The blurring line between advertising and editorial

Natalie Pompilio, a former staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, writes in the latest issue of the American Journalism Review about how the previous strong wall separating editorial and advertising at media outlets is collapsing.

She says one publisher was offered a deal by a local company that wanted to sponsor a column about its industry and have its writer produce it. The company noted a nearby paper had accepted a similar deal. The publisher declined the offer, but Pompilio then discusses the bank sponsorship of a column at her former paper.

Pompilio writes, “For the last two years, Citizens Bank has sponsored a column in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The bank’s trademark green outlines the column and its logo appears prominently on the front page of the business section. The column is written by veteran business reporter Mike Armstrong.

“Inquirer Editor William K. Marimow says the sponsorship brings in ‘a significant amount of revenue’ but his only real complaint about the advertising element of it is that it takes away from the newshole.

“‘It’s probably symbolically annoying to some of us, but in my view it has no effect on what Mike Armstrong writes or doesn’t write,’ Marimow says. ‘When Citizens Bank does something great, we’re going to report it, and if they do something awful, we’re going to report it.’

“Could other columns receive sponsorship? ‘As long as something does not intrude with the news, it’s something I’ll consider,’ Marimow says.

Read more here.