Commercial influence in newsrooms: Comparing strategies to resist pressure from owners and advertisers

The news industry in most democratic countries faces increasing commercial pressure. According to critical normative theories, this brings the risk of owners and advertisers influencing coverage and undermining the independence of the editorial staff, and thus the contribution of news media to democracy. In order to reduce commercial influence in newsrooms, several measures have been developed, both through theoretical analysis and journalistic practice. This chapter discusses two of them: the separation of the newsroom from ownership, management, and the sales department; and the diversity of revenue streams to ensure independence from single advertisers or sponsors. We assess to what extent these structural factors are upheld in leading news media across the 18 countries of the 2021 Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM). Our analysis shows that internal separation is still a reality in most news media, but economic pressure makes boundaries more porous. Some media reduced their dependence on single advertisers, but most outlets have become more susceptible to commercial interests as the advertising-based business model is proving to be less efficient.