Why and how companies are turning to brand journalism
As newsrooms shrink and media relations opportunities evaporate, more organizations are creating their own storytelling outlets. Here’s how to launch a robust news site of your own.
When Jay-Z launched Tidal, his streaming service, he compared music to water, claiming incorrectly that water is free.
“Music is $6 but no one wants to pay for music,” he said in a March 2015 interview with The New York Times. “You should drink free water from the tap—it’s a beautiful thing.”
The Times did not fact-check Jay-Z.
Tapped out
TAP, the digital publication produced by a team at Denver Water, did.
“I get what you are saying,” wrote Steve Snyder, the public utility’s head of communications, in an open letter to Jay-Z. “Artists should be paid for the music they create. But to say that ‘water is free while music is $6’ isn’t exactly true.”
Snyder, a former journalist, went on to explain that Denver customers paid $3 per 1,000 gallons of water; that some people can’t afford their water bills; and that water scarcity is a problem related to drought and climate change.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
