About that Inky ad

You would think I would take any opportunity to mock the Philadelphia Inquirer.

After all, they are our major competition.

The Inky made a little news of their own yesterday. It seemed to give everyone – including many in the media – quite a chuckle.

Not me. I know exactly what happened. And I know it is a newspaper’s biggest nightmare.

What happened is this. The Inquirer ran an ad that was obviously not supposed to run. At least not yet.

Yesterday was the day after Game 4 of the World Series. My guess is some time ago, Macy’s booked ads tied into the possibility that the Phillies might have swept the Yankees and they would be celebrating, along with the entire region, by selling special World Series champion T-shirts.

Of course, the Phils did not sweep. In fact, after losing Sunday night they were actually down 3-1.

No doubt another ad was supposed to be substituted for the one that appeared in the paper.

Instead, an ad appeared congratulating the Phillies on their back-to-back world championships and selling special World Series T-shirts.

We routinely get placements for ads – one if the Phils win, another if they lose. You better believe everyone is aware of the ads and which one actually gets into the newspaper.

There’s nothing deliberate here. It was simply a mistake. Should it have been caught? Probably. It’s part of the vagaries of the technology that we in the newspaper business swim in these days.

The ad no doubt was placed on the page by a computer. I don’t know if it was actually visible on the screen when the news desk was putting that page together.

If not, it likely sailed right through the normal checks, the final one being someone noticing it as soon as the presses started printing papers. No one did. The ad appeared on the Back Page of the front section of the newspaper.

Many media outlets got quite the chuckle out of it. Some TV types could be seen holding up the ad on the newscasts last night. Some joked that the paper was simply being optimistic.

I’m sure no one at the Inquirer was smiling. They offered a quick apology.

They don’t have to apologize to me. I know exactly how they feel. And know that the next time it could be me.

In these days of the Internet, Facebook, Twitter and other instant media, it reminds me of something I am always stressing to my staff.

Simply this. Print is FOREVER.

I think everyone in the media can look at what happened at the Inky and offer a sigh of relief that it did not happen to them. I know I did.

I feel for you, guys.

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