ABSTRACT
The United States media are commercial. What exactly does this mean? A casual response might be, “There are ads.” And indeed, that’s part of the answer; advertising makes up a substantial portion of our media content. Advertising provides the financial support for most media, and for some media is the only source of revenue. The ensuing trade-offs are the ongoing stuff of pride-advertising helps make media available free or at lower cost, without possible dependence on government subsidy-and controversy.
