It seems the financially strapped Boring Broadsheet can’t think of enough ways to make a buck off of ailing Sen. Ted Kennedy .
After rolling out a seven-part series on the life and times of Kennedy that some have termed a premature obituary, some Boston Globe subscribers received an e-mail this week hawking the book version of the series - and a passel of related Teddy products.
Well! When you’re losing a million a week, every penny counts!
After rolling out a seven-part series on the life and times of Kennedy that some have termed a premature obituary, some Boston Globe subscribers received an e-mail this week hawking the book version of the series - and a passel of related Teddy products.
Well! When you’re losing a million a week, every penny counts!
For a mere $28, Kennedy fans could purchase “Last Lion” - “a balanced, nuanced, warts-and-all portrait,” according to one highlighted quote in the Globe’s e-mail pitch. Free shipping! And it will be “autographed by the author.”
That would be a Globe reporter, BTW.
But wait - as they say on the infomercials - there’s more!
Purchasers may also be interested in “Ted Kennedy: Scenes from an Epic Life,” ($28, author autographed), a book of Globe photos of the senior senator taken over the years.
Then there’s the “Lion” audio CD, ($29.99); a photo of Ted outside the Russell Senate Office Building (prices range from an unframed 8x10 for $39.99 to a framed 16x20 print for $204.99); and a photograph of Ted and his late brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy taken by a staffer at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, a Globe outpost ($39.99 to $329.00).
And for those who simply can’t get enough Teddy, you can put the photos on a T-shirt ($15.95); a mug, ($12.95); a greeting card ($2.95); and postage stamps ($17.95 for a sheet of 20).
“The Globe appears to be trying to take full financial advantage of Ted K.’s illness,” one B.B. reader wrote us.
A Globe spokesman didn’t return our e-mail or call. But Tobe Berkovitz, associate dean at Boston University’s College of Communication, said he didn’t have a problem with the mawkish marketing endeavor.
“Taste is in the eye - or on the chest or on the desk - of the beholder,” he said. “How many people in and around Boston still have a picture of JFK on their walls? Is it maudlin to do this by taking advantage of a person’s final months? I’d leave that up to the consumer.”
File Under: Last Chance.
That would be a Globe reporter, BTW.
But wait - as they say on the infomercials - there’s more!
Purchasers may also be interested in “Ted Kennedy: Scenes from an Epic Life,” ($28, author autographed), a book of Globe photos of the senior senator taken over the years.
Then there’s the “Lion” audio CD, ($29.99); a photo of Ted outside the Russell Senate Office Building (prices range from an unframed 8x10 for $39.99 to a framed 16x20 print for $204.99); and a photograph of Ted and his late brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy taken by a staffer at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, a Globe outpost ($39.99 to $329.00).
And for those who simply can’t get enough Teddy, you can put the photos on a T-shirt ($15.95); a mug, ($12.95); a greeting card ($2.95); and postage stamps ($17.95 for a sheet of 20).
“The Globe appears to be trying to take full financial advantage of Ted K.’s illness,” one B.B. reader wrote us.
A Globe spokesman didn’t return our e-mail or call. But Tobe Berkovitz, associate dean at Boston University’s College of Communication, said he didn’t have a problem with the mawkish marketing endeavor.
“Taste is in the eye - or on the chest or on the desk - of the beholder,” he said. “How many people in and around Boston still have a picture of JFK on their walls? Is it maudlin to do this by taking advantage of a person’s final months? I’d leave that up to the consumer.”
File Under: Last Chance.
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