Now here's a very worrying move. An editor says he's prepared to help his advertising department meet its targets. Peter Barron, editor of the Northern Echo, told a conference:
"Editors shouldn't dirty their hands with revenue opportunities should they? Well, yes they should. They have to. For me it is quite simple. It's not about being a management crawler, it's about retaining editorial quality. Because if journalists can help their advertising departments meet financial targets, then there is more chance of preserving the editorial resources we need to produce strong newspapers."
Let's consider the practical implications of Barron's statement. It's important first to understand that he wasn't speaking off the top of his head. Significantly, he was addressing the Newspaper Society's Home Truths conference, attended by executives, advertisers and agencies. So Barron had obviously thought carefully in advance about the subject.
Now, I'm presuming that he isn't simply suggesting editors should be on friendly terms with their advertising directors. When he talks about enjoying "a closer relationship" and putting aside "traditional rivalries", what he implies is that editors should helping in some way to obtain advertising. How else could they help to "meet financial targets"? It's impossible to read his words any other way. I have to say that I find this completely unacceptable.
Barron's logic runs as follows. More advertising means more editorial resources and, by extension, will result in greater journalistic quality. Let's look at that another way. More editorial involvement in advertising results in damaged journalistic credibility. With the greatest of respect to my friends in advertising (and I have a few), their job is not ours. We can facilitate. We can, and should, be accommodating. We can avoid unnecessary clashes of interest without compromising editorial integrity. What we must not do is suggest to an already sceptical public that journalism is even more of a commercial activity than is already the case.
If we are to retain audiences they must be convinced that the editorial content in newspapers is untainted by financial considerations. There is no room for compromise on this matter. Editors must edit. They cannot afford to "dirty their hands" as Barron puts it. Just the reverse. They must be seen by their readers to be as clean as possible. Please, Mr Barron, think again.
