We know it’s something of a stereotype that traditional and especially print media tend to take their time in arriving at/commenting on a hot story. Such is the case with The New York Times, which made waves this weekend by reporting on a phenomenon that PR and marketing folk already know quite well: paid or sponsored content.

We’re not saying that the many talented reporters at the Times have ignored the trend until now; this Media Decoder post regarding The Atlantic‘s Scientology advertorial scandal mentions the fact that BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post and other top web publishers already maintain sponsored content sections. But the weekend’s article does seem to be the first time the Times has deemed such content worthy of comment in print.

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One of this week’s creepiest stories concerns the new Facebook app Bang With Friends. In case you haven’t heard, the app promises to help users find Facebook connections who are up for a one-night fling. Classy, right? It’s all anonymous, though, because the only way anyone will know that you use it is if the same friend/friends also independently choose you to “bang.”

Our first response to this development was something of a weirded-out shrug until we encountered a very telling Daily Beast interview with the people who created social media’s latest flash in the pan.

Get ready for a shock: They’re three “college-age males” who “made this in two hours… with a lot of Red Bull and vodka” in order to “take rejection out of the [dating] equation”. Oh, and they insisted on remaining anonymous for the interview. We can’t imagine why…

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The Penn State scandal was, without a doubt, one of the most important stories of 2012; the case certainly provided firms representing the university with one of their toughest PR challenges.

We thought the case had more or less resolved itself, but this week brought some surprising news: Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett–a rising political star–filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, calling its sanctions against the school and the Nittany Lions “arbitrary” and “unfair” and claiming that the association’s decision to render such a harsh judgment was nothing but a PR move designed to promote and enhance its own authority.

Publicity addicts accusing others of shameless self-promotion? Well, we never!

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