Advertising Pressures on Newspapers: A Survey

Abstract

Abstract Abstract Although there are numerous anecdotal reports, there are few systematic studies of advertisers' attempts to influence news reports. The two empirical studies that examined advertising pressures on editors and writers at farm, business, and consumer magazines found that the pressure is much greater than suggested by academic writers. Another study of television found organizational pressures to approve deceptive program-length advertisements, i.e., infomercials. This study extended the empirical research about advertising pressures to newspapers. A survey of editors at daily newspapers found that just under ninety percent reported that advertisers attempted to influence the content of stories appearing in their papers; ninety percent had economic pressure applied on them by advertisers because of their reporting; and thirty-seven percent had capitulated to advertiser pressure. Despite these pressures, eighty-five percent of the editors reported that their papers carry stories that advertisers "find critical or harmful."