Have publishers lost control of online ad content?

While many news publishers will pride themselves on the separation of editorial and advertising content (or church and state as it is often referred), meaning that editorial content will not (should not) be swayed by commercial pressures, there is absolutely nothing wrong with an editor exercising some editorial control over the type of advertising their publications carry.

This is why some publications do not carry the type of advertising that other (we’ll say less scrupulous) publishers are happy to print in “family” newspapers.

I’ve personally worked with editors who have gladly turned away thousands of pounds of “easy” advertising revenue from advertisers whose morals don’t match the editorial principals of a publication.

This policy of policing advertising works well in the print environment. No advertising sales manager wants to pick up the phone to hear an angry editor screaming (and I’ve heard this): “What the hell is that advert doing in my paper?”

However, in the online world where advertising sales is often farmed out to third-party vendors, controlling what commercial messages appear alongside editorial content isn’t so easy – as, according to reports on Guido Fawkes – (warning if easily offended please don’t click on the link), The Guardian recently discovered.

While many comments on the article, highlighted the fact that this type of advertising is tailored by the reader’s personal browsing history and has nothing to do with publisher, I’m not sure any respectable publisher would want their platform to support any advertisers or advertising networks carrying such messages.

You might argue that this is yet another example of Google making an “ass” out of The Guardian.

However, if advertising networks and newspaper proprietors are to develop long term, profitable relationships – the tech guys are going to have to do something to clean up their act.

Algorithms are fine, most of the time, when approving advertising content – but until the technology improves – nothing beats an editor’s eye or moral guidance.