Yesterday, we reported on a story in Private Eye which said that online agent Yopa has connections with the Telegraph.
According to Private Eye, two of its directors are the sons of the Barclay brothers, owners of the Telegraph – something that the paper did not mention in an editorial article on Yopa last month.
So, it is interesting to see that a particular search for the online agent and the Telegraph, courtesy of Rummage4, turned up 163 results.
Lord Gnome, Private Eye’s legendary proprietor, wouldn’t half be impressed!
As for the Telegraph’s independence on editorial, no doubt it is tip top. But Peter Oborne said this when he resigned: “Mr MacLennan agreed that advertising was allowed to affect editorial, but was unapologetic, saying that ‘it was not as bad as all that’ and adding that there was a long history of this sort of thing at the Telegraph.”
Comments (10)
Yopa have sponsored content and paid advertising on the Telegraph so are naturally going to be linked to a number of stories as do Knight Frank. It is no different to any other publication. Do you think EA networking asking for property experts who ideally advertise with them is any different? Do you think editorial comments for EAT are coincidentally from advertisers? Do you believe that TM training advertising here and Julian O’Dell getting bandwith is a coincidence? It would appear you have to pay to be a property expert nowadays.
If you look at the way it is being done, not just the Telegraph, journalists are promoting schemes and tech as if they have no connection with what/ those they are promoting.
It isn’t right or proper to promote stories as independent journalism when there is an obvious agenda or connection.
When Jemma Redpath puckered up to blow the bugle of online agency she somehow forgot to mention her connection to James Caan through Entrepreneurs club.
The whole media industry is struggling with a shift to digital platforms and are struggling to control advertising revenues that were once protected by the investment needed for a printing press and distribution channel. The media have to control advertising best they can and because the media are the one service retail industry most vulnerable to the affects of the internet.
When I am told what I have built doesn’t need inventing it is always by someone who twigs the impact of what I have built. If the media industry is a digital balloon I have invented a digital pin.
The story ? Whatever you read, wherever you read it, there is almost always some sort of bias attached. Collecting information from different “independent” sources enables one to “unbias” the data & get a clearer picture of what is actually happening.
What’s the story here? Would anything be said if Mail Online report Zoopla figures over RIghtmove?
I am fairly certain you know what the story is Stephen after all that is your job.
There is a constant drip feed promotion of online agency with respected journalists apparently providing fair and balanced articles about changes to the industry. That is not the case- the articles are advertorials and therefore breach advertising regulations the articles being sent out no doubt reassured investors in the online sector it was a safe investment without mentioning the Telegraphs connected interest to the sector. At the last count Trevor Mealham worked ot £30,000,000 had been poured into online agencies if those investors had real and unbiased and honest facts in front of them only the reall, really gullible ones would have invested.
I am guessing you are being paid to down play the credibility of this story I don’t doubt a few of your investors will be Telegraph readers sucked in by the impartial advice of its journalists who then spend their down time disseminating their ‘news’ via twitter.
Of course, Robert, Mr Jury will find nothing ‘wrong’ with the original story – after all. his company got a plug in it too!
Now all we need to do is uncover any tenuous links with him/them and the journos who perpetuate the ******** – THEN he will have some answering (and no doubt the usual hasty backpeddling under his rock…) to do! ;o)
Remind me who does he work for? I’ve been a bit busy this past few months, who are the key names? Wasn’t Harry Hill involved with this one?
We appreciate the plug, they always mention the authority in an area. I’m surprised by the coverage, it used to be impossible to get any love from DMGT when we were the house brand
Isn’t that just a tiny bit of spin Stephen aren’t you just a part of a much lager media game; that of replacing and controlling vulnerable print revenue?
All this shenanigans with Zoopla, their random number generation system for property values and now stab in the dark survey system that seemingly both rely on “data providers” doesn’t it put your business model at risk too? If you can’t value how can you hope to win instructions?
“We appreciate the plug, they always mention the authority in an area.”
Yeah – however clearly in this instance ‘the authority’ you refer to was otherwise engaged… so they fell back on the loitering ‘Z-Lister’ that never says no to a bit of publicity whatever the consequence…