plugola
nounUS /plʌˈɡoʊlə/ · UK /plʌˈɡəʊlə/
Etymology From plug + -ola. Compare to payola.
1
US, Informal, Usually Undeclared or illicit publicity or product promotion, especially on radio or television.
- Both radio and television management must be watchful for instances of staff payola and plugola.2006, Susan Tyler Eastman, Douglas A. Ferguson, Robert A. Klein, editors, Media Promotion and Marketing for Broadcasting, Cable, and the Internet, page 22:
- Portland's TV stations regularly employ plugola in news programming as a way of promoting parent network programming […].2007, Carey L Higgins, Gerald Sussman, edited by Gibson & Lowes, Urban Communication: Production, Text, Context, page 151:
1 more example
- It’s unclear just how widespread such “plugola” schemes are now. But an FCC report, published in June, cited a 2010 Pew survey in which 24 percent of local TV news executives reported “a blurring of lines between advertising and news.”2012 January 4, Paul Farhi, The Washington Post: