Update: A Wingnut Goes Looney Toons

More Lunatic Fringe

Tips: Memeorandum

The Righties are in a twitch over a New York Post article claiming that MoveOn.org got a "hefty discount" on its full page "General Petraeus or Betray Us?" ad.

It should be duly noted that the New York Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch who also owns Fox News.

New York Post

According to Abbe Serphos, director of public relations for the Times, "the open rate for an ad of that size and type is $181,692."

A spokesman for MoveOn.org confirmed to The Post that the liberal activist group had paid only $65,000 for the ad - a reduction of more than $116,000 from the stated rate.

A Post reporter who called the Times advertising department yesterday without identifying himself was quoted a price of $167,000 for a full-page black-and-white ad on a Monday.

Serphos declined to confirm the price and refused to offer any inkling for why the paper would give MoveOn.org such a discounted price.

Citing the shared liberal bent of the group and the Times, one Republican aide on Capitol Hill speculated that it was the "family discount."

"I'm surprised they had to pay anything at all for the ad," the GOP staffer said. "They could have just asked the editorial page to run it and it wouldn't have cost them a cent."

Notice how the anonymous Post reporter did not ask for the rate for an advocay ad, whether the ad would be black&white, color, where it would be placed etc. My guess is the Post has no interest in those types of details. All they want to know is that MoveOn was charged "far less" than the "quoted price".

Fox News and The New York Post have no interest in truth, only propaganda.

It's really no surprise to me tha the righties are going to continue attacking MoveOn and the ad especially coming on the heels of the report that:

Sixty percent of the nation's daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists every week than progressive syndicated columnists. Only 20 percent run more progressives than conservatives, while the remaining 20 percent are evenly balanced.

So in order to push back on the fact that the country's print media actually has a conservative bias, the righty bloggers are squawking about MoveOn getting an apparent discount on their ad in the New York Times.

I don't expect the New York Post to do any real investigation or journalism and determine if the "special price" MoveOn received was part of a promotional offer, seasonal special, or wether the discount was also extended to anyone who might want to take out an ad. It's my understanding that newspapers will frequently offer specials on ad space and indeed that could be what motivated MoveOn to take the ad out in the New York Times and not another paper.

But for the righies, the truth isn't what's important; it's the propaganda value the headline "TIMES GIVES LEFTIES A HEFTY DISCOUNT FOR 'BETRAY US' AD" has that interests them.

I would be interested in learning if a group like American Enterprise Institute wanted to run a full page ad in the New York Times, if they would be offered the same price. My guess is they would. My guess is the New York Times sales team would say "well our normal rate for a full page ad is $181,692 but this week we're having a fall special..."

I don't even know if it would be legal for the New York Times to offer one client a special reduced price while charging others full price. It might have something to do with the New York Times having a reduced rate for non-profit groups.

FreedomWatch's.org (propaganda outlet for the Bush Administration) is claiming they were charged significanly more than MoveOn for their full page ad. They plan to run a counter to the "Betray US" ad and are going to demand the same rate as MoveOn....LOL now Giuliani is demanding the same rate!

Steve Young over at the Huffington Post bothered to take the time and find out what the the New York Times had to say:

"Despite what journalist Bill O'Reilly said today on his radio show about MoveOn.org receiving a special discount rate for their NY Time's General Petreaus display ad, based on the fact that the Times is in bed with Moveon.org and George Soros.

Referring to a report from ABC's Jake Tapper, he said that Moveon.org received a 65% discount as a "family discount," because the Times and Moveon are in bed with each other; that "if you're a left-wing smear site the Times will give you a discount." My guess is that his 65% discount came from a
misread of a right wing web site."

Problem is, Bill O'Reilly could get the same rate OR LOWER!

So says, Katherine Mathis, Vice President of Corporate Communications at the Times.

"It' has nothing to do with ideology," said Mathis today, "It has to do with the day it appears and how it is placed."

The Times advertising department categorized the Moveon's ad as an "advocacy" (cause and appeal) ad, and the rate isn't based on which side of the political aisle you're on. It depends on any number of factors, including whether the ad is in color or black&white and manner of placement.

Again, do you really expect righties to do any investigative journalism? Ofcourse not. They're in it for the propaganda. Do a google blog search for New York Times Ad and just see how many loyal Bushie righty bloggers are piling on.