[lit-ideas] Re: Rules of advertising and journalism

  • From: John McCreery <mccreery@xxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 11:21:06 +0900

On 2004/04/12, at 10:39, Torgeir Fjeld wrote:

> Concerning the discussion of the aesthetic and communicative economy 
> of advertising, I'd just like to add that it's kinda difficult to
> define the borders of advertising, and that this may have some impact 
> of how we relate to the issue. I'm thinking particularly of
> advertising's relation to journalism.

As I recall (though my memory may betray me), there is a nice 
discussion of this issue in Guy Cook's _Discourse of Advertising_. 
Advertising is parasitic on other forms of discourse and is constantly 
rummaging through them in its endless search for new ways to grab 
attention and become more persuasive. The boundary between advertising 
and journalism is, predictably, a hotly contested one. Ideally the 
journalist is the perfect objective witness and what the news reports 
is only carefully checked and tested facts. The reporter is cleanly 
separated from the editor or op-ed commentator whose writing conveys 
opinions. Both are seen as separated by huge chasm from advertising 
creatives who are seen as professional sophists for hire, employed to 
bedazzle and beguile naive consumers.

In historical retrospect it is, however, clear that this scheme itself 
is a relatively modern development and one that is now being eroded by 
the same sorts of market forces described in my other messages. On the 
one hand, advertisers in search of greater credibility are persuaded to 
sponsor "advertorials" (ads that mimic editorial content) and to 
participate in "special supplements," sections in business magazines in 
which (typically highly flattering) coverage of their industry frames 
ads placed by participants. On the other, journalists forced to compete 
for advertising revenues are pressed to dramatize their coverage and 
adopt a tabloid style that focuses on the stylish and shocking instead 
of on matters of substance. Once again, boundaries blur and meaning 
flows.



John L. McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd.
55-13-202 Miyagaya, Nishi-ku
Yokohama, Japan 220-0006

Tel 81-45-314-9324
Email mccreery@xxxxxxx

"Making Symbols is Our Business"

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