Slate is a free online magazine written by and for hipsters like me. If asked to summarise it's "political" stance, I would say that it's not so much libertarian as contrarian. I find many of the articles written and views expressed infuriating but at the same time I recognise the very high quality of the journalism. The magazine has some very intelligent people writing for it and it is at heart a serious, if provocative, publication. It is also sometimes very funny.
How is it financed? This is where the problem lies. In addition to ordinary advertising, to which I have no objection, it has at the end of each article a feature called PROMOTED STORIES or RECOMMENDED FOR YOU. Here are the headlines for a couple of entirely typical stories "promoted" immediately after an article exposing Donald Trump's misogyny:
How is it financed? This is where the problem lies. In addition to ordinary advertising, to which I have no objection, it has at the end of each article a feature called PROMOTED STORIES or RECOMMENDED FOR YOU. Here are the headlines for a couple of entirely typical stories "promoted" immediately after an article exposing Donald Trump's misogyny:
- 25 Most Gorgeous Female Politicians
- The Before and After Photos of 10 Celebs Who Clearly Have False Teeth
What is wrong with that? Well, it just makes a mockery of the whole idea behind the magazine and puts it on the same level as the people it purports to attack. A publication which wishes to be taken seriously today simply cannot "afford" to send out mixed signals like that.
It was not always so. About 10 years ago, when I subscribed to the print edition of what was then The International Herald Tribune, the classified section of this eminently respectable newspaper was full of announcements discreetly offering the services of "escort agencies"'. That sort of thing would be unthinkable today in The International New York Times or The Atlantic. But not apparently in Slate.
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