Advertising as a source of dissatisfaction: cross-national evidence

Re:Advertising as a source of dissatisfaction: cross-nationa... by taffer on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @05:53PM (#20034795)

If there were no explicit advertising, companies would use other, hidden means to reach customers' minds. Today in the press we have a more or less clear distinction between advertising and content, and I think if we banned advertising it would create an unintended incentive that could lead to the destruction of unbiased journalism as we know it today.

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Re:Advertising as a source of dissatisfaction: cross-nationa... by anoncake on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @08:48PM (#20035896)

> Today in the press we have a more or less clear distinction between advertising and content,

You have heard of native advertising haven't you? Of course ethical journalists refuse to do this. They will still refuse when ordinary ads have been banned.

On the other hand, ads make the press less independent. No matter how much you try to avoid it: If someone buys ads in your publication they have influence over you. Be too critical of them and they'll withdraw their funding. They won't openly threaten you, of course, because that is not legal and not necessary.

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Re:Advertising as a source of dissatisfaction: cross-nationa... by cwkoss on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @08:23PM (#20035765)

> companies would use other, hidden means to reach customers' minds.

This is currently done extensively, despite advertising existing. So this doesn't seem like a valid counterpoint.

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Re:Advertising as a source of dissatisfaction: cross-nationa... by taffer on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @08:30PM (#20035800)

I explain why this is a valid counterpoint in the second sentence of my post: Today in the press we have a more or less clear distinction between advertising and content, and I think if we banned advertising it would create an unintended incentive that could lead to the destruction of unbiased journalism as we know it today.

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Re:Advertising as a source of dissatisfaction: cross-nationa... by cwkoss on Tuesday May 28, 2019 @08:39PM (#20035846)

I think the distinction between advertising and content is a lot more blurry than you realize. The majority of 'news' articles begin from some company's press release, product placement is common in fictional worlds, and journalists frequently self-censor to avoid displeasing advertisers.

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