For two years, The Cavalier Daily has housed written advertisements on their digital platform. Under the section’s former name, Brand Link, written articles would serve to promote a product or service to readers. These articles were not written by members of The Cavalier Daily staff — the company or organization seeking to have their product advertised would provide the article text in full. Rates for these types of articles range from $300 to $800 per article depending on how long the article will be visible on the website. The new Cavalier Daily website boasts a similar section under a new name — Sponsored Content.
Because these articles appear to be typical journalistic content on the paper’s website, they generate controversy and questions about ethics and authenticity. The 126th staff of the Cavalier Daily under Editor-in-Chief Julia Horowitz discussed and debated the issue for months before ultimately deciding in favor of hosting sponsored content on the website.
Before the recent website re-design, the Brand Link landing page was relatively populated — though the articles there may have been a few weeks old, the space was filled with money-making textual advertisements. Indeed, the new website, first unveiled in August, also includes a section dedicated to sponsored content on the homepage. However, the only article populating the landing page here is an expository piece by Editor-in-Chief Mike Reingold explaining the purpose and structure of sponsored content articles.
With ad sales making up a majority of the paper’s revenue, a major push should be made to fill digital space, like that gaping from the Sponsored Content landing page. Requiring relatively little work on the part of the ads and production staff, there are no layout requirements or space constraints in the physical newspaper to limit this content. This coupled with The Cavalier Daily’s rates for this type of content — $300 to $800 per article, depending on how long the article will be visible — represents a hugely advantageous return on investment.
Beyond the missed financial opportunity the empty “Sponsored Content” page presents, a news publication’s main purpose is staying up to date on information and promoting relevant topics to its readership. For any page to have not received maintenance or attention and remain essentially blank for months after the site was unveiled falls short of one of the major values of a news media organization — refreshment. Each page of a media website should be updated relatively frequently to promote an image of quickness and attentiveness and uphold the reputation of the publication.
The Cavalier Daily should recognize the major financial benefit of promoting sponsored content, as well as the basic function of generating reader interest by continually updating website content, and take advantage of this empty landing page.
Candace Carter is the Public Editor for The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com.
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