When Beer Companies Adopt a "Fair and Balanced" Agenda

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Apr 29, 2008 2:30PM

Was clued in to this interesting article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal about the Brew Blog, a beer and brewery industry blog sponsored by Miller Brewing Co. Written by former Advertising Age reporter James Andorfer, Brew Blog reports on industry news when it happens, as it happens.

Seeing as how Brew Blog is also sponsored by Miller, Andorfer does his job while simultaneously taking some requisite and light-hearted shots at Anheuser Busch and its best selling brands like Bud Light (still inexplicably the best-selling beer in the world) while praising Miller's business decisions. Think of it as similar to the Roger Ailes "fair and balanced" technique, only A-B would be the "liberal media" in this setting.

The ability to control how Miller news is disseminated via Brew Blog is the crux of the Journal article; by using internet technology and the ease of accessibility of a blog, Brew Blog can often be the first source for any Miller news. The Journal also points out that Miller has the first crack at spinning industry news in whatever way it deems fit, in the process raising the possibility of shutting out business and trade industry reporters.