Press coverage and public perception of direct marketing and consumer privacy

This study begins to fill a void in the literature by addressing three important but as yet unanswered questions. First, how much have the media covered the consumer privacy issue and how have they focused their coverage of this issue? The research reported here examines five leading newspapers’ coverage of privacy issues relating to direct marketing, from 1984 through 1992. Second, how salient is the privacy issue to the public and has that salience increased over time? The study examines available public opinion, over time, about the issue. And third, is there any evidence to suggest that media salience of the issue is leading to public salience of the issue? The findings suggest that public concern was high even before the increases in media coverage in the mid-1980s, and that the dramatic increases in frequency of coverage have little relationship to public salience. Future research should examine the role of real-world cue measures—such as the frequency of telemarketing calls and direct mail pieces. Finally, this study indicates that the direct marketing management can influence the content of press coverage through a combination of industry action to reduce consumer privacy concerns and promotion of these initiatives.