Advertising has made a large impact on the development of the British Press. The shape and content of newspapers has been determined by the need for advertisers to reach a particular audience. This explains why the radical newspapers no longer exist, as advertisers did not believe their audiences were worth investing in. To attract advertisers, newspapers had to boast a good, quality audience. Newspapers now rely on advertisers because without them, they may not survive without the additional income, as the cost of producing a newspaper is high.
The increasing reliance of the British Press on advertising revenue had immense consequences for the radical publications. There were two ways in which advertising worked against the radical press. The first being that advertisers were not sympathetic to radical ideas. The second being the perception that advertisers had about the readership of the radical newspapers. In the view of the advertisers the readers of the radical newspapers did not have sufficient purchasing power' to make it worthwhile for them to advertise in these kinds of newspapers. The head of one of the largest advertising agencies in Victorian Britain stated in 1856 of the readers of the radical newspapers "their readers are not purchasers: and any money thrown on them is so much money thrown away.""(Kevin Williams, Get me a murder a day, page 46). Once newspapers became associated with the poor they found it difficult to attract advertisers. The radical press was faced with a number of options. They closed down, became more respectable' by moving up market, acquired alternative sources of finance or remained as they were, with manageable losses that could be met with donations. However if they acquired a large working class audience they risked failure. If they sold at the competitive prices charged by their rivals, they made a loss on each copy sold due to lack of advertising.