Editorial Credibility: The Fuzzy Line Between Ads and Editorial
By Andy Jackson, executive director, April 24 2009
The divide between editorial and advertising has been a perennial topic among publishers almost since the first periodicals. And lately, with increased economic pressures, some magazines are even considering selling space on their front covers!
I don’t believe any of our members are going that far, but the issue was recently raised by one who asked if we had any information regarding “placement of ads within an editorial package related to the ad. For example, placing a real estate agent’s ad within a story package on the local real estate market.”
I wrote back that I didn’t know of any such discussion in IRMA’s records, but that in my days as a publisher, we had hotly debated the question. In the end our decision was to place ads when possible near editorial that was complimentary—bookstore ads near the book reviews, real estate ads near shelter articles, etc., but to make the distinction between paid ads and editorial stylistically very clear.
From reader feedback, we learned that as long as the distinction was obvious, subscribers actually liked that approach because it provided marginally more useful and convenient information on a story’s subject than could be covered in the article alone. And of course advertisers liked it too. I also mentioned that it might even be possible to charge a placement premium to advertisers to be in particular sections—inns and attractions in the calendar of events, for example.
And then there are advertorials, which especially need to be stylistically distinct from editorial and clearly labeled as paid content on every page.
What’s at stake is the very reason readers buy and value your magazine, your editorial credibility. As long as readers can feel confident that your articles are not biased by advertisers and represent reliable, authoritative information, the location of ads is not likely to be an issue.
That’s my opinion, for what it’s worth.