The New York Times could never muster up as much anger against Saddam Hussein as it can against people who support and accept Fashion Week giveaways.
Of course, the gift bag goodies aren't purchased with real money - they're donated by companies hoping to grab some luster by placing their products in famous fashionistas' homes. And many A-listers have donated millions of dollars to relief efforts.
But their contributions seem somehow diminished by the thought of them firing up their free grills and throwing on complimentary burgers and steaks that they can more than afford, while thousands of their fellow citizens dine on Meals Ready to Eat inside makeshift homes.
Gift bags could easily be stuffed with cards announcing that the grill's maker or beef supplier had donated money to charity in the celebrity's name. And if gifts were offered, guests could say, "No, thank you," and redirect their goods down South. At the very least, it would show some class.
So dear brother-in-law, how does it feel to be under the microscope of your local Marxist daily? Think your Upper West Side, Democratic creds will help you now? Bwah hah hah!
Thats' right my fellow Americans, it doesn't matter how much money or time you donate to the relief efforts, unless you are in sackcloth and ashes you are scum of the Earth. Shame on you from ever having made an honest buck.
By the way, there's a list of corporate donations here. Included on the list are these media companies (along with many individual broadcast outlets):
Fox Network Groups - $5mm of free davertising to relief organizations
Nat'l Association of Broadcasters - $1mm
NBC and affiliates - $39mm from telethons
News Corporation - $1mm
Random House - $500k
Time Warner - $3mm
Viacom - $1mm
Weather Channel - $1mm
What? No New York Times Company? Perhaps this list is incomplete. While that may be possible, a google search for "New York Times", "donates" or "donated" and "Katrina" brings up nothing with regards to donations either.
If you are a New York Times employee and feel guilty about your employers' rank hyporcrisy, you still have a chance to redeem yourselves by eating out on September 27 during Restaurants for Relief day.
1 comment:
Meh.
Whatever. :)
They're not the first to voice such objections, nor do I expect they'll be the last. The WSJ had a couple of aggressive editorials about this a few years ago, too.
Here's something I bet you didn't know: NY Times reporters are required by their company's regs to turn down gifts given to them by publicists, companies or corporations. They usually stick by this in the name of objectivity. It wasn't always this way and their reporters do find ways around it, but it gives them some credibility when lecturing others on the subject.
Most major news organizations have similar rules. For instance, CBS, ABC and NBC do, as does the WSJ and the WashPost. That doesn't stop it from happening, but it does diminish the possibility that a reporter will be bribed into writing a story. And that, of course, is the point.
This is an ethical gray area for journalists. Politicians have the same issues to contend with re: lobbyists.
For the record, companies pay to have their products included in a designer's gift bag through sponsorships. It's only rarely very a "donation" thing.
One of my clients who contributed schwag to Fashion Week gift bags actually refused to let us publicize their sizeable donation to the Red Cross. Their marketing person said "We're not doing it for publicity. We're trying to help people."
I do have personal objections to the way certain things with Fashion Week were handled. Frankly the industry is always a little too self-involved and congratulatory. But expecting anything more from them is a fool's errand.
What's annoying about this editorial to me is not that the Times didn't report their corporate donation (if any) to the Katrina efforts, (and btw, do you know if they did and it simply hasn't been reported yet?) but that they have the gall to lecture everyone about what they should or should not be doing. Charity isn't supposed to work that way.
J
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