“Coming up, the latest from the war in Gaza. But first, a word from my good friends at Foonman Automotive…”
First of all, that’s a lousy tease. You should sell the meat of a story not just say “Coming up, the latest from…”. That’s pure laziness. Also, linking a humanitarian crisis to a station’s client doesn’t do Foonman Automotive any favors.
The point of the example is to illustrate that common transitions to a live personal endorsement raise the decades-old question of whether endorsements should even be allowed by news presenters.
Years ago, personal endorsements were considered heretical for news radio people. Some news and program directors today still think endorsements undermine credibility. I was a radio news host for 48 years and have always been allowed to do endorsements. It was a great perk and I always felt it made me more relatable to my audience.
At KFBK in Sacramento, I did live spots for Oreck vacuum cleaners. I believed in the product and talked enthusiastically about its light weight and superior cleaning ability. At the end of every spot, I adlibbed the tagline, “Get an Oreck. It really sucks.” More Orecks were sold in Sacramento than any other market in the country. (This was the mid-80s, by the way. The word, “sucks” was considered somehow nasty and never uttered on air. That’s another topic for a future article.)
Once, I was hosting a news show in Dallas when our morning reporter sat down in the studio for a live report. I teased the story and went into a commercial break that started with me doing a personal endorsement. From there, we went to recorded spots, during which the reporter said to me, off the air, “If I was news director here, you wouldn’t be allowed to do endorsements.” The comment came unbidden from left field. It was insulting but I just smiled and replied, “I think listeners understand the difference between news and a commercial.” We left it there, went back live, and talked about his story.
This whole business of personal endorsements and credibility has been redefined in the past couple of decades. Neck-deep in the era of fake news and assumed bias, we’re nearing the point where the very notion of credibility is anachronistic. Social media has influenced news to such an extent that it drives opinions not only of the subject but also of the source.
Pew Research recently found that half of all Americans who consume news get it from social media, which is to say we’re getting our news from each other. Social media hearsay is driving opinions because posts on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and the rest are nearly always biased by the opinion of the poster. It serves the First Amendment well but it makes the truth and credibility of nearly all news reports questionable. That’s good to a point but some of us have just thrown up our hands and admitted we don’t know who to believe about anything anymore.
As a radio news personality operating in this modern environment characterized by suspicion of our content and sources, how can I be trusted to give listeners credible advice about the products and services that sponsor my show?
The question is funny in a way. It used to be the other way around: can I be trusted to broadcast factual news when I also do commercials? My answer has always been what I said to my Dallas colleague: “I think listeners understand the difference between news and a commercial.” Hell, for many listeners my product endorsement is probably more credible than the news I read.
I asked a few of my former colleagues about this. Crys Quimby, former News and Program Director for CBS giants KFWB, KNX, and WCBS, admitted, “…my opinion changed a long time ago, while I was still a news manager. For the first years of my career, I would have been extremely hesitant for news people to be involved in commercials. I recall when I was a young TV anchor, the station required me to do on-camera commercials for a car dealership. After a couple, I continued to object, so they lifted the requirement. While that was not a direct endorsement, it could imply such.
“As for literal endorsements, I now believe it is ok as long as the talent has used or uses the product and truly believes in it. I realize that’s quite subjective. But everyone deserves to make an honest living to the best extent possible.”
It seems most of the great news directors are adjusting their opinions, some grudgingly. Ed Pyle, retired long-time News Director at KNX, Los Angeles injects a note of sarcasm on the topic:
“At KNX, fighting (endorsements) tooth and nail finally failed when corporate ruled the radio stars would read (ads). It’s no huge deal as I see it when it’s just the voicing of a spot, live or recorded because it’s not the listener objecting. The worst — from a journalism purist’s point of view — is the endorsement commercial: ‘It’s only nine weeks and I’m already down six pounds thanks to Fanny’s Fat Deflator Shake.’ Endorsement spots may actually be appreciated by listeners roped into and looking forward to updates on the newser’s progress. The radio star’s reaction to them? ‘Hey, I’m losing weight thanks to all those free shakes!’”
I learned a lot from Crys and Ed. As CBS news managers, they were employed and schooled by what was known at the time as the Tiffany Network. It was the network of Edward R. Murrow and America’s Most Trusted Anchorman, Walter Cronkite. The traditions of news gathering and reporting in their time were sacrosanct. Unfortunately, these honored traditions are largely beyond memory today. We have a new reality.
This is 21st-century America. Nearly everything we say and do contains a commercial aspect. All of life is a series of popup ads.
Like it or not, personal endorsements are not going away. They are increasing in number and subject if anything. If you listen to sports talk stations, you will be bombarded with ads for testosterone clinics and titty bars. News stations tend to reveal their audience demographics with live spots for weight loss, hair restoration, pharmaceuticals, and every physical ailment treated by specialized quasi-medical practitioners.
The undeniable fact is personal endorsements work and they’re a great profit tool. Major market stations charge advertisers between 30 and 40+ percent premium rates for endorsements.
Account execs love endorsements. It’s a healthy chunk of change for them and for on-air talent whose audiences like them personally and believe what they say. Talent should be paid for endorsements but they also have a responsibility to our audience and ourselves to be honest. As Quimby said, the talent has to use and believe in the product. Otherwise, you’re just reading a mediocre script while being paid for a premium effort.
One more thing, going back to my example, “First a word from my good friends at Foonman Automotive…”. Stop with the “my good friends” nonsense. It makes you sound like a shyster from the beginning. And if you do it often enough, which you probably will because you’re too lazy to be creative, that view of you will seep into your audience’s judgment. Nobody believes you care personally about a sponsor unless you can inject a truly personal note: “I noticed a problem with my car this morning so I called Gus Gordon at Foonman Automotive and he told me…”
You’re a creative person, don’t be lazy. Do your job. Create.
Endorsements? Paul Harvey. Good day. Paul never “introduced” his sponsors. He just went into the spot just like it was one of his news stories. In 2024, he’s still the benchmark. Thanks, Dave.