Starting this week, you’ll see something new on NHPR.org. We’ve launched a new revenue initiative, adding what people in the media business call “sponsored content” to the underwriting options we make available to corporate sponsors.
Sponsored content (or “paid posts,” as we’re labeling this material) has existed in many guises for decades. Newspaper and magazine readers are familiar with special sections written and paid for by advertisers (sometimes called advertorial). TV stations and cable channels sell half-hour time slots to a wide range of marketers. Paid posts have become a regular offering on news websites, as well.
Jim Schachter, NHPR President and CEO, answered these questions about NHPR’s sponsored content initiative:
NHPR describes itself as a nonprofit, independent news organization. How can readers be confident of your newsroom’s editorial independence when you are running sponsored content messages on NHPR.org?
Corporate sponsors never have any influence over our journalists’ reporting, as our Code of Ethics makes plain. As the Code states, “we believe our strength as a business is premised solely on high-quality, independent journalism in the public interest,” adding, “those who fund NHPR do so in the knowledge that NHPR’s journalism serves only the public.” NHPR’s news and editorial teams are independent of our business units and are not involved in the production of sponsored content.
Additionally, the guidelines we’ve established state that we “will not accept any sponsored content that presents a sponsor’s political views or its position on any matter of current controversy in political discourse.” We also won’t publish paid posts that in any way contest our journalism. We studied sponsored content programs at other news organizations when crafting our own guidelines, relying heavily on research by the national Institute for Nonprofit News.
How can I distinguish between news content and sponsored content on NHPR.org?
It's mission critical for NHPR to ensure you’re not confused about whether what you're seeing is news or a sponsored post. To that end, we've gone to great lengths to distinguish it as much as possible on our website. Each piece of sponsored content is labeled “PAID POST,” and those words are repeated in the headline, so they travel to social media if the post is shared. Additionally, the typographical font used for paid posts differs from that used for news content. On the NHPR.org homepage, where we are restricted to a single font family, promotional blocks for paid posts are shaded gray to differentiate them from news headlines. Finally, there is language at both the top and bottom of each paid post identifying it as such.
Why pursue this now?
NHPR is always striving to diversify its revenue streams. That’s particularly important now. The competition for corporate sponsorship dollars is fierce, and the availability of sponsored content options increasingly is part of marketers’ expectations. Also, traditional sources of revenue for public media - notably, federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - are under attack by some policymakers in Washington. To mitigate that risk, NHPR needs to fortify local funding sources, including our underwriting programs.
Do other news organizations publish sponsored content? What about public media?
Yes. WBUR, one of the public radio stations in Boston, has a variety of sponsored content offerings. In Philadelphia, WHYY’s digital affiliate, BillyPenn, runs sponsored content. KUT in Austin has published sponsored posts in its newsletters. In addition, nonprofit and for-profit news media producing sponsored content include The Texas Tribune, The New York Times, and many others.
NHPR is mostly funded by donations, right? What role does corporate support play in the revenue mix?
Corporate support contributes nearly 25 percent of NHPR’s annual revenue - about $2 million - making it the second largest revenue source in our budget. Contributions from individual donors are the biggest source - about $5.6 million, representing more than 60 percent of annual revenue. Sponsorship and donations from local businesses and individuals are the foundation of NHPR’s financial sustainability.
My business or nonprofit is interested in running a sponsored content campaign. Whom do I contact?
Please reach out to Tim Brady, director of corporate support: tbrady@nhpr.org.
If I have other questions about NHPR’s sponsored content initiative, how can I get answers?
You can write to me: president@nhpr.org.
