The Impact of Advertising on Media Bias

Gal-Or, Esther, Tansev Geylani, and T. Pinar Yildirim. "The impact of advertising on media bias." Journal of Marketing Research 49.1 (2012): 92-99.

9 Pages Posted: 12 Aug 2010 Last revised: 30 Oct 2018

See all articles by Esther Gal-Or

Esther Gal-Or

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business

Tansev Geylani

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business

Pinar Yildirim

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School; University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: August 1, 2012

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigate the role of advertising in affecting the extent of bias in the media. When making advertising choices, advertisers evaluate both the size and the composition of the readership of the different outlets. The profile of the readers matters since advertisers wish to target readers who are likely to be receptive to their advertising messages. It is demonstrated that when advertising supplements subscription fees, it may serve as a polarizing or moderating force, contingent upon the extent of heterogeneity among advertisers. When heterogeneity is large, each advertiser chooses a single outlet for placing ads (Single-Homing), and greater polarization arises in comparison to the case that media relies on subscription fees only for revenues. In contrast, when heterogeneity is small, each advertiser chooses to place ads in multiple outlets (Multi-Homing), and reduced polarization results. For intermediate levels of heterogeneity, some advertisers choose to Single-Home and others choose to Multi-Home.

Keywords: Media Competition, Bias in News, Advertising, Two-Sided Markets

JEL Classification: M3, L1, L82

Suggested Citation

Gal-Or, Esther and Geylani, Tansev and Yildirim, Pinar, The Impact of Advertising on Media Bias (August 1, 2012). Gal-Or, Esther, Tansev Geylani, and T. Pinar Yildirim. "The impact of advertising on media bias." Journal of Marketing Research 49.1 (2012): 92-99., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1657010

Esther Gal-Or (Contact Author)

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business ( email )

Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

Tansev Geylani

University of Pittsburgh - Katz Graduate School of Business ( email )

Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

Pinar Yildirim

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School ( email )

3641 Locust Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6365
United States

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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