Opinion, marketing, advertising, information, and news
will weave together so seamlessly, in the on-line
environment, that the public will no longer be able to
distinguish objective reporting from promotional messages.
--Williams, 1998, p. 31
The distinction between news and advertising is believed by most journalists to be critical to
maintaining objective news coverage (Williams, 1998). This belief is based on the assumption
that integrating editorial and promotional content could erode the credibility of news
organizations and decrease public trust. Advertisements pay for 80 percent of the news hole for
U.S. newspapers and serve an important role in paying for the news (Brill, 1999). However,
research has shown that audiences trust news more than advertising content (Lacher & Rotfeld,
1994) and perceive a difference between information that is journalistic versus commercial in
nature (Grotta, Larkin, Carrell, 1976; Haley & Cunningham, 2003).
Despite pressure from some advertisers (Soley & Craig, 1992), most newspapers are
careful about not letting advertisers pretend their messages are news stories (Lacher & Rotfeld,
1994). However, studies suggest that integrative forms of advertising, such as advertorials,
product placements and infomercials, may confuse consumers and erode the credibility of news
organizations (Cameron & Curtin, 1995; Parsons & Rotfeld; Sandler & Secunda, 1993).
Internet sponsorships are a new form of advertising used by electronic newspapers (e-
newspapers). Sponsorships currently comprise more than one-third (37%) of all online ads and
accounted for $7.2 billion in online advertising revenues in 2001 (Hyland & Petrusky, 2002). An
Internet sponsor is described as “a person, company or organization that recognizes the inherent
worth and quality of a website and provides financial support or other support toward the upkeep
of the site” (Alexander & Tate, 1999, p. 24).
Internet sponsorships are an integrative form of advertising and are typically small and
text-based. A corporation creates a connection with a sponsee to try and influence consumer
perceptions with the connection. For example, Kraft might choose to sponsor the Food section of
an e-newspaper with the sponsorship, “Kraft: Feeding the hungry one person at a time.” The
presence of sponsorships in e-newspaper has prompted a debate about whether readers can tell
Convention