Starbucks And MSNBC: Too Close For Comfort? (SBUX)

If you hadn't thought much about the deal between Starbucks SBUX and MSNBC, you might now.

Ad Age has an interesting piece on the potential conflict of interest between corporations and the media when they band together for sponsorships.

As many are aware, MSNBC's Morning Joe show is sponsored by Starbucks. But according to Ad Age, MSNBC failed to remind viewers of that fact when it sat down with Starbucks' CEO, Howard Schultz, for an interview that lasted more than seven minutes.

Is this really a problem? Ad Age notes that the Starbucks sponsorship has been in place for nearly two years. By now, virtually every Morning Joe viewer must know about the deal…right?

Even so, Ad Age's Brian Steinberg says that it is odd that MSNBC “didn't see a conflict at least worth mentioning in this morning's segment.”

“This is the same cable channel, remember, that briefly suspended both former prime-time host Keith Olbermann and ‘Morning Joe' host Joe Scarborough for making donations to political operatives without making proper disclosures to bosses, and thereby leaving viewers in the dark,” Steinberg wrote.

Ad Age also quotes an MSNBC spokeswoman, who said, “We've been upfront about our relationship with Starbucks and Willie Geist addressed the partnership during the interview. Our regular viewers are well aware that Morning Joe is 'Brewed by Starbucks.”

Still, Steinberg isn't satisfied. He ended his piece by saying that MSNBC “could and probably should disclose while an interview is taking place that the subject of the conversation also contributes money to support the program.”

“A sentence on the news crawl at the bottom of the screen or an on-air graphic flanking Mr. Schultz would have aired the financial laundry for all to see and avoided a conflict of interest for Ms. Brzezinski and her co-hosts – and for MSNBC, too,” Steinberg added.