PR agency hired to promote RSV vaccine and pass off its advertisement as 'news'
Is it news? Is it current affairs? No, it's PR.
Have you ever wondered how people end up being the man-or-woman-in-the-street who appears in interviews on TV? Very often, a PR agency recruits these people and stage-manages the entire operation.
I don’t own a TV or read newspapers or magazines, but for my Australian readers who do, I would appreciate it if you could be on the look-out for a media piece featuring a pregnant woman in a discussion about RSV vaccination:
Let me know if you spot the outcome of this nasty propaganda exercise.
And for all my readers, this is yet another warning that much of the media content you consume is packaged up by PR agencies. It’s not news; it’s product placement.
Weber Shandwick does PR for pharmaceutical and vaccine companies, the CDC and the World Health Organization (but I repeat myself).
Although I rarely watch free-to-air television, I have an interest in home renovation shows (don't judge me!) so I do sometimes stream channel 94. In doing so, I have noticed a couple of ads for vaccines (meningococcal and, I believe, RSV) which have been disguised as public service announcements, presumably to get around any legislation banning direct-to-consumer advertising. If not for the pharma fine print towards the end, the average person might be forgiven for believing the sole focus is their (or their children's) wellbeing.
My cousin was encouraged to get the covid vac when she was pregnant!!!