Prologue
In the last 2 decades, there have been numerous cases where unknown companies have got exaggerated newspaper coverage for their IPOs. The modus operandi was/is simple: hire a PR Consultant for a fee who would "arrange" to get coverage in leading dailies & magazines.

Today it is common for a daily to promote it's group-owned brands & services as front page news.
Just as it is common to publish private events of selected celebrities/corporates as front page news in national dailies.
Meanwhile, paid supplements whose editorials promote companies & brands has become a regular feature.

The fact that most PR consulting firms are global networks, is proof enough that these practices are prevalent worldwide.

Recently however, a senior executive of a leading Indian English newspaper created history by admitting to a rate card for publishing articles and getting coverage in their dailies. Although other dailies have not been so open, market whishpers suggest that such practices are more common than is admitted.

The Emperor Strikes Back
Long ago, there was an emperor who ruled over a vast kingdom. To ensure that his subjects (from whom he collected taxes regularly!) got their basic services, the emperor appointed officers for each town. His subjects would approach their local officers for services and redressals of grievances. The officers would do their duty by providing the required services. The emperor remained accessible to his subjects and for a long time, all was smooth.

After a few years, the monarch became extremely wealthy from the taxes he collected. He started devoting his energy in attacking & acquiring neighbouring kingdoms. Gradually he became inaccessible to his subjects. His officers realised this and their response slowed down. This led to dissatisfaction amongst the wards. Soon corruption set in. Subjects would routinely bribe officers to get work (often illegal) done.

Next came the consultants - a set of smart middle-men who became the interface between the subjects & corrupt officers.
"Handling" the officers was their job. Soon there were standard rate cards for services rendered by officers. This state of affairs went on for many years.

Meanwhile, the emperor died and was succeeded by his son. With his B-school background, the new ruler initated a review of his gigantic empire to indentify & plug revenue leaks.