"Sponsored Content" is a new trend in media that feature content paid for by industries rather than only written by journalists. ThinkProgress reports that in the case of the Denver Post, Colorado's largest newspaper, the new "Energy and Environment" insert is sponsored by Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development (CRED), a group that advocates for natural gas and is backed by the oil and gas industry. The content is not written by Post journalists, but instead hires freelance writers.
Several people have voiced concern over whether or not readers will think the CRED-sponsored content constitutes journalism or advertising, including staff members from the paper. The section does have disclaimers, but to the untrained eye appears indistinct from the rest of the paper's content. Critics say that having two energy sections that look alike could possibly cause readers to conflate journalism with advertising. Readers could be faced with conflicting content that looks almost identical.
Sign this petition to tell the Denver Post not to mislead their audience!
We sign this petition to express our concern over the Denver Post's new sponsored-content "Energy and Environment" section. Numerous critics of the new section have stated that this sponsored section appears so similar to the paper's journalistic content that it could mislead readers. We do not believe the current disclaimers are adequate to set apart the fact that this content is paid for by the Oil and Gas Industry.
We ask that the Post discontinue the "Energy and Environement" section. If this is impossible, we ask that the Post change the formatting, font, etc. of "Energy and Environment" to distinguish it from journalistic content. We ask that more disclaimers regarding the section as a whole be put in place, both in print and online, and that a text disclaimer be added to the beginning and end of every "Energy and Environment" piece.
Respectfully,
