Lessons in journalizm: The Ad-vance

Now, for those not acutely aware of the basic tenants of journalism the old-school rule is that there is a theoretical wall separating different aspects of a news-gathering organization.

Specifically the walls separating the straight news side of the paper from its editorial page, and more importantly the one that isolates the advertising department from the entire newsroom.

A piece in today's Advance doesn't just breach this wall but plows right into it with a bulldozer:

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Customers crowded the appliance section of P.C. Richard & Son in New Springville today, many of them clutching glossy inserts they pulled out of their Sunday and Thursday Advance advertising big rebates from the state on energy efficient washers and refrigerators, alongside steep Presidents Day weekend discounts.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Advance. If it wasn't for that paper I'd probably never would have entered this shitty profession. But, really, what the fuck is going on in this paragraph?

P.C. Richard is given a huge shout out right before casually mentioning the ad campaign waged by the store in your god damn paper. Really, is this supposed to be a disclosure?

Let's move on:

In fact appliance retailers across the borough said they saw business buoyed by as much as 40 percent this long weekend...

So it wasn't just P.C. Richard's, it was "in fact" stores all over the island. But we won't mention those other retailers, 'cause they didn't fucking pay us anything.