According to this article on Ad Age, brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has issued a directive to immediately pull all advertising from any publication that prints negative stories about the company.
The complicity between advertisers and the press is nothing new, but making overt demands like this isn’t going to make the MSM (mainstream media) any more relevant these days. It’s no wonder bloggers are getting noted for their investigative prowess and their pursuit of what’s really happening behind the news. Whether they want to or they’re being forced to, print journalists and TV news outlets are bending over for the powers that be.
I suppose with the recent court case, perlman vs morgan (morgan lost), and all the management problems reported in almost every biz related publication that morgan will not be advertising in too many places. What surprises me is that so many people continue to invest with brokerage firms when the financial services industry has such a bad track record for ripping people off. Every year, the industry is settling claims for billions. Go figure.