In August 1922 a newspaper publisher named Robert W. Sawyer in Oregon addressed his fellow journalists and complained about the documents and messages that were being sent to papers that were not newsworthy. This deceptive promotional material was a headache for newspapers even in the 1920s:8
Robert W. Sawyer
“Now every day we go hunting for news and for advertising. And every day advertising disguised as news comes hunting us. Altogether too many of us are caught by it.”