Navigating Major Corporations, News and Advertising

Tee Willis
tw532416@ohio.edu


With many advertisers sponsoring and contributing to revenue generation, a lot of major companies are dictating what can and can't be said or done. Corporations have ultimately begun to dictate how they are portrayed in the media and have in many ways sparked a debate about where the line should be drawn.

VNRs
A major problem we see in the media today are VNRs. These news releases are made to look like news packages and news reports but typically come from PR firms and major companies to influence viewers' thoughts and opinions on their brand or product. It is problematic for professional media organizations to use these video segments because they don't always tell the truth and since it comes directly from the company, it is often subjective and reported in a way that's one-sided.


Investors and Ownership
It can also be dangerous if that company has a major say in the profits and revenue of a media organization. For instance, The Walt Disney Company owns ESPN, one of the biggest leaders in sports news and coverage in the world. Because of Disney's history and "family friendly" background, the company has a certain image to uphold, and all affiliates of the company are apart of that as well.

In 2017,  Jemele Hill, an ESPN SportsCenter correspondent, spoke out on Twitter against President Donald Trump. The journalist called him a "white supremacist" among many other controversial remarks. The story made national news coverage and ESPN suspended her for an extended amount of time as they tried to handle the situation and please not only the viewers of their channels, but its advertisers, shareholders, and affiliates as well. The story also addressed what power companies should have over their workers' social media and personal accounts as well as the amount of power the government should have on media.

Ads
Ads have the simple purpose of endorsing a product or brand, but they have become something more over time. With the rise of social media and television, there has been a rise in ads as well. Companies now spend ridiculous amounts of money per year on marketing and advertising to get their brands out there.

Along with those advertisements have emerged "social influencers." These are typically people on different social media with some type of following or influence. These influencers can have anywhere from thousands to millions of followers and range from bloggers to musicians and anything in between.
Most Americans now get their news from their mobile devices and with everyone on the go, people are seeing more ads now than they ever have before. Advertisers look to social media stars now more than newspapers and television. The problem is however that many advertisers have created binding agreements with these stars that shape what they can and can't say about their product, how they say it, and when they do it.

While advertisers want what's best for their company, they also have to think about what's best for the people and personal brands that they sponsor. There has to be some type of common ground that must be met in order for the advertiser and influencer to be happy and continue their work.