1 Encyclopedia of Journalism Christopher H. Sterling Editor Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA ADVERTISING HISTORY by Jef Richards, Terry Daugherty & Kelty Logan Advertising is ubiquitous. It surrounds us, it lands in our mailbox (both real and virtual), and it interrupts our favorite forms of entertainment. To truly understand it, though, we need to first define what it is and what it is not. Definition of Advertising Advertising is “a paid, mediated, form of communication from an identifiable source, designed to persuade the reader to take some action, now or in the future.” The term “mediated” means, simply, that some medium like television or newspaper or even the Internet conveys the message from sender to receiver, as opposed to direct “in-person” communication. The term “identifiable source” distinguishes advertising from wholly anonymous communications, such as those found in some unsolicited e-mail. The “action” can be buying a product or service, but it also can be directed at voting behavior during an election, or it might even entail not-for-profit social behavior like recycling, saving your money, saving the whales, or preventing abortion. Of course, one aspect of this definition that clearly makes it stand apart from most concepts of journalism is the phrase “designed to persuade.” Its persuasive purpose is unambiguous, yet advertising does have strong ties to the field of journalism. Relationship to Journalism