Jane Pauley, the television news anchor has sued The New York Times and DeWitt Publishing, alleging she was misled to believe she was being interviewed for an article on mental health when she actually was being featured in a special advertising supplement. In a lawsuit filed in October 2006 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Pauley seeks unspecified damages and to stop use of her name and image for advertising purposes.
The ad supplement was for pharmaceutical companies, and Pauley is suing both the Times and DeWitt, saying she was tricked. Pauley, first disclosed in 2004 that she suffers from bipolar disorder and has never appeared in an ad or endorsed any product before. The lawsuit alleges the Times and DeWitt intentionally misrepresented the distinction between news and advertising to Pauley and her staff in an effort to disguise the advertising supplement as news.
The defendants maintain that Pauley's assistant was informed that the interview would be for an ad supplement in the New York Times Magazine.
Regardless of what party prevails, this case serves as an important reminder that media companies need to review advertisements that it will feature.
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