Content of e.Newsletters

In a few of our readings we have discussed e.newsletters and what works, doesn't work, etc...I feel as though our discussions have left out one key issue: the actual content of the e.newsletters.

Unlike newspapers and other traditional sources of information, e.newsletters tend to be more about selling a product or an idea or a candidate, then actually passing along NEWS. It seems like advertisements and requests for money, which make up the bulk of e.newsletter, are simply appeals to consumerism in the form of a new medium. Far too often, e.newsletters contain little, if any, news at all.

Unfortunately, the name, newsletter, is misleading. Though I understand that some causes and organizations use e.newsletters to communicate their message to their base, that medium for passing on information becomes less effective when other companies and organizations use the misleading name of "newsletter" to simply pass on advertisements.

NOTES TO PONDER: Is there any way to create a demarcation between real e.newsletters and advertisements that pose as newsletters? When one company or campaign misuses e.newsletters, how does it effect all the other companies and campaigns that use e.newsletters?