Should Newsday Advertise Eliot Spitzer "Gossip"?

Let’s turn off the tech coverage for a moment. The VAR Guy has a question for you. As a new media blogger, he delivers more than his share of gossip. But should traditional newspapers dish dirt — or stick to the hard news — related to outgoing New York Governor Eliot Spitzer? Before you answer, check out this Google Adwords advertisement, apparently placed by a top US newspaper to promote “gossip” about the Spitzer scandal.

When The VAR Guy searched “Spitzer” on Google today, a rather interesting ad — apparently placed by Newsday, the nation’s eighth largest paper — appeared in his Web browser.

The Adword placement reads as follows:

Gossip and Newsday? Hey, The VAR Guy loves gossip as much as the next blogger. And he works for Nine Lives Media Inc., whose owners spend quite a bit of time gossiping on the phone with each other every day.

But should traditional newspapers really advertise that they deal in gossip? Perhaps The VAR Guy is just naive. And perhaps if he turned off his laptop more often, he’d realize that all newspapers now deal in gossip.

Still, the apparent Newsday ad placed in Google Adwords pushes Newsday one step closer to The National Enquirer. At least that’s The VAR Guy’s take on the situation.