The state of Advertising in the digital environment This blog focuses on discussing and summarising the state of advertising in the digital environment. It’s not the state of advertising that should be questioned it is its role in funding the press generally. It is its use that should be queried. If advertising is used to fund the fourth estate the phrase “freedom of the press” becomes meaningless. If products and businesses are being funded by advertising and the press is also being funded by the same advertising and therefore influenced by it, there can be no real freedom of the press. Journalism must be biased because of the dual role of advertising. Any funding is going to cause a lack of independence of view. It follows that criticism of the product, the advertising of which is your “bread and butter” cannot be impartial. Otherwise, you are going to lose your funding; so, the only alternative is to move in favour of the product. Take Google for instance: the