i really hope that what everybody learns from this is that ads are a waste of money and that a reanalysis of the last several elections is required. but, of course, what a paper like the globe sells is ads. they don't want you to know that. and, it's not a coincidence that they focus so much analysis around the effects of the product they sell. it's this stack of cards that you can't expect them to abolish. what's important is that the serious people don't get blindsided by the media coverage.

the google model is not new; it's how papers have worked for decades, if not centuries. you're not the consumer. you're the product.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/quebec-campaign-gets-nasty-but-election-ad-wars-still-muted-in-rest-of-canada/article26554648/