Catchy titles, obscure headlines, the words ‘sex, sex, sex’ written across every page on the web. Why? Because it means people will visit the site. People are becoming outraged and saying that anything published on the web is simply an attempt to draw viewers. But is this so different from how the world has always worked?

Advertising has been key in all forms of media communications for as long as there has being media. They say advertising is the income of the media industry, and people are starting to say it is a bad thing. That articles are led by the amount of advertising they receive from a company, and that they are biased towards what they are advertising. I once saw an article for why ‘coke’ is better than ‘pepsi’ right next to a pepsi ad. Advertising in media is no different today than it has ever been.

People are also saying that this outburst of sudden internet publications has lowered the circulation of more common forms of media, and that now that anyone can have their own opinion the proper media place is ruined. Trust me, this isn’t so. When radio came out, they said that was the end of the newspaper, same thing when the television came around, and yet statistics show newspapers are still the largest way in which news is published. As for the annoyance that anyone can have their opinion, isn’t that the point of the media in the first place? To protect each and every single persons right to free speech.

Lay off the internet, and the advertisers.  They are simply doing their job, attempting to give us a voice in any way they can. And if it means an ad for porn next to an article on protecting our children from dirty sites, well then that is just damn good (as well as ironical humour) advertising.

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