You don’t have to spend too much time in advertising/marketing before you sense the ‘great divide’ between editorial/programming and advertising.   Forever and ever referred to as “church and state”, the silos seem to be collapsing and the division is no longer great.   PR – more recently referred to as “Earned Media”, why I’m not sure – and paid advertising are separate if not symbiotic tactics for advertising success.   However I’m getting a little tired of seeing “ads” on my news programs – this despite a more restrictive environment for press releases according to some of my television sources.    Last night’s news stories about Canadian retailers launching Black Friday sales this weekend in an effort to keep Canadians shopping at home is indeed news.  But when I tuned to CP24, I find Jee Yun Lee standing in a Toys R Us.   I don’t mind she’s there if she’s conveying the news story.  But she was there to take us through 3 products – 3 separate run-throughs of “this is the regular price and this is the sale price” on 3 individual items.  Please CP24…if you truly are applying more due diligence to the news, then how ithe world does an electronic version of a Toys R Us flyer qualify as news?!