In this week’s edition of Five on Friday, we review the FTC’s new advertising disclosure guidance for online influencers; Ken Doctor announces the 2020 launch of his new venture, Lookout Local; now live, Disney+ shares details about its bundled offer with Hulu and ESPN+; the ‘Hunt A Killer” mystery game is raking in $2 million a month in subscription revenue; and NewsGuild-CWA says the Gatehouse-Gannett merger will hurt journalism.

FTC Releases Advertising Disclosure Guide for Online Influencers 

As the use of social media influencers has grown in popularity, so have the Federal Trade Commission’s concerns that the lines been fact and fiction are blurring. It isn’t always easy to tell when an influencer is being paid to talk up a product or service and when they are doing it simply because they believe in it. That’s why the FTC has issued a new, eight-page guide, “Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers,” to give online influencers tips about what triggers the need for a disclosure and what doesn’t. The FTC also put together videos to make the influencer’s responsibilities clear.

Here’s an excerpt of the guide’s intro:

“If you endorse a product through social media, your endorsement message should make it obvious when you have a relationship (‘material connection’) with the brand. The ‘material connection’ to the brand includes a personal, family or employment relationship or a financial relationship – such as the brand paying you or giving you free or discounted products or services.

Telling your followers about these kinds of relationships is important because it helps keep your recommendations honest and truthful, and it allows people to weight the value of the endorsements.

As an influencer, it’s your responsibility to make these disclosures, to be familiar with the Endorsement Guides, and to comply with laws against deceptive ads. Don’t rely on others to do it for you.”

The FTC offers a host of tips, some that are obvious and others that are not:

–      Don’t always assume followers know about your relationship with a brand.

–      Tags, likes and pins and similar ways of showing you like a brand are considered endorsements.

–      If someone has no brand relationship and is simply sharing their opinion of a product or service, they do not need to declare there is no relationship.

–      Disclosures must be disclosed so they are hard to miss.

–      Use simple and clear language.

Read the full FTC guide at FTC.gov.

Buying the Disney+/ESPN+/Hulu bundle? Certain limitations apply. 

This summer, Disney announced it would provide a bundled streaming product for $12.99 a month that would include the new Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. According to Cord Cutter News, the deal would look like this:

–      With the bundle, Hulu customers would be limited to one stream.

–      ESPN+ customers would be limited to two simultaneous streams.

–      Subscribers could stream Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ on different devices at the same time.

–      In the bundle (and in the standalone product), Disney+ would include 4K streaming.

Now that Disney+ has provided its terms of service, there are additional limitations, including the following:

–      By purchasing the bundled plan through Disney, subscribers agree to Hulu’s terms of service.

–      The Hulu portion of the bundle is the ad-supported version of Hulu.

–      There is no free trial for the bundle and the offer can be changed or ended at any time.

–      Only residents of the U.S. and its territories are eligible.

–      Hulu subscribers who purchased Hulu through Spotify or through another promotional offer are not eligible for the bundle.

–      ESPN+ and Disney+ subscribers can keep and manage pre-existing subscriptions when they purchase the bundle.

Additional restrictions and limitations to the Disney+ bundle promotion apply. Read more about them on Cord Cutter News.

Ken Doctor to Launch Lookout, A New Vision for Local News

Ken Doctor, a longtime news industry expert and columnist for Nieman Lab, announced he will launch Lookout Local next year. Lookout Local, a new vision of local news for the 2020s, will benefit from Doctor’s 15 years of vast knowledge and experience in the news industry, as well as the business models that have worked and those that haven’t. He plans to take the best ideas and the smartest approaches to create authentic local news and relationships that benefit journalism and communities.

The Lookout website explains it like this:

“We’re the first of our kind. Ready for next decade, mobile-first Lookout recognizes how we read today. We know that local is as meaningful now as in the heyday of print, but that how we write, present and deliver local news and information requires a fresh start. As a for-profit public benefit company, Lookout acts with the scale and scope necessary to make a reader proposition worth paying for.

We’re truly digital native, respecting our readers’ intelligence and time to earn a primary place on their phones’ home pages. Civic engagement – and betterment – is built into our very fabric. We’ve studied the news business – from the largest to the smallest – and aim to apply the best learnings of the last decade. Our hope: To change what we believe is possible – and necessary – in the next generation of local news.”

In Doctor’s announcement, he said Lookout will meet audiences where they are in a variety of formats including audio, newsletters and mobile, and they will connect readers and journalists in multiple ways.

Bringing back local reporting in a sustainable way is an ambitious goal but, if anyone can pull it off, Doctor and his team can, and we wish them the very best. Read more about Lookout Local in Doctor’s announcement on Nieman Lab.

‘Hunt A Killer’ Mystery Games Business Rakes in $2M in Subscription Revenue a Month 

Do you love a good mystery? ‘Hunt A Killer’ hopes so. In an interview with Starter Story, co-founder and CEO Ryan Hogan talks about the amazing success of this novel subscription company. The company operates four brands: Hunt A Killer for true crime fans, Empty Faces for fans of paranormal investigations, Escape the Invasion for science fiction buffs and Team Building Kits for companies to strengthen their teams.

Hogan says that three years ago, in October 2016, the company had 146 subscribers. In August of this year, they shipped their millionth episode to subscribers and they are raking in subscription revenue of $2 million a month. How did Hogan and co-founder Derrick Smith do it? We don’t want to spoil the interview for you, but here are a few high-level success secrets Hogan shared with Starter Story:

–      “Go with data, not your gut.”

–      Expect trial and error to be a part of the process.

–      Finding a way to pay for your launch should be one of your first steps.

–      Scale the business as you go.

–      Purchase inventory you can actually use.

–      Diversify your advertising channels.

Learn more about the success of ‘Hunt a Killer,’ including the tech tools they use to power the organization, on Starter Story.

NewsGuild-CWA Says GateHouse-Gannett Merger Will Hurt, Not Help, Journalism

While GateHouse and Gannett claim that their mega-merger will be a boon to journalism, not everyone agrees. According to NewsGuild-CWA, a newspaper union representing more than 20,000 journalists and communications professionals in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, says the merger poses a serious threat to journalism.

“This merger will hurt the communities these media organizations serve,” said NewsGuild president Bernie Lunzer in a news release last week. “To fund the merger, local papers will likely disappear, jobs will be slashed, and journalism will suffer.”

NewsGuild believes Gannett shareholders will miss out because the company did not accept the Alden Global Capital deal in January, and financial and investment decisions will negatively impact the newspapers and journalists that will be part of the merged company.

“It’s hard to see how anyone can see this as anything more than a callous piece of financialization meant to create short-term profit at the expense of the newspapers whose employees strive every day to shed light on darkness,” Lunzer added. “Gannett investors should look at our information and take it seriously. It is hard to see anything of value in this deal, and we believe it is fatally flawed. If we had a vote, we would vote no.”

If investors approve the merger, Lunzer said the NewsGuild will fight job cuts, newspaper closures and “community desertion” at the new, combined company that will bear the Gannett name. Learn more about the NewsGuild’s stance on NewsGuild.org.