In-Text Ads Get Evil Eye From Journalists

I can be a somewhat cranky person, and as such, there is a fair amount of stuff that annoys me.  It turns out that a lot of writers share my dislike for one particular thing, though: in-text advertising.

You’ve seen ‘em: bold, double-underlined words that make small pop-ups erupt all over the screen.  They apparently manage to make money, or at least generate traffic – “Project Runway” is a recent example of something that benefited as a result of their use.  Still, in-text ads aren’t exactly welcome in most newsrooms.

“Many journalists believe that selling the words in a story blurs the line between editorial and ad content,” reports BusinessWeek.  “Some worry it creates an incentive to insert ad-linked words or order up certain types of stories.”

And those (serious) concerns aside, in-text ads are simply annoying; while I try to consider outside sources’ originality, credibility, and readability, I may compromise on any or all of those issues to avoid directing readers to a piece containing in-text ads.

Some sort of grand call to action would probably be pointless.  Nonetheless, these are issues that everyone should consider when encountering or employing in-text ads.