There has been a bit of debate around a recent campaign by the parent company of The Times-Picayune, a Louisiana newspaper, that contracted several New Orleans Saints players to tweet about the newly redesigned NOLA.com. The players included Football/Twitter heavy hitters like Drew Brees, Lance Moore, Tracy Porter, Pierre Thomas and Jonathan Vilma. Each were to send out one or two tweets each over a ten-day period from Oct. 17 to Oct. 27.

The Point – Al Tompkins, senior faculty for broadcasting and online at The Poynter Institute

“On its face, that is an obvious conflict of interest. The problem is you’re creating a dual relationship with the very people you’re covering.”

The Counterpoint – Paul Rand, CEO of Zocalo Group & Immediate Past President of WOMMA

“The public is beginning to recognize that if they see #paid, #spon, #sponsored or any number of those things that they know what it meant. Arguably, it’s not a whole lot different than seeing someone be a paid commercial spokesperson.”

Read the full article at NOLA.com and comment below with your thoughts.

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