"Local TV news operations hungry for free content have intersected with brand brokers looking for product placement opportunities," writes Advertising Age. The segments "typically come in the form of four-minute lifestyle segments that are dedicated to one brand and feature a brand's spokesperson chatting with the show's host and delivering the product's message to viewers. Third-party endorsements may also appear, as well as follow-up information about a product on a station's Web site. The marketer controls how its brand will be presented, who the spokesperson will be, signage, scripting and what the segments will look like." While many shows "still offer non-bought space," more TV producers are "adopting a pay-for-play model that could increase the time period's revenue for a station from between 50% and 100%. Stations -- especially those owned by Gannett in markets such as Atlanta, Denver, Cleveland, Phoenix, Sacramento and Minneapolis -- are now charging ... $2,500 a pop."

Image from a McDonald's video news release featuring Destiny's Child

On January 19, McDonald's Senior Director for Corporate Social Responsibility, Bob Langert, posted the first entry on the company blog "Open for Discussion." Langert wrote, "The purpose of this blog" is "to open our doors to corporate social responsibility (CSR) at McDonald's - to share what we're doing and learn what you think." His second post highlights McDonald's long-standing "partnership with Conservation International." Unlikely topics of future postings include the infamous McLibel trial; McDonald's lobbying against a California proposal to require large employers to provide health benefits; and McDonald's establishing the questionable "Socially Accountable Farm Employer" program instead of negotiating farmworker rights with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

The United Nations' World Health Organization (WHO) barred the U.S.-based International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) from taking part in "WHO activities setting microbiological or chemical standards for food and water." The decision followed warnings from health, environmental and union groups, including the Environmental Working Group and Natural Resources Defense Council, that WHO risked "scientific credibility and may be compromising public health by partnering with ILSI." That's because 60 percent of ILSI's budget comes from "hundreds of chemical, food and drug companies." ILSI's corporate funders include Coca-Cola, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Merck, Monsanto, McDonald's and Pfizer. ILSI director Suzanne Harris countered, "We are not a back door for industry. ... We're not trying to sell anything."