I felt obliged to write to them:
24/04/2014
To whom it may concern
I am totally bemused by the fact that a publication that,
refreshingly, offers, in quality of journalism and diversity of
content, an alternative to mainstream publications that are largely
constrained and biased by their reliance on large corporations, would
accept advertising from such companies. To accept money from a major
private bank, that profits immensely from both outrageous fees and the
debt slavery imposed on most Australians to put a roof over their heads,
is disappointing at the very least. To accept money from a
multinational corporation that will basically steal our natural
resources and, in the process destroy the planet's environment, is
simply unbelievable for any ethical business.
Yours sincerely
Sean Crawley.
I have not received a response, but yesterday did receive, the May issue of the magazine - again complimentary. A quick scan through the magazine revealed that on pages 5 and 7 the full page ads are this month for the Sydney Film festival and an SBS DVD release. This was quite encouraging and maybe I had actually struck a chord and influenced their choice of advertisers. My delusions of self importance were revealed to be just that. As I flicked through. I found on page 31, a full page advertisement taken out by Lockheed Martin. The ad is shamelessly promoting their F-35 fighter Jet - "FOR SECURITY. FOR JOBS. FOR AUSTRALIA".
Not sure if I will write to the subscription department again, but am certain the debit card is staying in the wallet regardless.
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ReplyDeleteYikes! Well, we can rest assured that will never happen with SHIFT magazine!
ReplyDeleteAnd while we're on the topic of alternative media, isn't it sad that New Matilda is folding? Just before its 10th birthday - because they can't afford to keep the publication going. People just don't seem prepared to pay for quality journalism, and the reporters couldn't afford to continue working for peanuts :-(