COVID-19 shows us why quality journalism matters, but brands are contributing to its demise
Brands are blocking ads from appearing next to important news stories, meaning they miss out on some of the most engaging content an audience will see in a day, and media owners face plummeting ad revenues that threaten newsrooms. As the BBC’s Jamie Chambers argues, marketers must take some responsibility for this.
Recent news of huge audience growth amongst news publishers is once again proving the value of quality news in times of need. However, this was almost lost in a sea of reports of media companies making deep cuts in response to advertisers cutting spend.
COVID-19 is again highlighting just how important news is in people’s lives, helping them understand and gain perspective on key issues and events. But as well as reaching huge, engaged audiences, major news events like the pandemic, Trump’s impeachment inquiry, Brexit, and the bushfires also had something else in common – advertisers pulling campaigns and reflexively updating keyword blocking lists to ensure their advertisements don’t appear next to news about these topics.
In the current era, brand advertisers should be crying out for engaged audiences, but instead, we see the opposite. Brands that target away from news at scale, with little analysis or evidence to support this knee-jerk reaction, contribute to the demise of great journalism that serves the public – their customers – and robs them of some of the most effective advertising environments.
