Portuguese news media, in general, face a serious problem of economic survival: because the audience rates and circulation figures are generally very low, their major (or unique) source of income is advertising. But the advertising market itself is small for all the existing competitors, which puts them all under an enormous pressure, as they must accept either some unpleasant advertising formats or important price reductions. In recent years, it is more and more common to find ‘intrusions’ of advertising in the editorial area. In spite of this, all the editors interviewed in our sample strongly deny any abusive interference from external parties. Independence from advertisers is rather common in the biggest or more important news media, but the same does not apply to smaller companies (regional or local newspapers and radio stations).
Regarding sponsorship, some newspapers now have the good habit of informing readers whenever their reporters travel by invitation of some company or institution.
The big problem seems to be the economic weakness of Portuguese media companies. There is strong competition and, in such a scenario, it becomes easier for advertisers to get what they want; if they don’t, the likelihood is great that another competitor will.
