Builders Reportedly Pull Ads After Critical Series

By: Seth Porges The Orlando Sentinel reportedly lost a major and long-standing advertiser after a home builders' association pulled its annual Parade of Homes guidebook and some of its members' advertising from the paper following a newspaper series that exposed problems with new homes in Central Florida. The newspaper had been carrying the guidebook for about 35 years, according to Sentinel Real Estate Manager Derek Berge. Unofficial estimates of the revenue loss range as high as $700,000.

The eight-part series, which appeared Oct 31 through Nov. 11, was the result of a yearlong investigation by the Sentinel and WESH-News Channel 2 that found "almost 80% of 406 new homes built in Central Florida in 2001 were full of problems, including cracks, leaks and mold."

The Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando denies that their decision to pull the guidebook from the Sentinel had anything to do with the series. "It was strictly a business decision," HBAMO Executive Officer Tom Lagomarsino told E&P on Thursday. "We wanted to see if we could get a better deal." The guidebook will now appear in various publications published by Gulf Media, said Lagomarsino.

Despite the HBAMO denial, Dan Tracy, the paper's senior reporter on the story, believes that the decision to pull the guidebook was a direct result of his series. "I think they've also pulled most of their ads for the month of December, so it's hard to believe its not related," Tracy said.

Sentinel Public Editor Manning Pynn also linked the series to the HBAMO decision in a Dec. 7 column. Sentinel Vice President of Corporate Communications Ashley Allen agreed that the newspaper made the right decision to run the series. "We did lose revenue, but I think that there are certain stories that are important enough that you need to examine the issues because they are important to the community," Allen said.