Don’t Forget The Basics Why strong ethical practices are essential to publishing success Frank Alkyer, Maher Publications
Dec 08, 2014
Don’t Forget The Basics
Why strong ethical practices are essential to publishing success
Frank Alkyer, Maher Publications
The Ethical Crisis
• Journalism’s ethical crisis has reached a critical point in B-to-B
• The double whammy of rapid technological change and recession helped create the challenge
• But the basics still rule…readers demand good journalism. Advertising goes where the readers go
Honey, I shrunkthe Ad Budgets
• Good journalism requires investment
• Print still provides the bulk of sales for most publications
• Online sales are paltry by comparison (But Improving
• Advertisers want the tracking power of online, the cost of online, but the effectiveness, or staying power, of print
What’s This Got To Do With Ethics?
• In this environment, it’s easy for everyone from top execs to the janitor to bend rules, especially online
• We cannot let this happen
• Let’s discuss some real-world examples—and why they damage brands
List Abuse
• A magazine is a list
• Good editorial, design and even advertising help the list develop and keep it strong
• Abusing the list is abusing your readers, and killing off business in the long-term
List Abuse
• Posting too often
• If you have nothing important to say, say nothing
List Abuse
List Abuse
Press Release Abuse
• Press releases, posted exactly as they are received, have no business being on an editorial website
• A great website is a filter for the news, not an extension of its advertisers websites
• Posting every release is abdicating journalistic responsibility
Citizen Journalist Abuse
• People who write for free will give you exactly what you pay for in the long run
• Counting these people who go to your site to post articles as visitors is fake readership
• It’s a scam
Citizen Journalist Abuse
Fair Use Abuse
• Apply the same rules for “Fair Use” that you would use in your print product
• Do not simply lift photos and copy from other sites, unless you have proper permission
Aggregation Woes
• Easy to do, but also easy to overdo
• Ethical issues come from not using links to create context for something you, as a journalist, are trying to say
Aggregation Woes
Finding Ethical Solutions
Finding Solutions
• Creating a strong online ethics policy is a long-term process, not an event
• Include everyone in the discussion
• Keep the focus on the reader
• Listen, but be prepared with well-researched thought on why strong ethics delivers long-term success
Finding Solutions
• Make ethics guidelines clear, simple and achievable
• Create a list of “dos” and “don’ts”
• Tattoo your guidelines on everyone in the shop
Making Sense of Ethics at Maher Pubs
• We’re not perfect...by a long shot, but here’s what we do in trying to make good ethical decisions and make money, too
Making Sense of Ethics at Maher Pubs
• Everyone at the company is a potential news source
• Everyone is respected for their industry knowledge — from sales to circulation to editorial and design
Making Sense of Ethics at Maher Pubs
• Editorial makes the final call on lineups
• Editorial presents those lineups to sales and management
• Sales then aggressively sells very inch of ad space possible
Making Sense of Ethics at Maher Pubs
• We don’t just post press releases
• Our non-editorial staffers are encouraged to deliver any news they hear about in their daily rounds. Some of our best tips come from them
• We work together, but understand our value is selecting the most interesting news, not all the news
Questions and comments
• Please feel free to e-mail me with any thoughts on the issue.