synergy is groovy

Last week, AdAge reported that Time Inc.’s mag editors will shill for ABC’s new fall lineup:

ABC viewers will get cultural criticism mixed with previews of the Walt Disney network’s new fall lineup, just the latest twist in broadcast outlets’ increased emphasis on launching new programs in nontraditional ways.

Well, that’s one way of putting it. The language in today’s Times piece was a little more pungent:

To promote its fall lineup, ABC Television produced three half-hour preview shows that are the stuff of a television executive’s fantasy: they feature editors and writers from three big magazines who have traded their critics’ hats for pom-poms. [e.a.]

“I think if you liked ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ you’re going to love ‘Private Practice,’ ” gushes Alynda Wheat, a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly, in one of the shows. [e.a.]

And what about their being, you know, critics?

Working with a network to promote its shows may come across as contrary to journalistic objectivity, but the editors say it was just a lending of expert opinion.

“We participated in the ABC special because our staffers are TV experts offering commentary,” wrote Suzy Berkowitz-Weksel, a spokeswoman for Entertainment Weekly, in an e-mail message. “Their remarks are entirely separate from whatever reviews our critics later deliver.”

Oh, what would we do without the entertainment experts?