Use of embedded advertising in digital journalism

Although there is a link between the ability of the press to continue its activities economically and the continuity of its advertising earnings, journalism needs to remain its editorial independence. Advertising, which is nearly an indispensable element for the media sector, can be a determinant on the media sector both directly or indirectly. Media establishments have begun to transform their organizational structures and working practices with the influence of digitalization processes. In this context, activities related to the fields of journalism and advertising started to take area in a more complex structure. The aim of this thesis is to reveal how embedded advertisements in editorial form, which are used as a sustainable income model for digital newspapers and erode the border between journalism and advertising, are used in news sites as well as production practices. In line with this purpose, embedded advertisements with editorial appearance published between October 1, 2018, and May 31, 2019, on 12 different news sites were analyzed by content analysis method. Afterwards, in-depth interviews were conducted with eleven media professionals who worked at different levels of the production and sales stages of embedded advertisements between February 9, 2021, and March 17, 2021. The study consists of four main parts. In the first part, the basic elements in the historical process from the emergence of news production activities to the commercialization of the media and the emergence of large communication monopolies are mentioned. At the same time, it has been clarified how the new media is transforming journalism, news production and consumption practices, and the dynamics that lead media organizations to seek new revenue models in journalism, as well as revealing the practices of citizen journalism. In the second chapter, since the transformations imposed on journalism by the media industry with the effect of digitalization will have an impact on journalism ethics, the ethical issue is included with the basic concepts of journalism. In the third section, how the phenomenon of communication has turned into an industry, what functions of news production and advertising in mass society are taking place, based on the evaluations of critical theorists. In the fourth chapter, how the concept of embedded advertising came to light, researches examining embedded advertising in terms of journalism discipline, and the analysis of the data obtained from the content analysis and in-depth interviews conducted within the scope of the research are included. According to the data of the research, embedded advertisements published in editorial form on news sites cause eroding of the separation between news and advertisements.