Can anyone throw any more light on the increasingly disturbing habit of regional newspapers running features written by journalists who have been paid by public relations companies? Blogger Les Hack reveals that he visited a journalists' forum (which he doesn't name) where a former editor was "forced" by the publisher to carry such articles due, evidently, to ever-shrinking editorial budgets. He also says he "learned that a company had been targeting prominent freelance journalists in the UK asking them to write and place articles promoting their products."
As Les Hack rightly comments: "Bottom line, advertorial is being passed off as editorial, and there are clearly 'journalists' out there prepared to participate in this process." I have come across examples of this activity and, if there's any hope of stopping it, we need to gather as much concrete evidence as possible. If you know about it, but don't feel happy about posting on this site, please contact me, in complete confidence, at roy.greenslade@theguardian.com.
