The Daily Mail has done particularly well out of a government advertising campaign putting millions of pounds of marketing spend in the pockets of the so-called ‘beleaguered newspaper industry’.
A new sponsored advertorial has cropped up focussing on the post-Brexit success of three British firms who are forging a “new relationship with the EU” following the end of the exit transition.
Politics.co.uk editor Ian Dunt circulated the piece, highlighting one particular paragraph which seems to place blame on UK companies for not preparing for changes which have wreaked havoc across several key industries.
“But while many companies have taken steps to prepare for the changes, some haven’t, and that could leave their business at risk of disruption. Here, firms that have made the switch reveal their tips and how they have adjusted.”
Another piece of government-sponsored propaganda (no other word accurately describes it) in the Mail via @LynnPW https://t.co/dw1m5dI1hf
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) March 1, 2021
Sponsored ads
The latest marketing push comes on the back of a campaign rolled out during the height of the first wave of Covid-19 cases last year.
It was found that the government was paying titles such as The Sun and the Daily Mail to run favourable coverage of its pandemic response.
The “All in, all together” advertising campaign is thought to have put £35 million in the pockets of the newspaper industry.
But according to this week’s Private Eye, the money is largely going to large newspaper groups which already have not-so-inconsiderable revenues.
The centre for community journalism at Cardiff University surveyed its network of independent local news publishers and found none of them had received a penny from the advertising spend.
Many of the titles selected also seem to be the ones who are most sympathetic to the governments response to the current crisis, making the marketing bonanza all the more perplexing.
Rupert Murdoch
Last month it was also revealed that Rupert Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks has held seven meetings in seven weeks with senior government ministers last year.
An investigation by Byline Times showed that the News Corporation big wigs held private meetings with Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Priti Patel among others between August and September 2020.
Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg also noted that he had an “informal lunch between friends” when he met the pair on 25th September, while Michael Gove was present at a dinner bash on August 8th.
Related: Johnson to launch ‘buy British fish’ campaign to help offset Post-Brexit disruption