Channel 8, CBS play ‘Let’s Make a Deal’

Love The Whoopsie Factor:

Ironies that bypass viewers, bite stations and give critics the snickers.

To wit: Stations including KLAS-TV, Channel 8 teaming with online digital coupon services such as Groupon and LivingSocial -- at Channel 8, it's called Analog Analytics -- for "daily deals" on station websites to lure small business owners (many unable to afford on-air spots) to advertise.

Consumers get discounts on services and products -- pizza, flowers, oil changes, massages, etc. -- and merchants collect half the purchase price, the station reaping 40 percent, the rest to Analog and the credit card company as a transaction fee.

Stations make moolah. Good for Channel 8. They're not PBS, after all. Profit is good.

Yet flacking a station's advertising service couched as "news" is un-journalistic (to say the least), a trap Channel 8 tumbled into, extolling the benefits of its service to local businesses on a recent newscast. Meanwhile, CBS -- its own network -- aired an "Early Show" piece cautioning consumers on such services.

Following are juxtaposed quotes from each story.

Channel 8: "From 8 News Now daily deals to Groupon, unbeatable deals are being offered to valley consumers daily. But it's more than just huge savings for consumers, it's giving small businesses a big boost." (Wow!) Its own network: "With hundreds of sites offering (coupon) deals, the question emerges: Are they really worth it?" (Uh-oh.)

Channel 8: "When you're a struggling business, one of the first things to be chopped is advertising and marketing. But thanks to Groupon, LivingSocial and 8 News Now daily deals, small businesses can reach thousands at absolutely no cost." (Wow!) Its own network: "(Finance expert Farnoosh Torabi) explained many people waste a lot of money on these sites. She said, 'One in five buyers ... end up completely wasting the voucher. They never redeem the deal.' " (Uh-oh.)

Channel 8: " 'Long story short, free marketing, that's what it is,' said Ryan Lew, Fillaseat.com president. His business helps locals get tickets to shows. He used 8 News Now's daily deals and sold hundreds of memberships." (Wow!) Its own network: "These sites are very clever at getting us to buy on impulse." (Uh-oh.)

Channel 8: "Getting new members at Round 1 Boxing isn't hard but initially getting clients through the front door can be. That's why Groupon proved to be their knockout punch. 'The Groupon hit and our classes went ... to as many as 30 so the influx of new people has really helped the energy in the club,' said Darrin Leak, personal trainer." (Wow!) Its own network: "Buy from national vendors ... the risk is not as high of the store closing overnight. This has happened to people who have bought deals, let them sit and six months later realize the store's not even there anymore." (Uh-oh.)

CBS' story included tips for customers to make intelligent purchases. Channel 8's ad-as-news did explain there is some risk for small businesses with big overhead costs that can lose money -- but only as a tag line, hardly negating a GEE-WHIZ! tone in a self-serving story that disrespects Channel 8's top-tier news department.

Station promoting its ad service to potential advertisers disguised as "news"? Its own network sounding warnings to the consumers of said service?

Whoopsie.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.