• by John Gaffney , January 28, 2003

This War Will Be Great. Plan On It: I’ve actually seen a few press releases lately from several news organizations who are promising “complete coverage of the war on Iraq.” Not only have the news media shut out contrary voices on this issue, we’re even pre-selling the event. I say go the whole nine. Package this thing like the Super Bowl. Create a rate card for live reports from Baghdad, Army press briefings, breaking news and Presidential news conferences. Just think about the war deal you could get on AOL.com, CNN cable, CNN.com and Time Magazine when the hostilities begin. I’m being sarcastic here, but I seriously think the content owners have gone too far in making news predictable and actually easy to plan and buy. If war happens, it’s not going to fit into neat countdown shows and Live From The Front wrap-ups. This has the potential to be very nasty business. Let’s call it what it is.

Am I Buggin’ You? Don’t Mean Ta Bug Ya: Is the controversy over the Rolling Stone story “Chasing The Bug” an ad issue? Without a doubt. The story, about homosexual men who allegedly seek out HIV-positive partners, has everything to do with the editorial direction of Rolling Stone. That editorial direction has been supported by ads, so far. But if you’re going to bail on long edit pieces on rock stars in favor of tabloid style “postcards from the edge,” that’s a big deal to planners and buyers.

Parting Shot: Today’s Wall Street Journal page one piece about Iraq’s chemical arm stockpile was the best I’ve seen so far at bringing this issue home to regular folks.