A Fantasy World: Ratings, Clicks, and Now It’s Time for Commercials!

A Fantasy World: Audience Measurements, Clicks, and Now It’s Time for Commercials! addresses the standpoint that the pressure exerted on media, the threats journalists are subjected to, and the conditions of an increasing number of unemployed media workers are inseparable from the media’s economy, which makes up for “the hidden part of the iceberg.” The book seeks answers to several questions: Are audience measurements or print circulation numbers taken as a reference by advertisers realistic? Are the numbers inflated? How do advertisers contemplate them? What are the main criteria considered when placing ads or commercials?

Based on interviews with many prominent advertisers, managers at advertising, and academics specialized in communication, the book intends to open the discussion of the reliability of the measurement systems in place in Turkey, the problems created by the Press Advertising Agency, and how political pressure affects media’s relationship with advertisers.

In an introduction to her book, where she expounds on the methodology she resorted to while conducting her work, Burcu Karakaş says her goal was to address the most significant issues with the media economy in Turkey as regards audience measurements: “If we have to expect anything in terms of normalization, it’s needless to say that we must question the current order that could be described as a ‘fantasy world.’ We should remind one more time that the demand for transparency is not a ‘luxury’ but a ‘necessity.'”

Like all the books published under P24’s Media Library series, A Fantasy World: Audience Measurements, Clicks, and Now It’s Time for Commercials! is free of charge. You can click this link to download the original Turkish version of the book and access its content.

First Edition: 2016