Oregon Media Insiders

I have rarely seen a larger pile of crap than this. The Merc has always been a small self-referential paper with a frame-of-reference of about 2 weeks. Here's proof that it has no moral compass.

From their website:

"Hey James X! Congratulations on making it through your life so far without "peddling dangerous addictions." Here's the way our newspaper works: We produce our paper through advertising. The lion's share of our advertising comes from businesses that would be considered—even by your high moral standards—to be not so harmful to society. (BOY, IS THAT ARGUABLE OR WHAT??) Now, here's the important part: Our editorial department and sales department are practically different entities, and other than share an office, we don't stick our noses in each others business. That way if we were to ever "write about raising cigarette taxes" (SNORE!!), we would do so without a second thought—because I have no idea what ads we're running this week. And if we do lose the account because of what we wrote, then cest la vie.
As for the morality of running these ads or not, I personally am secure in the knowledge that our readers aren't idiots, and can judge for themselves whether or not to put chewing tobacco in their mouths. (I personally choose not to, because, well… EWWW!)
Good topic, though, James X!

Posted by Wm. Steven Humphrey"