The latest pitch from Tom Martino’s pay-to-appear Martino TV

A blog yesterday shared sales documents associated with Martino TV, an upcoming program starring self-proclaimed "Troubleshooter" Tom Martino. The show charges businesses to receive the de facto endorsement of its star, who appears in regular consumer-advocacy reports during Channel 31 newscasts (although he's not a journalist -- he swears). Now,...
By Michael Roberts
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A blog yesterday shared sales documents associated with Martino TV, an upcoming program starring self-proclaimed “Troubleshooter” Tom Martino. The show charges businesses to receive the de facto endorsement of its star, who appears in regular consumer-advocacy reports during Channel 31 newscasts (although he’s not a journalist — he swears).

Now, something even more graphic: a detailed PowerPoint offering facts, figures, demographic information and plenty of reasons why entrepreneurs should give some of their hard-earned dough to Mr. M. Among the highlights: The contract on page eleven asks applicants to pay $125 for “Company History/Background Check/Fee” to be “Performed by Tom Martino’s Organization.” That way, even if a wannabe Martino TV stars turn out to be a scofflaws, Big Tom makes a few bucks anyhow. No trouble with that!

View the PowerPoint by clicking here.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword‘s news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master’s degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

michaelrobertscolo@gmail.com

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