Comments on: Selling editorial space

By: Newspaper Innovation » Blog Archive » De Pers editorial helps wrap

Newspaper Innovation » Blog Archive » De Pers editorial helps wrap — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:51:20 +0000

[...] about his free newspaper offering commercial publicity in editorial content in the paper (see previous post) caused some turmoil in the media in the [...]

By: Clube de Jornalistas » Blog Archive » Leitores dos gratuitos comem gato por lebre mais facilmente

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 03:57:22 +0000

[...] O director de um diário gratuito holandês admitiu publicamente que vende «espaço editorial» a anunciantes e que isso é possível num jornal gratuito porque os seus leitores aceitam o engano mais facilmente que os leitores de jornais pagos. Ler mais… [...]

By: Andreas

Andreas — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:55:53 +0000

It’s indeed rather unusual that you are not ashamed of it since most newspapers that do the same for sure are. I think it is good that you openly talk about it and of course you are not making ads – but that is exactly the problem (also with other papers).

An ad would be noticable to the reader with all the implications (maybe less trust in the message, …). But when you write an article that is financed by the firm you are writing about there certainly is a “scissor in the head”. All the more when the firm can opt-out as consequence of (too) critical/negative reporting. Since the readers probably do not know about the financing your reports construct their picture of the Tour because they think the articles are only written according to journalistic standards. Furthermore the Tour-case is a very sensitive topic due to the doping problem cycling is associated with …

To cut a long story short: To me it’s quite similar to embedded journalism but it’s good that you at least admit that you are embedded. The second thing that is really new about it is that there is a concrete agreement and not just an informal one typical of journalism.

By: Bart Brouwers

Bart Brouwers — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:58:25 +0000

@Andreas: but that’s not what we do. We are not “a platform for advertisers to get their messages spread via a seemingly reliable and objective source”. For one thing, we don’t do this on news-pages. Next, we are as open as possible about it. And furthermore, we are not making ads; we write interesting, relevant articles on topics that are good for readers and advertisers as well.
And most of all, we are not ashamed of it, which is rather unusual, I admit. Most dutch newspapers (paid for and free) do it in some way, but hardly any editor-in-chief is open about it. Which is a shame.

By: Andreas

Andreas — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:14:40 +0000

It is quite astonishing that they talk so openly about such an sensitive topic. But as I read in the October issue of the “Journalist” there is no kind of Presserat in the Netherlands that functions as watchdog organisation concerning the separation of editorial content and advertising, right? In Germany there are strict rules to be able to punish newspapers breaching those regulations.

Indeed, it’s one of the main arguments against the introduction of free dailies in Germany: the fear that those papers would only be a platform for advertisers to get their messages spread via a seemingly reliable and objective source.