Chronicle has new page for online learning done very, very poorly

https://chronicle.com/section/Online-Learning/574/?cid=dl_olstxt_at3

Note: the Chronicle calls this a sponsored page. Most of the page is made up of advertisements poorly disguised as stories. Even what appear to be actual stories have product plugs which is not surprising because each story has the legend "Information provided by Burger King" (substitute sponsor)

I wouldn't be reading this page again.

 

I agree. Yahoo does this a lot too. They get together a bunch of advertisers and put together a page that is disguised as some sort of useful article when all it really is is a mass advertisement. It is dishonest and an insult to our intelligence.

 

"Advertorials" they call them. I, too, find them annoying as hell and insulting to the intelligence. There are "PR firms" who specialize in writing these advertorials and getting them placed in local newspapers, where they run as legitimate stories. And of course, there are "Video News Releases" which are thinly veiled ads for some new product, which are frequently inserted on slow news days on local newscasts. If you ever see a reporter you've never seen before, or never see the reporter and just hear a voiceover, and it's talking about a particular product or service... that's a VNR.

At least the Chronicle ones are identified as advertising in the fine print.