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Discussion Groups / English Usage / May 2009"Whore journalism" - what is it called in English?
Hi all In Danish we have a concept that we call "whore journalism" (luderjournalistik). It is used about texts that are written and appear as normal articles in a paper, but whose hidden agenda is to promote a firm or a product. This is typically seen in connection with the same firm having bought an (expensive) ad in the same paper. What is this called in English? PS. I am not talking about ads that look like a 'serious' article, but somehow is marked so that the watchful reader will know that it is a commercial ad.  SignatureBertel http://bertel.lundhansen.dk/ FIDUSO: http://fiduso.dk/ >Hi all > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >article, but somehow is marked so that the watchful reader will >know that it is a commercial ad. A literal translation will be understood. You will find examples of "whore journalism" on Google, e.g.: "Too right, there is a lot of (paid off) bed press going against Apple. And I mean bed press with an 'e' as going to bed with someone who pays for it. Whore journalism." This seems to be a variant of "embedded journalism" in more ways than one. I wonder if this Google hit is about the same practice: "I just think it is a wonderful piece of Trollopian prose." SignatureJames James Hogg filted: >A literal translation will be understood. You will find examples >of "whore journalism" on Google, e.g.: [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >"I just think it is a wonderful piece of Trollopian prose." ObServation: I understand that the original meaning of the word "pornography" was "works written by prostitutes"....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? R H Draney skrev: > ObServation: I understand that the original meaning of the word "pornography" > was "works written by prostitutes"....r Merriam-Webster says that it means "written about prostitutes". Were prostitutes considered literate? SignatureBertel http://bertel.lundhansen.dk/ FIDUSO: http://fiduso.dk/ > R H Draney skrev: > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Were prostitutes considered literate? Only the literate ones. SignatureMike. >> R H Draney skrev: >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Only the literate ones. People with prurient thoughts are probably itching to know that the original sense of the root "graph" was "to scratch" (related to English "carve"). This still leaves the question whether the compound means "scratching by prostitutes" or "scratching of prostitutes". More etymology: Greek "porne" comes from a root meaning simply "to sell". The oldest salesperson in the world. English "whore", Old English "hôre" (the w is spurious), comes from the Indo-European root that yielded Latin "carus". The lecturer who taught us Grimm's Law explained the semantic development thus: "carus" means "dear" and "whore" means "dearie". The same root gives the Irish word for friend, "cara". In Irish they start a letter with the salutation "A chara", which thus literally means "O friend" and not "You whore". SignatureJames >> R H Draney skrev: >> [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > >Only the literate ones. They'd read you a bedtime story for an extra fiver? SignatureRobin (BrE) Herts, England >>> R H Draney skrev: >>> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > They'd read you a bedtime story for an extra fiver? Hell, down our way, for an extra fiver they'd /write/ one. SignatureMike. >>> R H Draney skrev: >>> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > >They'd read you a bedtime story for an extra fiver? And for a fee to be negotiated they would let you write *on* them. SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) > Hi all > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > What is this called in English? In analogy to the phenomenon of movie characters ostentatiously holding up a can of Coke, it might be appropriate to call it "product placement". Wikipedia gives "embedded marketing" as a synonym for this. Interesting proximity of "bed" and "whore" there... The phenomenon has, of course, its own web sites, for instance http://www.productplacement.biz/ It seems the whole thing has gone extreme meta on us: "reverse product placement" is the creation of originally fictional products in the Real World (tm). Some convenience stores in the US seem to have changed their name to "Kwik-E-Mart" a la "The Simpsons". If you can believe Wikipedia. Weird. Jim Deutch (JimboCat) -- Q: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To boldly crow where no one has crown before. [Ryan McCoskrie] JimboCat filted: >It seems the whole thing has gone extreme meta on us: "reverse product >placement" is the creation of originally fictional products in the >Real World (tm). Some convenience stores in the US seem to have >changed their name to "Kwik-E-Mart" a la "The Simpsons". If you can >believe Wikipedia. Weird. Nestlé has brought actual "Willy Wonka" candy onto the market...and "Toad the Wet Sprocket" began as a fictitious band mentioned in an Eric Idle routine.... SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? >> In Danish we have a concept that we call "whore journalism" >> (luderjournalistik). It is used about texts that are written and [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >> >> What is this called in English? I can't think of a specific term. It's something like a "puff piece", but not quite. It's sometimes described as "a press release disguised as news". > In analogy to the phenomenon of movie characters ostentatiously > holding up a can of Coke, it might be appropriate to call it > "product placement". It doesn't have to be ostentatious, although when badly done it is. It can simply be "The character's going to open a can of something. It'll look more realistic if it's a real brand, and we don't care which. We can get money if we auction off the brand we use and just make sure that it's recognizable in the scene." Nobody asks for a "cola" in a restaurant. If the writer's don't care whether the character asks for a Coke or a Pepsi, they might as well let money decide. It can, of course, be overdone (and often is), but when it isn't, you probably don't notice. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |People think it must be fun to be a 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |super genius, but they don't Palo Alto, CA 94304 |realize how hard it is to put up |with all the idiots in the world. kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | Calvin (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >Hi all > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >article, but somehow is marked so that the watchful reader will >know that it is a commercial ad. The word might be "advertorial." WordWeb defined this as "An advertisement that is written and presented in the style of an editorial or journalistic report." I'm not sure if that definition applies only to the articles with the subtle "advertisement" disclaimer on the border, though. I don't have time to do further research at the moment, but if I did, this is where I'd start. |
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