Breaking news and sponsored content

This study examines to what degree native advertisements are relevant or irrelevant to the breaking news stories in which they are embedded on mobile news applications. Additionally, this study investigates the denotative and connotative interpretations that relevant native ads generate. A content analysis was conducted of breaking news headlines and native advertisements on five mobile news applications (apps). Data was collected by means of screenshots that were then coded and analyzed. Once the data was coded, the native ads were ranked in order of the most matching descriptive topic codes relative to their breaking news stories. Lastly, a semiotic analysis was conducted of the four most relevant native advertisements by incorporating Morris' (1964) foundational work in semiotic sign theory. Integrating advertising methods such as native advertising into digital news content technologies like mobile applications pose new challenges for both advertisers and content providers. In the context of a breaking news story, a viewer may interpret an advertisement with varied connotative meanings that were unintended by the advertiser or content provider.