20 July 2008

Disclosure

Submitted for your consideration:

Clare-Marie Gosse ranting at Geoff Meeker and his comments on the demise of the Indy.  She took issue with Meeker's suggestion that a future Indy might do without Ryan Cleary at the helm.

Specifically, though,  note the following comments (even in the midst of the raft of stuff worth rebutting):

Why don’t you admit that your issues with Ryan stem from him taking a few pokes at you last year because you do PR for various  companies/businesses around town and yet blog for a public newspaper without necessarily disclosing your connections?

A failure to disclose?

From a space on ctv.ca intended for amateur video - remember the word "amateur" -  uploaded on 14 July 2008 by "Clare-Marie Gosse" who indicates her city is "Toronto", an interesting video of a couple of guys installing what turns out (once you've watched the thing) to be a Newfoundland and Labrador tourism billboard.

Under the terms and conditions of use for that CTV website, the person posting the video "represents and warrants" that, among other things:

the Content you submit is an original work by youyou own or control 100% of the rights in and to your Content;  you have secured or cleared all rights related to persons and music contained therein and such rights are and shall be free and clear of any and all claims, rights and obligations; ... you have the right to grant to CTV the rights granted to us in this license, you do not require the consent of any third party; that there is no contract with any third party that could in any way interfere with CTV's rights under this license or require any payment to be made to anyone by CTV.

Hmmmmm.

Note the date.

July 14. 

A very similar clip appeared that very same day on a Canada Newswire site, along with a news release about  the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's tourism promotion, of which the billboard on the Gardiner is a part.

It's a very similar clip to the ctv one - as opposed to identical because in the one posted to ctv.ca's user-generated space, the identifying tags have been removed.

One of the media contacts on the release is Clare-Marie Gosse, described as the communications manager for Target Marketing.  For those who don't know, that's the agency of record for the provincial government's tourism advertising program.

The same release is available through the government website but with Clare's name inexplicably omitted from the media contacts.  The release did get passed along by  Reuters.

Now this little promotional vid stands out starkly against all the other content because the other stuff is fairly obviously shot by people without great video shooting and editing skills.  Like, say, the people at an advertising agency might have. 

It doesn't look anything at all like this video posted to youtube.  You will find that video, though, along with the ctv.ca one on a youtube profile belonging to Clare 867535. 

Apparently Clare started that profile six days ago and it's fairly obvious she added the amateur video shot by someone else.  Who knows if they are connected beyond that?

But disclosure?

At no point does Clare identify herself as working for the agency that is behind all that advertising.

-srbp-