

It appears Busby might have snuck his steak dinner in under the deadline.

Journalists do not plug goods and services, that's what influencers do. If you want to be an influencer, go right ahead, but, don't try and pass yourself off as a Journalist.