Partisan Politics, Market Research, and Media Buying in Canada, 1920

During the 1910s, the Canadian newspaper industry consolidated as dailies closed, chains formed, and rivals cooperated through press associations and news services. The standard explanation for these changes links them to trends in the national economy. Developments in the advertising trade may offer a better explanation. Traditionally, advertisers used papers that shared their political leanings. As advertising agencies adopted new media buying practices, however, they claimed to use only papers with high circulation. This research tests their claims empirically to see where five politically partisan agencies placed their ads in 1920.