Census Ad Agency Demanded Newspaper Coverage for Cash

(MoneyWatch)  Ad agencies for the U.S. Census Bureau appear to have learned nothing from a decade-old White House scandal -- because they're busy repeating history.

Back in 2000, the White House was discovered trading ad buys with TV networks in return for positive spin in its war on drugs. That covert operation, which exposed millions to anti-drug propaganda masquerading as drama and sitcoms, ended in disgrace and the White House promised to cancel the program. Ten years later, that promise is long forgotten. Globalhue, the ad agency that controls much of the government's ad money targeting minorities for Census 2010, sent a letter to the National Newspaper Association demanding that publishers run six articles about the census or else the government would cancel its ads. (The NNPA represents community newspapers.)

While there was no explicit requirement of positive coverage demanded by Globalhue, the implication is clear: How long do you think the agency would continue placing ads in any newspaper that was digging dirt against the national headcount?

According to congressional hearings in February and March, the letter from Globalhue CEO Don Coleman (pictured) said:

In lieu of free ad space, all papers must agree to running six articles (preferably during hiatus weeks) about the Census 2010 as well as two editorials. If paper does not agree to the added value stipulations, buy will be canceled immediately.

Amazingly, the arrangement proposed in the letter -- that ad buys be contingent upon articles written by the papers themselves -- is exactly the same as the one conducted by the Office of National Drug Control Policy during its disgraced ads-for-coverage scheme.

Jeff Tarakajian, a vp at DraftFCB, the ad agency that controls the main Census contract, confirmed that the ''request for added value was standard," according to the Wilmington Journal:

''We seek them, we encourage them but we do not make the requirement that somebody provide added value to literally qualify for a media buy,'' Tarakajian said.

If anything, the census effort seems even more blatant than the drug war effort. The ONDCP's program grew out of a well-intentioned effort to persuade makers of TV drama to depict drug use in an accurate light. It only later spread to news programming on ESPN and other fact-based shows as networks realized that the more drug storylines they scripted, the more ad dollars flowed their way.

For the Census, Globahue seems to want cash-for-coverage from the get-go.

Related:

• How Census Campaign Wasted $145M on a Joke No One Gets
• Census Cash Sparks Rush for Minority Agencies, Media - and Complaints When It Doesn't Arrive