Fake news: Sham ads are just as confusing

Re: “Real journalism requires time, truth,” (Karen Peterson column, TNT, 11/27).

With all the publicity that the “fake news” issue has raised, let’s indeed remember the good work that journalists and editors do every day to bring us legitimate news. However, media companies may need to take heed of similar trends in advertising.

In newspapers, full page ads often “look” similar to news stories (with small disclaimers). Online ads with “newsy” headlines (I call these “fake ads”) are so prevalent on media websites that readers may have a hard time discerning the actual news on the page, which in my opinion shamefully diminishes the journalism.

While advertising is an important revenue stream, editors and marketing directors need to come together and work harder on this problem before more readers are lost to sheer confusion.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 7:40 PM with the headline "Fake news: Sham ads are just as confusing."