This just in: Product placement on TV news ("Lazy Homeowner" exposed)

Television viewers in the Twin Cities and many other markets know the Lazy Homeowner.

The affable personality, whose real name is Mike Ferrara, has appeared frequently on KARE-TV, Channel 11, in the Twin Cities and on hundreds of local news programs throughout the country, telling viewers about products to help them take better care of their homes, lawns and possessions.

What the Lazy Homeowner -- and the TV stations -- don't tell viewers is that many of the companies whose products he recommends have paid to be included in the three-minute studio segments. The programming looks like news content and is offered to TV stations free of charge to help fill air time.

With the recent revelation that commentator Armstrong Williams was paid to tout Bush administration policies, cases such as the Lazy Homeowner raise fresh questions about the obligation of TV broadcasters to tell viewers who is responsible for the content they air. <snip>

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5313950.html