Categories: OLD Media Moves

Why California biz journal is running ad from Texas

Jack Robinson, the editor of the Sacramento Business Journal, writes about why the paper is running an advertisement that aims to lure business to Texas.

Robinson writes, “In calls and at business meetings, a handful of readers have questioned why the Sacramento Business Journal is running ads from The Woodlands, a planned community near Houston that hopes to attract California companies.

“In an essay running in this week’s edition in print and online, publisher Terry Hillman answers those readers. He argues the newspaper’s role in advertising, as in editorial content, is to be a neutral platform for the exchange of information — not a partisan advocate.

“‘Although I’m sensitive to the anger and disappointment we feel whenever we lose jobs to another state, declining to run the ads never crossed my mind,’ Hillman writes. ‘Except for those that are lewd or blatantly false, we don’t filter advertiser messages or treat clients differently based on their views.’

“In an April 26 story about the Texas advertising campaign, Business Journal reporter Christopher Arns wrote that The Woodlands has targeted several cities where likely prospects are located.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.

View Comments

    Recent Posts

    Dynamo hires former Business Insider executive editor Harrington

    Former Business Insider executive editor Rebecca Harrington has been hired by Dynamo to be its…

    2 days ago

    Bloomberg TV hires Kerubo as desk producer

    Bloomberg Television has hired Brenda Kerubo as a desk producer in London. She will be covering Europe's…

    2 days ago

    Jittery CNBC staff reassured by new boss

    In a meeting at CNBC headquarters Thursday afternoon, incoming boss Mark Lazarus presented a bullish…

    2 days ago

    Making business news accessible to a wider audience

    Ritika Gupta, the BBC's North American business correspondent, was interviewed by Global Woman magazine about…

    2 days ago

    Rest of World hires Lo as China reporter

    Rest of World has hired Kinling Lo as a China reporter. Lo was previously a…

    2 days ago

    Bloomberg rises to No. 7 biz news website

    Bloomberg News saw strong unique visitor growth to its website in October, passing Fox Business…

    2 days ago