Great Journalism and Not Journalism | Winners & Losers in Today’s Green Room

Bennett Cohen and Jerry Greenfield (Ben & Jerry), were asked by Axios reporter Alexi McCammond about some of the reactions to their announcement the company’s products would no longer be sold in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

“Were you surprised by the backlash that came after that,” McCammond ask the two in the latest episode of Axios on HBO. They were not, but still found it “painful,” said Greenfield (Jerry.)

McCammond got right to the hard part, asking: “You’re both Jewish men. How did it feel personally to be wrapped up in accusations of being anti-Semitic?”

“Totally fine,” replied Ben, “because it’s absurd.”

“I understand people being upset. It’s a very emotional issue for a lot of people and I totally understand it,” said Jerry.

McCammond pointedly asked why they would take this step with Israel but “still sell ice cream in Georgia,” or Texas, given voting and abortion law controversies. A long and awkward silence ensued, one that made the tough interview viral fodder for much of the day.

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s an interesting question. I don’t know what that would accomplish,” came the eventual answer, in this news-making, thoughtful interview. An impressive return since her messy hiring and ouster from the top of Teen Vogue.

Prominent music industry trade publication Hits magazine offered a talent agency favorable press in exchange for $150k a year, Puck News reporter and founding partner Matthew Belloni reports.

Belloni obtained a proposed contract sent by Hits to a major Hollywood talent agency. The magazine offered a list of press benefits in exchange for $12,500 per month. Co-founder and publisher Dennis Lavinthal chose not to respond questions about it, but Belloni’s report is eye-opening.

“I’ve never seen anything as explicitly quid pro quo as this proposed contract that was sent by a Hits ‘research editor’ in August to a major talent agency,” wrote Belloni, who has worked a trade publication himself for over a decade.

The proposal, never signed by the potential client, contained perks like interviews with executives and “opportunities for inclusion in Grammy coverage.” Maybe most brazenly: “inclusion of key [agency] personnel in overall editorial, including online and print news items and analysis and special-issue content.”

Pay for play that “extracts financial deals with companies to guarantee certain coverage” is the worst thing.

But when it’s this upfront and gaudy? It’s the stuff that Media Loser columns are made of.