Newspaper CEOs signal support for growing native advertising revenues
L:R Fairfax’s Greg Hywood, WAN’s Chris Wharton, News’s Julian Clarke, APN’s Michael Miller
Australia’s top newspaper CEOs have told a forum the market for native advertising in this country will only grow in the years to come.
The comments at last week’s Newspaper Works’ Future Forum come after several high profile attacks on the practice of native advertising, which sees brand-funded content placed alongside editorial on news sites.
“In the US we are seeing a big increase in the amount of marketing dollars which are being siphoned off (into native advertising),” said Michael Miller, CEO of APN News & Media.
Well, I never. So these guys think they can present advertising as editorial. And it will be OK. Earth to publishers: it’s not about the journos. It’s about the READERS. Why in God’s name would people read the SMH if they can’t tell whether the copy is real or an ad? This, after all, is the intent: to make ads look like editorial copy. FFS. We know you are desperate and that life is tough. But would you mind getting a grip on your role????
what a load of self serving twaddle!! So as masters of communication, you provide a convoluted and thinly veiled positioning of the admission you are after the $$ and little else matters. This is just a further confirmation that editorial independence is non existent. Newspapers are just Trojan horses for product promoters.
– newspapers are businesses, with ad revenue as the reason for being (LONG GONE IS THE 4TH ESTATE – There is no social or community responsibility within news papers.
– These guys ALL get paid for getting ad revenue and NOT for having edified readers
– So you are saying the ‘promoted product’ cannot stand the scrutiny of being positioned as a….. well a product advert…………to gain consumer buy in it needs to pretend it is useful editorial information.
– We already have enough ‘tricksy , sneaksy” methods of misrepresenting this is just a further admission that ethics are anachronistic and $$ rule.
I do wish these CEO’s would come clean and just say…….” we dont give a toss what goes in the paper, as long as its got ad revenue attached.” stop pretending you have any journalistic integrity or that you care.
Isn’t this called “passing off” in legalese? ie trying to give the impression that a product or service is one thing when it is actually something else – pretending.
Trust the newspaper industry to try to give this a respectable name – “native advertising” – what a crock it should be called “deceptive advertising”. It doesn’t matter how popular it is elsewhere or how much you try to give it credibility – it smells bad.
I just want to rush out to read the latest message from ANZ blue note? It is my favourite source of news. If only I could get the obeid edition of the smh my day would be made. Eddie has such clear commercials.