What Is Sponsored Content (and the Impact on Journalism)?

Since sponsored content (or native advertising) is often indistinguishable from real journalism, it’s understandable that the practice raises ethical concerns. However, this type of advertising revenue not only makes it possible for news outlets to continue operating, it pays well, which means many freelance journalists and nonfiction writers can also stay afloat.

(How to Keep an Ideas File as a Journalist.)

Does it harm or undermine journalism? Possibly. It’s an interesting dilemma so let’s dig a little deeper.

Sponsored content, also known as native advertising, is a type of advertisement where brands or businesses pay publishers to write content promoting their products or services. It’s designed to blend seamlessly with a publication’s regular content. They can be presented in the form of articles, blogs, social media posts, and videos. For this column, we’ll stick to their use as articles in publications such as online news channels, magazines, and newspapers.

In the US the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandates transparency in advertising and endorsements, and sponsored content must be clearly labeled.  These labels can range from “paid post,” “sponsored content,” and “branded content,” to, “this article was written for our sponsor…”

The problem arises when we think we’re reading editorial content because we fail to notice the disclosure. This can be perceived as deceptive and could possibly threaten the credibility of a newspaper or news channel.

In a Center for Journalism Ethics article Ava Sirrah, a professor at New York University’s Stern School of business, cites a 2016 study published in American Behavioral Scientist. “Peer-reviewed research shows that even if a native ad has a disclosure label…a majority of people miss the label entirely,” she adds that the study showed that more than 30 percent of readers never even glanced at disclosures. “The labels might as well have been invisible to the majority of readers who gazed over the content.”

There is also the danger that news outlets publishing paid “stories” that mimic real articles are perilously close to breaching the sacred boundary separating reporting and advertising. This can compromise journalistic integrity. Traditional media is already facing many challengers, from AI to credibility issues, and sponsored content raises further concerns over conflict of interest and possible bias. As we all know, ethically, media outlets should avoid favoring advertisers or allow them to influence or dictate news coverage.

Sponsored content is nothing new and it’s not going away anytime soon. After all, it’s profitable and keeps news organizations in business. Many traditional media publications now have their own sponsored content platforms, separate from their editorial departments, such as The New York Times’ T Brand Studio, The Atlantic’s Re:Think Brand Studio, and HuffPost’s Partner Studio. 

Newspapers and magazines have featured sponsored content, previously called advertorials, for decades. The disclosures I would argue were probably more obvious to readers of print publications. In fact, my first paid gig as a journalist in Wales was writing advertising features for a local newspaper while someone was on maternity leave. As a full-time reporter, writing the occasional advertising feature was part of my job. I recall promoting a local butcher and a new Mexican restaurant on the town square. But I must emphasize again that these articles were clearly labeled with large, bold headings, impossible to miss.

And for full disclosure, as a freelance writer, I have written several pieces of sponsored content in the past five years, and I can attest that they pay very well. To write this type of content, we utilize all our journalism skills, including interviewing sources, researching, and using the same article structure as we would in journalism. The difference is of course that while we do often discuss current and relevant issues in such pieces, such as the use of AI and DEI programs, we are given the topic, scope of the story, and the sources—such as an employee of the firm that’s paying for the content. This is why in my bio and on my resume, I use the title journalist and writer, because, as we’ve discussed, when I write this type of content, I’m a freelance writer, not a journalist. The distinction is important and one I take seriously.  

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Since it’s not a new concept or practice, overall, it depends on how the piece is presented. It raises issues when consumers don’t realize they’re reading an advertisement because the label is hard to spot. Sponsored content is written just like a story in the style and voice of the publication. It’s designed to blend in with regular content, and this can be misleading. Digital platforms are vastly different to print publications, and it’s easier to overlook labels, however clearly marked they may seem to publishers. It’s really now up to the reader to be savvy and check what they’re consuming.

It’s a fine line and balance.

News organizations are incentivized to foster reader trust, while they simultaneously keep their sites alive with revenue from these types of ads. Businesses depend on the publication’s good reputation and integrity. Otherwise, why would they pay so much for sponsored content? So, it’s a symbiotic partnership and one that will probably continue and grow.

It's not necessarily a bright future for “real” journalism. And unless you’re in with the glossies, the pay is low for most freelance journalists struggling to make it. So, you can’t blame us generalists for diversifying. Did I mention sponsored content pays ridiculously well? I made $3,000 for one, albeit rather long, sponsored content feature article. That’s the most I’ve ever been paid for a single project. Journalism pieces just can’t compete.

Freelance journalist Jacob Silverman purposefully wrote anonymously for The Atlantic’s Re:think Brand Studio, and admits, “It was money that got me into the sponsored content racket.” He sums it up well in, The Rest is Advertising: Confessions of a Sponsored Content Writer: “The problem, as I learned all too quickly when I wrote my sponsored story for The Atlantic (paid for by a prominent tech multinational), is that the line between what’s sponsored and what isn’t—between advertising and journalism—has already been rubbed away. Whether it can be redrawn will depend less on the hand-wringing of professional idealists and more on the wavering resolve of an industry that, hearing chronic news of the apocalypse, has begun to quake and ask, Is it too late to convert?”