±±¾©Èü³µpk10

The Fox affiliate anchors at KVVU in Las Vegas sit with cups of McDonald's iced coffee on their desks during news and lifestyle segments of the morning show as part of a six-month promotion.

The station is owned by Meredith Corporation, which owns a dozen news affiliates in the US as well as a string of magazines. It says that deal has been signed to help support advertising revenue and that products promoted will not affect editorial content.

Adam Bradshaw, news director of KVVU, said: "There was a healthy dose of scepticism, and I'm pleased there was -- it means they're being journalists."

He also said that there would be no product placement on the station's flagship news shows.

"I would not put product placement into any of my traditional hard newscasts. I would not run it in my 5pm [slot] or my 10pm."

The sponsorship of elements of Fox 5 News makes the station the first in the US to take product placement, opening the way for more stations to follow suit as the advertising climate becomes tougher.

It is expected that other Meredith stations could follow suit with product placement appearing on Fox 12 in Portland, Oregon and WFSB and the CBS affiliate in Hartford, Connecticut.

It will put news anchors on a par with Simon Cowell and other judges on Fox's hit 'American Idol', which has a deal with Pepsi.

It also leaves the show with a quandary should a negative story about McDonald's need to be reported.

However, Brent Williams, account supervisor at Omnicom agency Karsh/Hagan, which brokered the deal said that should that situation arise the McDonald's cups would be taken away.

While local news might taken product placement dollars the national news networks have come out against the move with ABC's 'Good Morning America', CBS's 'The Early Show', and NBC's 'Today' all saying that would not accept product placement.

McDonald's said that product placement of this kind was another way to reach its customers and that it sees morning shows as natural environments for its drinks.

The presenters, including Monica Jackson, are not seen touching their iced coffee during the show despite its prominent placing. There is a good reason for this -- the cups are filled with fake coffee.

Fox 5 is not the first, but the most high-profile case of product placement. Other local news stations across the US have also taken McDonald's product placement, including the Tribune Co station WFLD in Chicago and New York's Univision 41.