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Seattle Paper Plugs Gubernatorial Candidate, Not Just Editorially, But With Free Ads

At a time when some media are raking in ad dollars from political advertisers, one major paper -- The Seattle Times -- is using its own ad intentory to plug a candidate it is championing for governor of Washington. "Just when it looked like the race for governor in Washington state couldn't get any more contentious — polls show Democrat Jay Inslee running dead-even with Rob McKenna, the Republican attorney general — the local newspaper decided to weigh in," reports another local newspaper, albeit a Los Angeles one, the L.A. Times, which goes on to note that The Seattle Times isn't simply backing challenger McKenna with its editorial coverage, but is running "large advertisements touting McKenna's 'new direction for Washington'." "They look like any other political ad, except these say they were 'paid for by the Seattle Times Company,'" reports the L.A. Times, which said that "donated ads on behalf of a controversial ballot measure in support of same-sex marriage, Referendum 74, are also appearing in the Seattle paper." This is interesting, but it also begs the question about the impact and efficacy of its editorial pages, if a newspaper has to utilize its own ad inventory to plug a candidate or an issue.

 

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