Study finds 'stealth ads' in newscasts

Media Credit: Brenna Cheyney

The barrier between news content and advertising in broadcast television may be crumbling.

According to a study recently published in the journal Electronic News, authored by two University professors and a former journalism doctoral student, there is increasing pressure from advertisers to integrate ads in newscasts, and small markets are most likely to promote advertisers during news stories.

The study was conducted over four months in 2004 and included 17 U.S. stations broadcasting early-evening news in a variety of markets. The types of "stealth advertising" studied included product placements, stories about a single business, segment sponsorship, and using a specific business as the sole example of a news story's theme.

Study author Jim Upshaw, who worked with former University student Gennadiy Chernov on the study, said the study is just the beginning of research and leaves many questions unanswered. He said with an even larger sample and over a longer period of time, "then you would get a firm grip on what's happening in the industry."

Despite the preliminary nature of the findings, both Upshaw and co-author David Koranda said questions they had about the nature of the situation prompted them to begin researching whether television news content is being increasingly influenced by advertisers who want more for their advertising dollars.

Viewers may not be aware of the commercial aspects of news content.

"A lot of the stuff is not directly detectable on the first pass," Upshaw said. Viewers may not realize a news story contained visual images of a single store or brand, or be aware of the logo on a reporter's jacket.

In its report "The State of the News Media 2007," the Project for Excellence in Journalism stated that while television news remained most Americans' choice for local news, Nielson Ratings for local newscasts were down in all measurements. This plunge may be adding to pressure from advertisers for promotion within news content.

The report also states the public is increasingly concerned with advertiser influence on news content. In its survey, the group found nearly half of respondents said it would make a "big difference" to them if they knew advertisers were influencing content. Three-fourths said they would be less likely to watch if there was product placement in the newscast, although only 21 percent could recall having seen a sponsored segment.

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