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May 27, 2009

 
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Sometimes the messages are mixed with some ads


Posted at 2:23 pm by Neal Pattison

We call 'em newspapers, but we know many people read our publications for the ads, too. After all, going to the mall is nearly an official American pastime. And groceries, houses and cars are important purchases for all of us.

And who hasn’t thumbed through the employment ads – with either urgency or mild curiosity?

So, here are my questions to you intelligent, experienced readers:

How important is it for you to know where the "journalism" stops and the sponsored messages begin?

Sometimes a retailer runs an ad designed to mimic a news story. We label it as an advertisement – but do you ever feel misled? As if we’re trying to sucker you?

Many days when you log onto Heraldnet.com, an advertisement pops down and displaces the news content for seven seconds. Do you like 'em? Hate 'em? Accept 'em? (One very unhappy Heraldnet.com reader tells us this is the same reason he stopped going to movie theaters – a glut of ads that delay the feature.)

On the national level, there’s a dust up at the web site Gawker, which hosts a variety of edgy blogs. It has agreed to run a blog that’s paid for by HBO and devoted entirely to the cable show, "True Blood."

When do you start to feel betrayed? When do you start to doubt the integrity of a publication or web site?

Or are media consumers too savvy to be bothered by this stuff?
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