Things would have been easy if everything was black and white. But the grays make it more interesting, and of course, difficult. As a journalist and an entrepreneur, the struggle is all internal. To define a clear path, be practical about the realities of running the business, and yet stay true to our ethos. That ethos is a line I wrote some time ago for our business plan (yes, we do have one, and yes, it reads more like a journalist story than a templated future), and everytime I have doubts, or think that I am swaying away from it, I go back and read it: “Our belief is that in the near future, all media will be digital media, and we are helping define sustainable business models and innovation within this sector.”
This is our editorial mission. There is a hint of evangelism in our mission, our hope to see the industry and community built around that industry thrive. But at the same time, as journalists, we’ve always been first in beating down anything which smacks of boosterism. That’s the “sustainable” part. Skepticism is our virtue, and that is reflected in our links, our stories, our attitude and ways of running this business.
As a journalist trying to run a business, I’ve had countless temptations over the last two years. But somehow I am pushed back on the right path, one way or the others. Sometimes I think of our readers, and their expectations out of us. Sometimes I debate it with my fellow journalist Staci Kramer. Sometimes I write it out. This is one of those times.
I think people (and that includes advertisers, potential advertisers, PR types and sometimes people in the industry too) underestimate our belief in editorial integrity. It is a concept difficult to grasp and it is a line which is definitely moving. I will be the first one to tell you that advertisers and vendors are a part of the community. They’re part of the conversation. But the extent to which they can be a part of the conversation is an editorial decision, not a business one. The editorial sensibility runs the media business, not the other way around. Companies and advertisers who are smart understand that, and grow with the industry.
As we’ve continued to grow as a business, I can see how it has been a difficult balancing act over the ages. I can see why they erected the wall between advertising and editorial in the first place. I can also see why the word objectivity came in the journalism textbooks.
I do think the society needs journalists, or at least the journalism ethos: people who can ask the hard questions, people who can be skeptical about any new thing, and yet question the old establishment’s willingness (or lack of it) to change. For me, that is objectivity, that is what is needed is this world, more than ever. I’m glad there are still people willing to fight for that and I count myself and our organization as warriors for that.
The day we sell out, that is the day we die. That’s as true for us as journalists as it is for us as a business. I only wish I can stay true to that…
Rafat Ali
rali@paidcontent.org
Editor & Publisher
ContentNext Network (paidcontent.org, MocoNews.net, Billboard PostPlay, and now ContentSutra)
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