Under the Umbrella

A couple of Sundays ago, the Chronicle reminded us why the FCC won’t allow newspapers to own television and radio stations in the same market.

That day, the lead business story — the lead business story on Sunday — was about TAC Media. If you’ve forgotten what that is already, it’s the “umbrella brand” created last year to keep the Chronicle, its other publications and all its digital products nice and dry in this inclement media climate.

The story told how TAC Media had brought in representatives from all the important online companies to speak about digital marketing. Companies like Google and Constant Contact.

According to a quote by TAC Media’s vice president of sales, the summit was organized because business leaders wanted more education about digital advertising.

Hmm… Any idea who might be willing to sell some of that advertising to these newly digital savvy business leaders?

So here you’ve got a newspaper giving preferred space to a story that doesn’t just give itself exposure, it actually helps it make money while strong-arming potential competitors out of way.

Talk about motivated self-interest.

Thanks for the reminder, Mr. Morris.You Might Also Like: