The Columbia Journalism Review has released a powerful new print and digital campaign that underscores the value and importance of concrete, fact-based journalism.
“These ads are designed to make people think about where their news comes from, and to appreciate the difference between real news and everything else,” said Kyle Pope, CJR’s editor and publisher.
The campaign, which debuted in the New York Times as well as the Spring/Summer 2018 print issue of CJR, features a series of black-and-white images of people reading what appear to be a traditional daily newspaper, but upon closer inspection of the header, are in fact ‘news’ stories from a host of radically unsubstantiated sources, including: Some Guy’s Blog, Retweets From Strangers, and Dad’s Facebook Posts.
The ads appear in CJR’s latest edition, The Jobs Issue, which hit newsstands this week and includes contributions from Ana Marie Cox, Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, Steven Greenhouse and others. The campaign was created by agency partner TBWA\Chiat\Day New York.
“During the past year or so, the credibility of the press has come under fire due to the dubious practices of outlets that are pushing biased agendas,” said Jexy Holman and Nuno Teixeira, associate creative directors, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York. “We wanted to fight back on behalf of real journalism, by creating a campaign that highlights the dangers of taking these “fake news” sources at face value, and underlines the importance of diligent, accurate reporting in the public sphere.”
Started in 1961, the Columbia Journalism Review is published by the Columbia Journalism School and is the world leader in press criticism and reporting. In addition to its print magazine, which was a finalist this year for a National Magazine Award, CJR also publishes on the web at www.cjr.org, as well as a daily email newsletter and a weekly podcast. It provides fast-turn analysis and deep reporting on the tech companies and social media platforms that are shaping the media landscape; covers state and local journalism through its United States Project; and publishes in-depth academic research in partnership with the Columbia Journalism School’s Tow Center For Digital Journalism.