Wells Fargo Banks New Ad Campaign to Regain Customer Trust Does Not Appear to Include Black & Latino Newspapers

An Open Letter to NNPA Publishers sent on behalf of  Dr. John Warren, Publisher of the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint

Recently I have submitted to NNPA a number of articles concerning Wells Fargo Bank, their lawsuits and practices concerning bank customers, many of them are our readers. I have more articles to come not only on Wells Fargo, but also Bank of America, AARP and AT&T. All of these are being written from the position of not only informing our readers, but identifying issues that are considered public policy concerns, especially by those charged with regulating these entities.

We must remember that our right to equal recognition and participation in discussions and ad revenues generated by these entities has nothing to do with audits, postal permits or numbers of readers. We are entitled to equal recognition. In the past, we have not received it because we did not know how to go after it.

The running of these articles in your newspapers and on your websites is key to one of the three things I always say corporate America understands: bad publicity, loss profits and a vote cast against their interest.

In addition to these articles, we will be sending letters to the government agencies working with those we identify. The receipt of federal dollars from the government entitles us to fair and equal treatment in outreach. Our articles will generate and continue the level of public awareness needed to bring people to the table to talk business. Be sure that members of Congress and decision makers in your area see the articles. Remember, you don’t write the news, you just print it.

Hopefully, our efforts will generate letters to the editors. Hopefully, they will encourage your readers to think again about who they do business with when there is not return to us.

I am also tackling the practice of requiring us to be a 501 (c) nonprofit in order to receive funds when we should be in regular advertising budgets like mainstream America