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The Rest Is Advertising

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The Rest Is Advertising

Confessions of a Sponsored Content Writer

The Baffler,

5 min read
5 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Can “sponsored content” solve journalism’s funding problems? Or will marketers cannibalize the industry?

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Can “sponsored content” save traditional journalism from its funding crisis? In this pointed and timely article, contributing editor of The Baffler, Jacob Silverman, offers an incisive first-person account of the experience of writing sponsored content. In the course of this telling, Silverman provides detailed analysis of how “content marketing” affects journalistic standards and why, rather than saving traditional journalism, “brand partners” will, in fact, cannibalize the industry. getAbstract recommends this article to media professionals and followers of journalism and publishing trends.

Summary

In the past, the journalist-advertiser relationship was simple: Brands paid to place their ads alongside the journalistic content readers enjoyed. Nowadays, however, even the highest-regarded traditional publications, such as The Atlantic, feature “content marketing” – a new form of advertising. Unlike traditional advertising, publishers themselves produce “sponsored content” with the help of professional journalists on behalf of brands. Furthermore, this content is “integrated” into the publication. Unless readers pay close attention...

About the Author

Jacob Silverman is a contributing editor of The Baffler and author of the book Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection.

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