Last Week Tonight’s John Oliver Talks About Questionable Sponsorships on Charlotte’s WBTV News

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One of Charlotte’s largest tv news stations was just highlighted on HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in an episode that addresses questionable sponsored content practices on local news channels.

Oliver primarily focuses on news stations that allow companies to pay for representatives to be featured on news segments to promote various goods and services.

“Sometimes, local businesses will pay for an interview, where they can script the questions, and make sure that they’re presented glowingly. Take Jim Heafner, until recently, he was financial advisor in Charlotte, North Carolina, who was on the local show, ‘Morning Break’ all the time, and always introduced in very positive terms,” said Oliver.

Oliver then talks about how Heafner and the firm he worked for was sued for millions of dollars for losing retirees’ money.

You can watch the Charlotte clip here:

What do you think about sponsored content in local news?

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