Media buyer IPG Mediabrands said it will be working with NewsGuard to create an exclusive tool to determine whether individual news channels and shows are reliable enough for its clients to advertise in.
The new tool will be available exclusively to Mediabrands clients and will be ready in time for the upfronts, the companies said.
“In this age of misinformation and disinformation, one of the most important things we can offer our clients is greater assurances that their media dollars are not supporting misleading content,” said Dani Benowitz, president, U.S., of Magna, Mediabrands’ global media investment and intelligence company. “NewsGuard is rapidly earning trust among viewers as an unbiased evaluator of news networks and sites. We are excited to be supporting NewsGuard as it goes one step further and rates the programs themselves.”
Mediabrands had already been working with NewsGuard to evaluate news websites based on criteria including credibility and transparency.
In addition to rating 117 shows on 27 broadcast and cable networks, Mediabrands will use NewsGuard ratings in a pre-planning capability for programmatic buying of digital advertising.
Some advertisers are leery of advertising on news. They create long lists of terms they don’t want their brands associated with, and the result is there isn’t enough revenue to support good reporting
Mediabrands and NewsGuard said their approach will support quality journalism while protecting advertisers. By recognizing that some programs on cable news, for example, are more journalistically vetted than others, the program-by-program ratings will give advertisers more options to consider.
“Our team of experienced journalists with diverse backgrounds brings a determinedly apolitical and transparent approach to ratings of news outlets,” said Gordon Crovitz, co-CEO of NewsGuard.
“We are gratified to have a partner in Mediabrands as we expand our mission of rating the trustworthiness of news sources now to include the assessment of the spectrum of TV news, from morning shows to nightly, host-driven opinion programs. With this expansion of our partnership, Mediabrands, which has already made NewsGuard’s services for programmatic advertising available to its clients, now becomes a leader in providing brands with responsible advertising assurance across a full range of advertising venues and media.” ■
