Story #74 "When politicians buy the newspaper front pages, they create fake news"
As the article states, newspapers everywhere are in trouble, with advertising revenues down about 20 per cent a year. Local newspapers are worst hit and many are on the brink of collapse, sacking staff and pages. But there can be no more depressing sign of their distress than to see newspaper owners selling front pages to political parties. The collapse of the print advertising market means that papers (especially local ones, who derive most of their income from advertising) have had to to go to ever-greater lengths to secure funding. Using the front page as advertising space is, in a way, a return to the days when every newspaper had small adverts on their front page. But now, a single client can pay for a front-page takeover. Usually, it’s glaringly obvious that it’s an advert: it will be for a car, perfume or somesuch.
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