The Un-free press

I'm the press. Small compared to Oprah Magazine maybe, but still, I write, hire journalists, print, I distribute my journal. I am free to print any story that I think is relevant to my readers, right? Well, perhaps not. Because if I print a story that displeases my advertisers or potential advertisers some of them will not patronize my business. Sometimes I do it anyway. I printed a grocery store price comparison once and the slightly-higher-priced store chain dumped all the mags I'd distributed to them of that one issue in the recycling bin. At least 5,000 copies.

You see, running a business that pleases customers (advertisers) often pushes me and every other publisher in a different direction from running one that pleases you, our readers. For example, when I do not agree to "write about" a prospective advertiser or run a story they supply (which I never do), they will often patronize a competing magazine that will indulge them.

Deciding what to write about or who to interview in Nexus is a big responsibility. What would you say to the crowd if a full house at Invesco Field were listening to you? That’s what it’s like, only bigger; we have about 100,000 readers and Invesco seats 77,000. That’s why I pay professional journalists to write every word in Nexus, and to cover subjects like chronic pain (p. 8), healthy eating (p. 16) and voluntourism (p. 20).

I am asked, "How can I get an article in your magazine?" at least twice a week. People are accustomed to hearing an agreeable answer from other publishers. Even the Los Angeles Times on April 9 ran an advertisement, formatted to look like a column, on its front page – an unprecedented move by a major newspaper.

It’s especially tempting to say “yes” when times are lean and the economy struggles. But I won’t do it. I may be old-fashioned, but I feel strongly about my pact with you, my reader, and I want to convince you to feel strongly about it too.
Would you have Newsweek writers and editors place foremost the needs of General Motors, Exxon Mobil, Dow Chemical or the Republican Party, instead of their readers?  If not Newsweek, then how about your small-town paper or local magazine? Perhaps you think the U.S. press has already sold out. You’d be wrong. Journalism’s professional ethics demand a sharp division between editorial (articles) and ads (everything that’s paid for by someone else). Some publishers and news producers violate this ethic, but lots don’t.

I don’t. I pledge to you that we at Nexus will disclose to you when a message in Nexus is paid for; it will look like an ad or be in an advertising section. Or if it could be confused with an article, we'll print, "paid advertisement" above it. We will choose article subjects because we think the information is important to you, not to attract a particular ad.
I sincerely think that these standards not only make Nexus a better read and keep readers coming back, but also make it more effective for every advertiser. Here’s the formula: credible articles lend credibility to advertisers, and that makes those advertisers more attractive to readers. Ta-daa! More customers for advertisers. And more free press.