Once upon a time when there were only three television networks and Americans believed in God, Walter Cronkite and the President (in that order), there was a doctrine in journalism that there had to be an absolute separation between the business and editorial affairs of a news operation. That separation was so serious that it came to be known in some circles as "the wall." It's even been called the "church-state" separation.

At this point, it takes a lot to shock me when it comes to using women's naked bodies to sell other products. Yet back in late April, I ripped an ad for Cabana Cachaha Brazilian rum out of the May 5 issue of New York Magazine. The black and white print ad featured a super slim, utterly hairless, totally naked-sans-a-thong-tan -line-and-stilettos woman on lifting her perfect nude ass in the air and arching her back. In small print at the bottom, viewers were promised uncensored photos, footage, and more online. Curious, I headed over, but it wasn't up and running.

Dunkin Donuts owes us an explanation. Why in the world did you succumb to the threats of conservative blogger Michelle Malkin and Fox News and pull this ad? Just because they say the scarf is a Keffiyeh doesn't make it so. It's a fashion accessory. If the whole incident wasn't so frightening, it would be funny. This is not about being a fashionista.This is about fascism.

It's not as if people haven't been warning us for years that if we didn't curb our addiction to oil we were headed toward an economic tsunami.It's just that we've been treating them as if they were Chicken Little. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

I admit it: I am a yogurt freak. My mother developed osteoporosis at a relatively young age, so I am vigilant about meeting my Recommended Daily Allowance for calcium. At my age, my friends at the National Institute for Health tell me I should be sucking in 1,000 mg per day. Fortunately, I love diary products, and although I could definitely up my intake of the leafy greens, I do OK.

The appearances by the three leading US presidential candidates grabbed the banner headlines at this year's meeting of the leaders of the newspaper industry, but that wasn't the only big news. A new advertiser-supported news service for iPhones was unveiled Monday that offers new hope for cash-strapped newspapers.

Three days a week, I attempt to do my part in "saving the world," and I work at a community health organization in the Bronx. On Mondays and Fridays, however, I focus on my writing "career." During breaks from staring at the computer screen, I stare at the TV screen, viewing marathons of America's Next Top Model, Top Chef, and/or Project Runway. My new daytime TV habits may not help my writing much, but I feel as though I've been introduced to a whole new world of advertising. For instance, last week I (repeatedly) saw a Bounty paper towel commercial that left me slack jawed. Here's the paraphrased scene:

The Project for Excellence in Journalism has released this year's annual State of the News Media report. While much of the blog talk has been about the report's conclusion that user-generated content now drives news consumption (Duh!

The Germans call it ohrwurm. Here,it's known as the earworm -- the situation when a jingle or song gets stuck in a continuous mental loop and refuses to exit your head. You hear the song over and over and over again. So it is with me and Yael Naim's "New Soul" -- the very addictive sound track to the Macbook Air Commercial. For the past six weeks I have been dealing with this earworm.

The next report card at the Red Bug Elementary School,and for that matter all the other elementary schools in Seminole County,Florida will not double as a free coupon for a Happy Meal. The fact that The Red Bug Elementary School had a McDonald's report card is all part of a trend that is putting advertising everywhere including: School buses, police cars, the stripes in parking lots, and PDF files.

Once upon a time the Super Bowl was known as the well, The Super Bowl. Churches had Super Bowl Parties. Local advertisers had Super Bowl promotions. I had a Super Bowl baby. Well sort of.

Advertising slogans are supposed to state the main benefits of the brand. Good slogans, make that great slogans, have a distinct personality of their own and are  hard to forget. Scotland used to have such a slogan. It was,"Scotland, the Best Small Country in the World."