Publishers assert negative news coverage doesn’t impact advertisers
Speaking at an Independent Media Agencies Australia (IMAA) panel on Thursday, ThinkNewsBrands CEO Vanessa Lyons emphasised the importance of brand safety in the news environment, acknowledging a ‘church and state’ dynamic, by which journalistic independence and commercial partnerships must co-exist in harmony.
“We will always advocate that [journalists] have the right to write want they want to,” she said. “Their job is to write for their audience and not be swayed by [commercial and advertising].”
“However, every business exists to make money otherwise they will go to dust.”
L-R: Vanessa Lyons, CEO, ThinkNewsBrands; Paul Blackburn, director commercial data video and product, News Corp Australia; Aimie Rigas, director of audience developmnt, Publishing, Nine; Jakeb Waddell, sports editor, Seven West Media
The panel was a part of the official launch event for the IMAA Academy News and Publishing Module, with Lyons joined by other panelists Paul Blackburn (News Corp Australia), Aimie Rigas (Nine Publishing) and Jakeb Waddell (Seven West Media).
Weighing in from an editorial perspective, Waddell, who is sports editor at SWM, said it was important for journalist to find a middle ground.
“You’ve got be able to really trust in what you’re doing,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t [accommodate advertiser’s requests].”
Rigas, Nine Publishing’s director audience development, added that it was critical for publishers to report all of the news in order to build trust.
“The reason that we’re successful and we do have commercial partnerships is because of that,” she said. “So I would say that just because there is negative coverage, it doesn’t always have to impact negatively on the results of the clients.”
Blackburne, director of commercial data, video and product at News Corp, bolstered Rigas’ point, noting that “the research has proven” that negative coverage doesn’t impact advertisers.
“But that obviously doesn’t alleviate the concerns that marketers have from a digital perspective,” he continued. “We have the ability to make sure that we do keep your brand safe in our environment.”
“Our data capability allows us to make sure that, within pinpoint accuracy, we keep them away from the negative sentiment and only have their ads sitting in a digital environment that have positive sentiment.”
The IMAA event also saw guests given a live demonstration of its News and Publishing accreditation, which has been launched in partnership with ThinkNewsBrands.
It marked the industry body’s first in person IMAA Academy learning experience.
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topics
Aimie Rigas
IMAA
Jakeb Waddell
News Corp Australia
Nine
Paul Blackburn
Seven West Media
ThinkNewsBrands
Vanessa Lyons
Of course negative news coverage doesn’t impact advertisers. Negative news is what drives the whole business model: scared people buy stuff. Kind of evil when you think about it…
User ID not verified.
Hi Question,
Blackburn was asserting that negative news sentiment published in a publication does not negatively effect the outcomes for its advertisers. I hope that makes sense!
Kalila
Did Blackburn mean that negative research doesn’t impact advertiser appetite or it doesn’t affect the brand’s reputation?
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