The Process of Gate keeping in Broadcast Advertising: A Case Study of the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA)
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Date
2010
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study examines the gatekeeping process of broadcast advertisements. It
tries to explore the basic principles of gate keeping of the broadcast
advertisements in Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA), identifies the
major challenges in the process and explores how ERTA defines its media
responsibility role in relation to selection criteria of advertisements.
I use the qualitative research methodology for the data analysis. Purposive
and snow ball sampling techniques used in the research. In-depth interview,
observation and documents are main data gathering techniques that I used for
the research. Social responsibility theory is the major theoretical frame work
used for the research, which "emphasized freedom, it holds that responsibility
is necessarily a partner to freedom in institutional behavior". In the
advertisement selection process, the gatekeepers in ERTA refer to the
advertising manual of the institution. Legal and ethical frameworks; marketing
concerns and respect to institutional policies are the grounds for advertising
gatekeeping of ERTA.
The major forms of gatekeeping are categorized as reviewing advertising content,
checking production quality, cost of air-time and placement. Un-updated advertising
manual, lack or limited training, the pressure of the customers on the gatekeepers,
dominated personal interpretations, problem of technical quality control, the disparity
of execution between advertising manual and editorial policy of ERTA are some of the
challenges of advertising gatekeeping.
The research findings show that there are inconsistent decisions over
advertisements; some contents and forms of advertisements do not have the
parameter in the advertising manual of the institution; the advertisers and
advertising agencies give little or no attention to ethical and legal obligations;
ERTA did not publicize its advertising manual to its customers; unhealthy
relation between advertising agencies and ERTA; no code of advertising ethics;
and the absence of advertising law at the national level are among the findings
of the study.
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Keywords
Ethiopian Radio and Television, Agency, ERTA