Dictionary

plugola en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /plʌˈɡoʊlə/ (General-American)
• /plʌˈɡəʊlə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From plug + -ola. Compare to payola.

Meanings

1. (US, informal, uncountable, usually) Undeclared or illicit publicity or product promotion, especially on radio or television.
   • 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:
   • 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:
   • 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:

Forms