Media Branding and Media Marketing: Conflicts with Journalistic Norms, Risks of Trial and Error

This contribution analyzes why media companies are “late bloomers” in the field of branding and marketing. Thereafter, it focuses on different instruments of media branding and media marketing and the ethical conflicts which may arise between branding (as a long term strategy to create and to improve brand value and to preserve journalistic values) and “trial and error” marketing efforts which may—particularly in the “upper quality segment” of media markets—work at short term but endanger journalistic credibility, and thus, brand value. The major research question for this article is: how can the branding perspective within media support professional and ethical journalistic values, and do some marketing efforts conflict with a branding strategy?