Unethical advertising, unprofessional behavior

I suppose things will get worse before they get better.
AdAge has an interesting piece on the growing push by marketers to blur the lines between editorial and advertising. And if we're to believe this article, then part of the move toward unethical behavior is driven not by advertisers, but by publishers.
Take a look at this disturbing section of the article: "Magazine publishers, intent on offering unique programs to attract advertisers, have begun presenting their share of ideas, said Julie Roehm, director of marketing communications for Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler. 'We’ve talked about it several times and had all the big publishers in,' she said."
Ad Age says that the push for product placement in editorial has become so pervasive that the American Society of Magazine Editors is "finding it necessary to confront the issue more fully with more clearly worded guidelines to spell out its position."
Bravo for ASME.
The American Society of Business Publication Editors is also planning to update its ethics guidelines, as discussed here.
ABM updated its code of ethics in March, and the new document is quite clear in its call to divide advertising from editorial.
However, while ABM's guidelines are clear and professional, this post on ABM's blog is something else entirely.
I'm not sure exactly what ABM's spokesman was trying to say. The writing is less than clear. But I think it's fair to read the post as an attack on ASBPE. That's unfortunate. And I was pleased to see that Ira Pilchen, ASBPE's treasurer, responded in a comment on the ABM site.
Look -- there are hundreds of journalists in B2B media who have fought for decades to be treated as professionals, to work with dignity and pride. Holding the line between ad and editorial has been a tough battle for trade journalists -- far more so than in the mainstream press. That battle is getting tougher.
We have never needed the support of our trade associations -- ABM, ASBPE and TABPI -- as much as we do now.
This is a time for the associations to stand together with each other and with us. This is a time for all of us to applaud each and every attempt by an association, a journalist, a publisher or a salesman to do the right thing.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Sources from hell

If you've been in editorial for very long you've had at least one encounter with a crazy source. You know the type -- foul-mouthed, paranoid and none-too-bright. These folks tend to be consumed with the need to try and control their press coverage.
My all-time favorite lunatic was a guy who insisted that I had no legal right to write anything about his company (a publicly traded transportation company) unless he approved it. Of course I ignored him. And about every week or so he'd leave a nasty message on my answering machine threatening to sue me for violating something he called "business reputation privacy rights."
I had another source -- a transportation analyst -- who grew erratic and paranoid. He eventually took to issuing reports via FAX that accused reporters of working with FBI agents to hand control of U.S. markets to terrorists.
But it seems like I had it easy.
According to the New York Post, Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock.com, has "routinely fired off profane and belligerent e-mails to analysts and reporters with whom he disagrees." Byrne has taken to complaining that many reporters have joined with a group of 1980s-era financiers "and a shadowy mastermind he called "the Sith Lord" to destroy his company.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Veni, Vidi, Vici, Video

I had the good fortune to attend Boston Latin School, the oldest school in America. The school's curriculum revolves around the study of the classics and, of course, the Latin language.
Like most folks who attended Boston Latin, I have a soft spot for tales of Rome. And I'm actually snooty enough to believe that Quid quid latine dictum sit, altum videtur (Anything said in Latin sounds profound.)
And thus, sometime today, I'll download the "skin" for the Firefox browser that is part of HBO's marketing effort for its upcoming series "Rome." (More on this here.)
Just last week I mentioned a print ad for this same HBO series, and suggested that such creative ads offered protection against unethical behavior by publishers and sales staff. In other words, I think by encouraging creative accomplishments in advertising, we can take a stronger stance against the craven and weak among us. Good, effective ads are the defense against those who push journalists to write puff pieces for advertisers, disguise advertorial as editorial, etc. Good ads can help a B2B publisher resist the urge to destroy credibility in the pursuit of revenue. Or, as the Romans would say, bibere venenum in auro (drink poison from a cup of gold.)
Once I download the Firefox skin, I'm going to reread this piece on measuring the effectiveness of ads. Then I'll reread this piece on some playful ads. Then I'm going to reread this piece on the future of ads.
(NOTE: If you don't have Firefox, or don't know what I'm talking about, you're way behind. Read this. And heed the words of Cicero: Tarditas et procrastinatio odiosa est ( Delay and procrastination is hateful.)

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Ad Age understands the Web...to a degree

Ad Age has added RSS feeds (thanks to Rex for pointing this out.)
That's nice. I wish more B2B publications would do so.
But I'd be a heck of a lot more excited if Ad Age gave some indication it understood the Web better before it added another Web-based delivery system. You see, Ad Age is one of those sites that fail to understand the most basic premise of Internet media -- the Web is a web.
In other words, Ad Age doesn't provide external links.
I'm not the only person to notice this. Not linking outside your own site is increasingly looking silly, amateurish and cowardly. Publishers need to weigh whatever advantage they see in pretending that Web doesn't exist against the disadvantage of looking like a goof.
Besides, does anyone actually believe that their readers don't know how to use Google? Does anyone actually believe they are the sole source of news in their industry?
Note: Adweek doesn't do much external linking either. But they operate Adfreak , a site that is as filled with links as it is with insider info, quirky news bits and fun writing. Adfreak also has an RSS feed.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Variety's old blood, new blood and bad blood

Variety has named Timothy Gray, a 22-year veteran of the entertainment-business publication, as editor.
But that won't be enough to get Gray an invitation to Variety's Centennial celebration, according to the New York Times. Variety's founding family is hosting a giant bash at Sardi's next month to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the magazine. But no one hired after 1987 is invited. Not Gray, not editor-in-chief Peter Bart, not anyone.
The host of the party is Syd Silverman, the 73-year old grandson of Variety's founder. Silverman sold the magazine in 1987, and he's inviting only those folks who worked at the publication when it was run by his family. That's unfortunate...but probably not unexpected. B2B media is full of formerly family-run publications. And my experience has been that the culture clash between big media and family-run companies can lead to bitterness that lasts for years.
But what's interesting to me about the Variety party is how gracious the company's present owners are about all this. Reed Business has given its blessing to the bash, even allowing Silverman to use the trademarked Variety logo. I dare say that such a sophisticated approach to public relations and such an adult way of handling a difficult situation is a rarity in publishing.
Longtime readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of Variety. But I have to congratulate Reed and Variety for acting with such aplomb.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Work online, make more money

The guy who can report a news story and write it up for publication is worth less to me than the guy who can report the story, write it and add a video clip.
So I'm not surprised by the latest survey that shows online, multimedia journalists are paid more than single-medium journalists. Similar surveys in the past have yielded similar results.
I don't expect this trend to continue, but that's because I think multimedia skills have become a requirement of journalism. Being unable to edit a sound file, create a hyperlink, resize an image, or create a slideshow is no more acceptable than being unable to type. Soon there will be no breakout of salaries by medium, because there won't be any more print-only reporters or TV-only cameramen or Web-only journalists.
I'm actually old enough to remember when pagination systems first came to the publishing world. I knew paste-up guys in the back room who were convinced that their skill set -- deep and narrow -- had value. They're all gone now. The smarter folks sensed that the world had changed. They learned the early versions of Quark and PageMaker. Look around your newsroom. Odds are some of those people are working on your copy desk even today.
The lesson is simple: either acquire multimedia skills or find another career.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

Good ads, bad behavior

Later today I'm going to run out and buy a copy of "Entertainment Weekly." I've never read the thing before, and may never do so again, but there's an ad running in this week's issue that I have to see.
Here's how the Wall Street Journal describes it: "The ad appears in three parts: The front and back covers will fold out, and the middle of the magazine will feature a two-page center spread devoted to the series (HBO's "Rome." ) By folding the pages in various ways, readers can mix and match scenes in the three sections to form six different configurations."
I mention this because good advertising -- which, by the way, I seldom see in print or online -- pleases me. I'm one of those folks who like TV commercials. I accept them as a distinct medium that attracts talented people. I see dozens of TV ads that I enjoy. And I celebrate the creativity that goes into the good ones.
And good advertising is becoming more important for journalists -- because good advertising is a defense against unethical behavior. If the ads in our magazines and Web sites are compelling and engaging, then the advertisers will get their money's worth. And if our advertisers are satisfied, they won't pressure the editorial side to engage in unprofessional and immoral behavior.
Folio magazine has a piece this week on ASBPE's decision to rewrite its ethics guidelines (DISCLOSURE: the Folio article refers to this blog.) I called on ASBPE to revamp its rules recently, and celebrated when the group announced its plans.
This is a crucial time in B2B media, and I applaud ASBPE (and ABM) for holding the line on journalism ethics. I'd urge everyone in editorial to follow ASBPE's progress as it enters this next stage of the good fight.
I'd also urge everyone in editorial to get a copy of Entertainment Weekly. Look at that ad. Pass it around to your advertising sales staff. Start a conversation. This is a tough time in the media business. So we should take the time to encourage and support those folks on the business side who are willing to look for solutions in creativity, not in ethical shortcuts.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Economics bloggers, standalone journalists

I argue that blogging and the citizen-journalism movement got their start at About.com. About used "passionate" amateurs -- hundreds of them -- rather than professional journalists to cover a seemingly endless number of topics. When I worked there I oversaw the Money and Industry channels -- sites that covered personal finance, careers, small business, B2B, automotive, etc. And one of our more popular sites, much to the surprise of many, was about economics.
Today the Wall Street Journal has a piece about the growing popularity of economics bloggers. Given About's history, I'm not surprised by that news. Nor am I surprised that one of these blogging economists focuses on the oil industry. The petroleum space is likely to attract a number of standalone journalists. Traders such as Phil Flynn and analyst groups such as IFR Energy Services already compete with news providers by offering newsletters as brand extensions.
B2B publishers need to be aware that they are vulnerable to new, standalone journalists -- whether they be industry professionals turned bloggers; economists and academics with insight into the industry you cover; or former employees armed with online-publishing software.
The early successes in B2B standalone journalism are likely to be those folks who can carve a niche in a space that covers both B2B and B2C. In other words, look for people to launch products that serve two levels of news and information. One level is for professionals -- the classic B2B media model. The other level is for consumers who have an interest in how an industry influences their lives. Economics fits that model. So does petroleum. For everyone who makes his living trading gasoline futures, there are thousands who want to understand how gas prices work. The train industry is another example of this sort of hybrid B2B/B2C space.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

Primedia Business sold to Wasserstein

It's over.
And yet little has changed.
Primedia Business has been sold to yet another New York-based buyout firm. The seller, of course, was KKR. When I was an executive at Primedia Business, it was the folks at KKR who were in charge. And I found them to be -- almost entirely -- a repulsive group. KKR's chosen would gather in the executive dining room and complain whenever Primedia Business' workforce seemed unwilling to sacrifice more wages and time to further enrich KKR's investors. My time at Primedia Business was an endless series of meetings with people who genuinely disliked each other. And it was clear to me that KKR set that contemptuous tone.
Primedia Business' new owner is Wasserstein & Co., a private equity firm that also owns "The Deal." I know nothing about Wasserstein. And I would urge everyone at Primedia Business to try and maintain a positive attitude during these next few weeks. Perhaps Wasserstein will turn out to be a more skilled leader than KKR.
But I'll confess that I have little faith. Readers of this blog know that I dislike the management style of Wall Street. And I am saddened each time a B2B publisher is purchased by a private equity fund or leveraged buyout firm.
I prefer a different style of owner -- dedicated more to the product, the workers and the customers than to money.
It was years ago that I first came across the work of management guru W. Edwards Deming. Deming believed the purpose of a business isn't to make money. Rather, the purpose of a business is to stay in business so it can provide jobs. In Deming's model, profit is an intermediate goal, not a final purpose. In other words, Deming believed a company owed more to its stakeholders than to its shareholders. Deming's work has fallen from favor in recent years -- pushed to the side by stock booms, junk bonds, IPOs, LBOs and EBITDA.
I'd like to think that Wasserstein sees more in Primedia Business than cash flow. But a look at Wasserstein's Web site does little to encourage me. There's not a word about employees; there's no mention of products; there's no discussion about running a business. But there's plenty of talk about managing investments.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm the former vice president for online content at Primedia Business. Also, during this past weekend I took on a small, short-term consulting arrangement with Primedia Business.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

More on ethics guidelines

The American Society of Business Publication Editors says it will "completely rewrite" its ethics guidelines. I'm thrilled. And you should be too. ASBPE's move comes at a difficult time in B2B media. Publishers and advertising sales staff are feeling competitive pressure from new online publications, RSS and search. The smartest folks on the business side will find a way to succeed in this new environment. The dumbest will demand concessions from editorial.
Any B2B journalist who doesn't see how ugly things are likely to get in the next few months just isn't paying attention. Look at this piece in Mediaweek that talks about how Lexus is pressuring publishers to accept product placement. In particular, Lexus is calling for "modified “advertorial”-type stories that would not carry an advertorial label and would be written by staff writers in order to enhance the credibility of the piece." That would be about as clear a violation of the ethics policies of ASBPE and ABM as I can imagine.
For more on ethics, take a look at this earlier post and the comment section.
And to see what some creative advertising types are doing to compete, take a look here.

tags: advertising, journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Discovering the converged newsroom

I first saw the future of newsrooms at the Chicago Tribune. It must have been nearly 15 years ago. A friend of mine was working there, and she gave me a tour. And what struck me the most (besides actually seeing Mike Royko) was the giant remote-controlled camera in the center of the newsroom. The Trib had created a system where print reporters would stand in front of the camera and talk about their stories. That video would air on Tribune-owned WGN.
I was amazed and excited. My friend, however, was resentful. She saw the camera not as an opportunity, but as another in an endless series of demands on her time.
In later years I'd see that multimedia environment repeated time and time again. At CNN, our reporters worked on the Web, appeared on camera, did sound bites for radio. Certainly there was specialization, but the most successful and ambitious journalists transcended their niches and worked in more than one medium. And time and time again I have come across different versions of my friend from the Tribune -- resisting change and sabotaging their careers.
Just last month I met the editor of a trade magazine who told me he didn't even know the name of the person who ran his publication's Web site. (Certainly you can blame that guy's publisher for failing to combine his products into a unified brand run by a unified team. And ultimately it was the publisher who made the short-sighted decision to use shovelware -- thus allowing the print reporters to maintain their distance from the Web site. But I believe with all my heart that journalists have the responsibility to keep editorial control over all editorial products. Letting a tech department decide how to run a magazine's site is madness.)
Readers of this blog know that I tell journalism students that I want nothing to do with single-medium journalists. A journalist who fails to embrace the storytelling potential of hyperlinks, graphics, video, interactivity, feedback, etc. tells me that he is unambitious. A journalist such as that tells me not to hire him.
Now comes word that the Washington Post has hired the king of convergence and that the New York Times has embraced the converged newsroom. (FULL DISCLOSURE: The Times recently acquired About.com, where I was once a producer and executive.) When the Times and the Post, which for better or for worse are among the most influential publications in media, make such moves, there can be no doubt that none of us will ever again be tied solely to the world of hard copy.
To read more about multimedia reporting, read this post and follow the links.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

IDG's woes in Germany

Fellow B2B media blogger Hugo Martin says IDG is having some problems with audited circulation in Germany. It appears that qualified circulation for IDG's Computer Woche is about half what the company had earlier estimated.
I'm a fan of IDG, and a big fan of the company's push into the global marketplace. And whatever is behind these recent problems, I'm convinced that IDG will continue to prosper.
Perhaps Colin Crawford, a media blogger who happens to be vice president for business development at IDG and has a degree in accounting, will post something about the company's challenges in Germany.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Business opportunity in B2B?

Can this be true? Is there really such a business opportunity right under our B2B publishing noses?
TSMI's Trade Show blog says that industry doesn't have a "resource that would allow tracking of competitors and industry bellwethers by the events where they were exhibitors and/or sponsors along with total spend on these events." In other words, the B2B media, which makes much of its money by publishing industry data and running trade shows, hasn't found a way to merge those two opportunities.
I'm not an expert in trade shows. Nor do I do much in data publishing. So perhaps I'm missing something. But this would seem to have some potential.
ADDENDUM: Check out what Paul Woodward, who writes about B2B media in Asia, has to say about this issue.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Are they paying you enough?

Folio magazine has published the results of its editorial management salary survey.
Take a look. It's hard to push your boss for a pay raise when you don't know what your competitors make. (It can also be hard to keep from punching someone when you find out how much they pay your supervisor...so try to exercise some restraint.)
Among the findings: the mean salary for editorial directors in consumer magazines is $97,000, and the highest salary for that job title was $250,000. Editorial directors in the B2B world didn't fare as well. The mean was $85,900 (about the same as a tow boat captain in Florida, according to this game at People magazine), while the top reported salary was $160,000.
On the other hand, editors and executive editors do better in trade publishing than in the consumer press -- $67,500 vs. 65,600. (Association publishing tops this category at $73,400.)
So how can you boost your salary?
Try getting a haircut or a nose job.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Instant messaging as a reporting tool

I'm on Yahoo Messenger about 12 hours a day.
I can't report without it. I can't edit without it. I'm not even sure I can live without it.
And if you're a working journalist who doesn't know what I'm talking about, then you are falling behind your peers.
I started instant messaging on AOL a few years ago, chatting with friends while I worked. Then, when I was at Bloomberg, that company rolled out its own IM system. And I used it to talk with co-workers and sources who had Bloomberg terminals.
Now I'm a Yahoo guy -- largely because much of my day is spent covering the petroleum feedstocks market. And everyone in that business works through Yahoo. Two of the B2B publishers I work with also use Yahoo to communicate with staff.
I've taken to urging B2B reporters to join the IM world because IM is exactly the sort of tool a reporter needs. It's faster than email. It's transparent (the system tells you whether or not someone is online.) And, for reasons that I don't quite understand, sources who hesitate to talk on the phone or exchange emails are willing to chat via IM.
Odds are that the industry your publication covers has adopted an IM system. Find out which is preferred by your sources. Then join the conversation. If no one is using IM in your industry -- which is impossible in a field such as oil, stocks, bonds, currency, shipping or any business with a trading component -- then start the craze yourself.
Here's what you'll find:
1) Sources who traditionally have been hard to reach will suddenly become accessible.
2) The speed of your reporting will increase rapidly.
Here's what you need to be cautious about:
1) IM is a form of chat. Eloquent conversations are nonexistent. You can use IM effectively to get yes/no answers, figures, dates, story tips and general information. But to get a useable quote, you will often have to ask sources to elaborate.
2) IM is an informal medium. Sources don't see talking via IM as an interview. The advantage of that is they will talk more freely than if you get them on the phone. The disadvantage is that the first time you publish a quote from IM, you're likely to lose a source. Here's my rule. I'd urge you to adopt it. Unlike a phone call, which is on-the-record unless otherwise stated, an IM conversation is not-for-attribution unless otherwise stated. In other words, if you want to pull a quote from an IM chat, tell your source you want to do that.
3) IM conversations are filled with icons that denote emotions, such as the widely understood smile symbol :> There's a reason for this: rapid typing, use of abbreviations and short phrases make it easy for people to misunderstand IM. In particular, jokes and puns are often read as serious. Learn the icons and use them.
Most IM systems are free. There is no reason for you not to master this tool now. Besides, the clock is ticking. The young people who want your job, the new kids coming to work in the industry you cover, are all chatting on IM. Check out this research, which shows that kids think email is for old people.
(FULL DISCLOSURE: I consult with a group of university researchers who study how demographic differences are reflected in price negotiations conducted via IM. We're developing seminars and related products aimed at helping traders become better negotiators.)

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Update your blog, please

One of the more interesting things about blogging software is that it allows for instant publishing. Just a year ago or so, putting something out on the Web took at least a few minutes and required some moderately complex content-management software. Go back 10 years, and publishing required days, if not weeks, and you had to go through a person called a "publisher," who owned the equipment that printed content.
Now everything is so easy, so fast.
So you sort of have to wonder about those blogs that never seem to update.
The expophile blog, which covers trade shows, has an interesting post that points to one such offender. Take a look. Then check to see when was the last time your favorite blog was updated. For that matter, check to see when was the last time you updated your Web site.
(Note: Expophile posts anonymously. I'm not crazy about that in a medium that promotes conversation and transparency. I'm not a regular reader of Expophile, so it's possible that he/she has already given some compelling reason to hide -- perhaps a hostile boss. Regardless of that shortcoming, Expophile is worth looking at if you follow B2B trade shows. Although I think TSMI is a more interesting read.)

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Expertise and achievement on the Web

Prescott Shibles, the smartest guy who ever worked for me, has joined the blogosphere.
Prescott, who is the electronic-media guru at Primedia Business, promises to write about "strategy and tactics for creating compelling online products and attracting qualified audiences." That should be of interest to anyone in B2B publishing -- especially those who don't think they need to think about electronic media.
After you've spent some time with Prescott thinking about what you should do online, take a look at some of the more interesting things that have been done online. J-Lab, the institute for interactive journalism, has announced the five finalists for its Batten awards for innovations in journalism.
It shouldn't be a surprise that Adrian Holovaty, lead developer for my favorite newspaper site, is on the list (albeit for a different project.) Nor should anyone be shocked that my second favorite newspaper site is also on the list.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Seeking guidance in ethical guidelines

My fellow B2B media blogger David Shaw has exactly the sort of post on his site that I like to see -- a transparent look at a how a B2B publisher handles a controversial issue.
I won't say much more here than this -- David is maintaining his professional ethics amid a challenging sales environment. Everyone in the press should take a look.
In recent weeks I've had two disconcerting conversations with B2B journalists about ethics. In the first, a group of editors sought my advice because they were having a hard time resisting pressure from advertising sales staff who wanted promises of frequent, positive coverage of advertisers. In the second conversation, a B2B editor I work with argued that he was free to run in-house ads about conferences and new products as news stories, not as ads, because such pieces are "BIG news for our customers."
The common denominator in those tales of journalistic immorality is the mistaken belief that a business need trumps an ethical requirement.
That's why I'm always pleased by people such as David, who don't think the trade magazine business model gives us some sort of free pass on ethics.
If you're in doubt about what is, or is not acceptable, take a look at ABM's guidelines on professional ethics. The ASBPE also publishes ethics guidelines, although they are not as clear and are in need of an update. They are available on the group's Web site.
If you are being pressured by advertisers, publishers, fellow journalists or ad sales people to do something wrong, this is my advice:
First, explain why their request is unethical. It's my experience that many an ethical slip happens because people on the editorial side assume everyone knows the rules, but are choosing to ignore them. But there are many folks on the business side of a publication who are simply unfamiliar with journalism ethics. Be courteous. Strike up a conversation. Odds are you'll find that your coworkers are uninformed, not unethical.
Second, don't budge. Giving even a little bit on these issues always ends in disaster. Fight early, fight loudly and fight in public. Get other journalists from your company involved. Take your complaints to the publisher, to the board and to your readers.
If that fails, tell the offending party that you're willing to forsake your ethics and imperil your career if they will do the same -- you'll give them the coverage they want, if they give you sex and cash.
That usually shuts them up.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, journalism ethics

advertising

A font of font wisdom

I'm not a design guy, although I know what I like when I see it. And I probably pay less attention to design issues now than I did in the past, because I'm one of those folks who think content is moving away from its containers.
Nonetheless, I have a bit of a thing for typeface.
I remember the first time I came across a font that I found compelling. Her name was Amelia, and she was the futuristic style used throughout the original "Rollerball" movie.
This week, New York City is filled with the sort of typeface groupies who try to merge utility and beauty in print. Check out this piece in the N.Y. Times about "TypeCon, a yearly gathering of typographers, printers, designers, calligraphers and assorted, self-described font freaks and type nerds who can argue about kerning into the wee hours."
And for an inside look at the world the world of fonts, check out the blog of Mark Simonson. Mark is attending TypeCon and blogging about the gathering.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

Read this headline and look 10 years younger!

Cyberjournalist has a letter from a reader today who says that in the age of RSS, headline writing has become more important.
I agree...and even go a wee bit further. I think there's a growing need for expertise in all types of ultra-short writing. Certainly news organizations will look for writers who can create headlines to pull in RSS users. But advertisers will too. If text ads, paid links, etc. continue to grow, then the guy who can write a three-word phrase that generates a click is of value.
If you're looking for a guide to how to write headlines for the online world, look no further than Money.CNN. (FULL DISCLOSURE: I was a producer at CNNfn.com, which merged its operations with the online offerings of Money magazine to become Money.CNN.) No one does a better job of writing the pithy phrases that get users to click through to the story. The headlines are clear, not cryptic. They are conversational and inviting. Here's a sample from today:
Google's best not enough
Reverse shoplifting: Artists drop while they shop
What Greenspan didn't know
Franchises of the future
Demystifying hedge funds
Each of these headlines (average length of 4.4 words) is informative (telling you the subject of the story -- Google, artists, Greenspan, etc.) Each headline also "opens" a conversation without closing it. For example, a headline that says "Google sales and profit rise, but less than hoped; Shares fall" tells the reader everything he needs. It makes it too easy to not click through. More importantly, the CNN.Money headlines are lively. They feel more like television than print, and that's exactly how a Web headline needs to feel.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

IDG sees more paid, controlled circ on Web

You'd be hard-pressed to find a publishing company that is smarter than IDG. So it's always worth paying attention to what the owner of CIO and ComputerWorld thinks. In the past, I've made note of IDG's interest in overseas B2B publishing, and I've urged journalists to pursue a more global strategy and culture.
Now Wired magazine has an interesting interview with IDG's chief executive officer Pat Kenealy. According to Wired, Kenealy predicts that Web publishers will move to become less Web-like by hiding more material from search engines.
It's an interesting prediction...but not one I share.
Take a look at the article. Make particular note of IDG's adoption of a multiple choice style of Web publishing, which Wired describes as a mix of "free content, cheap content, expensive content, content that requires an onerous registration process, and content that requires little more than an e-mail address and ZIP code."
I suspect that this not-one-size-fits-all strategy is one that every trade publisher should adopt.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

More changes at Vance

There are more changes at Vance Publishing, where I was once senior writer. And as I've been saying for awhile now, the changes point to a divesture of some properties.
In the latest move, all the food-related publications, including the Packer newspaper and the Red Book directory have been rolled into a new division called Food360°. According to this undated press release, Vance's Produce, Crops and Livestock divisions are now part of Food360°.
The revamp seems to be a departure from the plan, announced just six months ago, to reorganize the food properites into a single unit with two divisions --produce and animal foods.
But whether it's two divisions or one, Food360° now functions largely as a standalone company based in the suburbs of Kansas City. To me, that looks like preperation for a sale. (The rest of Vance's properties, which cover the wood, hair salon and home decor industries, still report to company headquarters in Lincolnshire, Ill.)
I'll continue to predict that Vance plans to sell the food publications. And I'll continue to predict that the buyer will be Ascend Media -- which is based just a hop, skip and a jump down the road from Food360° in Johnson County.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines

The direction of directories

I try to stay out of the print-is-dead debate. To me, there is no debate.
Some of print is dead. Some of it isn't...yet. And some of it will live forever.
For example, there will always be a place for the long-form narrative. That style of writing simply cannot work well on the Web, but it is too beloved by writers and readers to disappear. The narrative will fade further from magazines and newspapers and drift deeper into books. But it will stay a print product.
On the other hand, some forms of print are clearly already dead. When was the last time you checked a stock quote in a newspaper? How can such a print product compete with real-time quotes that link to research reports and fundamental analysis?
Other forms of print are wounded, perhaps mortally. Newspaper classifieds are ancient now, and largely useless. Craigslist has changed everything. Smart papers are looking for online ways to compete. Print classifieds may have a longer life in B2B magazines, I suppose. But classifieds must be searchable to compete. So smart B2B publishers will also move such products online.
On the other hand, I may be the only person on earth who thinks the future of print directories is secure. (Even the king of directory publishing -- the Thomas Register -- disagrees with me.)
Every B2B company I have ever worked with has some form of textbook-sized directory of the industries they serve. At Vance, we published the Red Book Credit Service guide to produce and shipping companies. It was impossible to work in the produce industry without having the book on your desk. At Traffic World and the Journal of Commerce we published guides to logistics companies, railroad executives and ports. At Primedia, there were separate companies such as Bacon's that published directories. Many of the magazines at Primedia published directories of their own. And later today, when I work on some newsletters for OPIS, I'll likely consult one of the Stalsby directories of petroleum executives.
Certainly there are compelling arguments to be made that these products cannot continue in print. Their primary purpose is as a reference tool, yet they aren't searchable. More importantly, the distribution and printing costs of such oversized products is troubling.
But I think they will survive.
Up until two years ago, I was municipal finance editor for Bloomberg News. Bloomberg had taken a look at the insular world of municipal-bond trading and decided it could do a better job of covering the industry than the trade pubs did. In particular, Bloomberg thought it could beat "The Bond Buyer," the daily tabloid newspaper that served the industry.
I'd argue that Bloomberg succeeded. Muni bonds are an insider's game. Connections -- both personal and political -- determine success. Bloomberg assumed that the muni market was in need of more new and openness. Most importantly, Bloomberg assumed that the muni market would quickly dump the day-old data that filled the back of "The Bond Buyer" in favor of real-time data on the Bloomberg terminals.
To a degree, Bloomberg was right on all counts. "The Bond Buyer" now has a far more extensive online offering than it did just a few years ago. I suspect that even the old timers at that paper recognize that print is not the medium for people who trade real money in real time.
But what hasn't changed....and I suspect never will...is the directory that "The Bond Buyer" publishes. It's called the "Municipal Marketplace." But most folks refer to it as "the Red Book."
I know that every day at Bloomberg I turned to the directory -- searching for sources, checking names, etc. It was a very valuable tool for a journalist and a very valuable tool for anyone in the muni industry.
I don't see that changing anytime soon. And I can't shake the feeling that the physical product -- oversized and in print -- is the key to its usefulness. There's something reassuring about being able to "reach out" for information by reaching across your desk. There's some valuable, emotional connection in these products.
This week, SourceMedia announced an expansion of the Red Book's listings. I think that's a good idea. At least in this small slice of B2B media, print is not dead. And just in case I'm wrong, SourceMedia also offers the Red Book online.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters

Pushing ads, pulling journalism

There's an interesting piece in the Times today about a system that uses Bluetooth technology to "push" movie trailers onto cell phones. If you walk near a kiosk with the technology at a Loews theater, your cell phone will receive the ad.
I find that a little intrusive. But that doesn't mean that most people will.
What I find interesting about the technique is its potential as an editorial tool. The Loews ads are essentially a push/ad version of the pull/journalism idea that I call immersion journalism.
And although I dread the day when simply walking through the streets of New York subjects me to vibrating pagers and ringing cell phones full of geographically targeted ads, I look forward to the day when geo-targeted information and news can be summoned with a click or a phone call.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, advertising

Who is buying the B2B media companies?

I've been known to bemoan the rising influence of Wall Street in trade publishing. One of my favorite things about B2B media is that so many of our publications are smaller, family-run companies. Heck, even some of the big companies in B2B publishing are still family run.
I worry like crazy that the new breed of B2B media owners -- private equity firms and Wall Street bigwigs such as KKR, VSS and JP Morgan -- don't understand our industry or our culture.
Given that, I wasn't pleased to see a report from DeSilva & Phillips, which indicates that Wall Street deals dwarfed more traditional media deals last year. "The media companies — which collectively present informed opinion to the world — were subdued in the deal market. 'Subdued' is overstating it. In the magazine market, strategics accounted, altogether, for a mere 4% of the value of the DeSilva & Phillips Top 15 Deals — a record low."

You can see the report here, or read a piece about it in Folio.
There's also a piece here by David Shaw that points to a N.Y. Post article that indicates not all Wall Street investors are pleased with the B2B space. (FULL DISCLOSURE: The Post article is talking about KKR's investment in Primedia Business, where I was once the vice president of online content.)

Being a B2B benchmark

Many a journalist in B2B media describes his publication as "the voice of the industry" it covers. I've said that's an outdated concept in the age of conversational media. And I believe that trying to be such a voice is a sure way to get your publication excluded from the conversation.
Wouldn't it be better to be the benchmark of an industry? To be so well respected that the prices people pay for goods are based on what you say? Wouldn't it be wonderful, in other words, to be the Dow Jones in the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
It's a lofty goal. And whenever someone achieves that level of respect in an industry, it's worth noting. So congratulations to Reed Business' ICIS, publisher of Chemical Market Reporter and related offerings. ICIS is launching something called the ICIS-LOR Ethylene Index (EIX). The index will be used as the benchmark settlement price at the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange for the world's first over-the-counter (OTC) ethylene futures contract.
That's the sort of brand-name recognition that should be the goal of every B2B publisher.
Consider how difficult it becomes for ICIS' rivals to call themselves the dominant force in the ethylene market when the ICIS brand is attached to the commodity's price.
On the other hand, consider how easy it is for someone armed with the tools of new media to compete against ICIS in other areas.
Is there anything that could stop a standalone journalist, armed with a video camera, some b-roll and this article from producing a rival to ICIS' television service?
(FULL DISCLOSURE: It's worth noting that ICIS competitor Platts is the benchmark in the trading of some other chemicals. And it's worth noting that both Platt's and OPIS are benchmarks for some petroleum product prices. I work on a number of newsletter products for OPIS.)

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media,
entrepreneurial journalism, standalone journalism

A look at Red 7's past and future

There's a feature story in the Fairfield County Business Journal about Kerry Smith, founder of Red 7 Media -- the company that runs Folio magazine. The article is actually pretty lame. But that's often true of the editorial in regional business publications. I often get the feeling that the folks who run such publications are torn between acting like journalists and acting like the Chamber of Commerce.
If you've paid any attention to Kerry's career -- his time as an entrepreneur, his battles with management at Primedia, and his return to his own business -- then you know his story is a lot more interesting that this article would make it appear.
But read it anyway. There's some interesting information about Smith's plan to exert some control over controlled circulation and limit subscribers to 10,000. "Our philosophy is that since we're in niche segments, we want to make sure we're reaching the cream of the crop in terms of readers. We've tightly defined who our audience is," Smith said.
Even more interesting is the information ... albeit limited ... on Smith's next venture. Event Design magazine is set to debut in October.

Looking at the future by looking at the VNU deal

I've read a lot in recent days about VNU's $7 billion purchase of IMS Health. And truth be told, very little of what I saw in the business press interested me. The Journal, the AP, Reuters and the Times all seemed focused on the size of the deal, rather than the nature of the deal.
So I was pleased to come across this piece by John Blossom (thanks to PaidContent for pointing me toward it.) John argues that the deal is part of a larger shift by "business publishers and aggregators towards being providers of a broad array of business solutions for specific horizontal and vertical markets instead of mere folios of publications."
Try to ignore the jargon-laden writing (and there is a LOT of it in John's piece.) He's saying something of value here.
Deals such as the VNU purchase are signs of a shift in the B2B media, according to John. Ad-supported publications are in trouble, John says, because trying to control the context in which B2B content is consumed is a loser's game. In other words, although your customers may need your content, they no longer need the paper it's printed on or the Web page where it's posted.
RSS feeds and related technology have freed content from the package. RSS and similar developments have freed your customers from having to buy the car when all they need are the tires.
"This means thinking about your content as objects that can travel from place to place within various solutions and that can adapt its monetization capabilities to its context readily" John says.
There's a similar call for a post-context world in this post by Steve Gillmor (and thanks to Rex, guest blogging at ABM, for pointing me toward it.)
Steve bemoans the "the continuing slide of the trade space" and points out that new voices and new delivery methods are leaving traditional B2B publishers behind.
"...print is dead. And like print, page views are dead," Steve says.
Read both pieces. See if you agree with them, and with me, that there is simply no going back. The B2B audience has tasted power and autonomy. It has no intention of being dictated to ever again.

Lessons from a niche publisher

The Washington Post today has an interesting look at BNA Inc., formerly known as the Bureau of National Affairs, the publisher that covers the minutiae of regulatory life in Washington, D.C. The article is about BNA's upcoming move to new offices in Arlington, Va., but make sure you read it. The piece provides information of interest to anyone in B2B publishing.
BNA produces subscription-based newsletters that cover micro niches inside federal regulatory agencies. Competition is often not an issue because, as one reporter explains, beats are so narrow that no one else covers them.
I've been warning B2B publishers that they are vulnerable to competition from their own employees. And BNA, which makes its money in specialized beats where sometimes only one person produces all the content, should be particularly vulnerable to such a threat.
But no such threat has arisen at BNA. And no such threat is likely to either. Because the 1,300- person company is owned by its employees. The built-in loyalty that comes with such a structure makes BNA less vulnerable to the threats posed by new publishing technologies than any other B2B company I know.
BNA has another advantage worth noting. The company is an advocate of clear, concise writing that emphasizes information, not prose styling. Visit the site, check out the product samples. You'll see that the writing may be dry. But it reads as if it is written by professionals, not by children enamored of cutesy tricks. That's a vast improvement over much of the throat-clearing, cliché-filled drivel that marks much of our profession.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters

More on immersion journalism

My idea of immersion journalism -- creating stories that are retrieved on mobile devices by users who follow hyperlinks in the real world, rather than on a Web page -- is still generating some attention from journalists and journalism teachers.
Today K. Paul Mallasch of J-Log says he's "intrigued" by the idea and is looking for feedback. Drop by and share your thoughts.

Link to something, anything. Just link

I spend a lot of time complaining about B2B publications that live on the Web but don't understand the Web. Chief among my complaints are articles without hyperlinks.
I don't know how many different ways I can say this, but let me try again. The Web is a web. Connecting to other stories, to other sites and blogs and databases and everything else is the basis of Web culture. So it should be the basis of Web journalism.
When a B2B publisher fails to understand this and bans links, or when a B2B journalist is too lazy to insert links, the site becomes invisible to others. Because links are how the Web decides the value of a site.
There's a nice piece today in Folio about search engine optimization -- the art of making your site visible to others on the Web. Check out this quote from Prescott Shibles, the smartest guy who ever worked for me, on how silly it is to not use hyperlinks. "Nobody links either to their own articles or to others [in the b-to-b space],” criticizes Primedia’s vice president of online development Prescott Shibles. “This is one of the highest considerations from the search engines. We have this fear of linking off-site, but guess what? Users are going to Google it anyway and find them."

Web portal lacks Web features

PennWell has launched a new Web "portal" -- pulling content from some of its B2B magazines into a single site that also sells equipment for the energy industry.
It's a move that perplexes me.
I didn't understand the portal concept back before VerticalNet collapsed. I didn't understand the concept any better when Primedia tried it with Industryclick. The word "portal" refers to an entrance, a gateway. But every Web portal I've ever seen is something else entirely -- a silo, a one-stop, an attempt to monopolize and localize a user.
Perhaps most disappointing about PennWell's new venture is that it is the latest B2B publisher to announce a new Web strategy that fails to take advantage of the Web.
Take a look at this story on the site, or this one or this. (And can someone tell me why every one of those stories has two date stamps in two different styles? Jul-07-2005, 7 July 2005, July 7. Doesn't anyone look at these things after they are posted? Can't anyone agree on what the style is on dates?)
None of the stories have links -- either internal or external. There's no feedback function, no interactivity, no graphics.
Why would anyone bother to build a site like this?
For a look at what a B2B magazine site can be, take a look at CMO. I like that site more every time I look at it.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I do work for OPIS, which also covers the petroleum industry. But PennWell and OPIS concentrate on very different areas of the business and are not direct competitors. Also, it's only fair to note that OPIS has subscription-based electronic products -- email, Web applications, etc. -- that share PennWell's lack of interactivity. I hope to change that.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters

Lessons from a table of contents

Last weekend I was sitting in the new and lovely public library in Princeton, N.J., catching up on my reading. I had a comfortable chair, a pile of publications and nowhere better to be.
One of the things I was reading was a back issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the oversized tabloid that serves the nonprofit world. I glanced at the cover and then turned to the table of contents. At the top of the page was a brief subhead that described the table of contents as "A guide for the busy reader."
My first reaction, given my leisurely pace that day, was to think that I had no need of such a guide. But upon reflection, I found myself pleased by that simple line. It seemed the Chronicle had found a simple way of describing the true mission of a TOC -- providing a service to the reader. As much as each headline and brief summary on a TOC is designed to lure a reader into the publication, each also serves as a gatekeeper -- telling a reader what he doesn't need to bother with. A TOC, in other words, is a service, not a sales pitch.
I thought of the Chronicle's TOC again yesterday in a conversation about RSS feeds.
Two schools of thought have emerged as RSS has grown. One group uses RSS to send headlines and summaries -- a sort of TOC entry. The other group uses RSS to send the entire article. I don't worry about which choice a publisher makes. There are good arguments for both approaches. Nonetheless, I tend to recommend that publishers start with the former and use RSS to lure readers back to a Website.
Even so, some publishers balk. They worry that providing anything over RSS will reduce traffic flow to their Website.
When I heard that worry surface in my conversation yesterday, I suggested that the way to think of RSS is as a table of contents. Giving a peek at what's inside will surely attract some readers, and will just as certainly drive some away. There is risk and opportunity there. But as long as we think of our customer first, as long as everything we do is a guide for the busy reader, then we will build loyalty.
For more about summary and full feeds, take a look at what Amy Gahran has to say.
To see how Matt McAlister is handling a switch to full feeds, take a look here.
For more about TOCs, read this article in Folio by John Brady.

Acquistions that make sense

It's seldom that a B2B media acquisition makes editorial sense to me.
Sure...I understand that trade publishing has become less about publishing and more about trade. I accept, albeit grudgingly, that Wall Street investors play a bigger role in our industry nowadays than do the old-time family publishers.
That's why I'm so pleased when I see someone in B2B make a purchase that seems to be more about content than cash flow.
Cygnus Business Media has announced it has acquired EMS Magazine and a series of related properties. That's about as logical a deal as you'll see this year. EMS serves emergency medical technicians, rescuers and other first responders. Cygnus already owns Emergency Medical Product News as well as Firehouse magazine and some related trade shows. Cygnus also owns Law Enforcement Technology and some related products. So the purchase of EMS means Cygnus is now the dominant player in all three areas of emergency response.
For a reporter, that means every interview with a firefighter can be mined for a story idea about medics. Every article about post-traumatic stress syndrome can be repurposed for cops, firefighters and EMTs. For an advertising salesman or tradeshow rep, the sale means that Cygnus now reaches almost everyone in the U.S. who works with rescue rope, stretchers or walkie-talkies.
In other words, this is a deal full of synergies. And although I loathe the word "synergies," I love the concept.
But while I'm celebrating the Cygnus deal, much of the B2B world is wondering who will acquire Advanstar. For a thoughtful analysis, take a look at what fellow B2B bloggers Rich Westerfield and David Shaw have to say.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Cygnus is a client of mine, and I'll be teaching a two-day writing seminar at the company later this month. And as long as I'm disclosing things, I should mention that I'm a licensed EMT. So it's possible that any deal involving EMS magazine would get me excited.

Going straight to the sources for news

One of journalism's functions -- whether we journalists care to admit it or not -- is to funnel public-relations material to an audience. The best journalism operations apply their best editorial judgment to p.r. material. If it's not newsworthy, it's not published. And even worthwhile stuff is rewritten to remove jargon, p.r.-speak and over-the-top promotional material.
In the best newsrooms, public relations material is no more than a starting point for a reporter. A press release can provide story ideas, contact names and background info.
In the worst newsrooms, a press release is published verbatim by lazy or unethical journalists.
Understandably, public-relations executives would generally prefer that their material be unedited, while being surrounded on the written page by editorial copy. P.R. pros understand that such placement gives their copy the appearance of news produced by journalists.
So what happens when public-relations companies can produce their own news and use it to "surround" their marketing message? Last week, Purina did just that. And as I've said before, I expect to see a surge in B2B news produced by B2B news sources.
Today, Doc Searls points toward a news-filled blog that is written by Boeing engineers. As Doc points out, the blog is serving a p.r. function and doing it much better than a press release could. And an article in BusinessWeek says one of the more popular blogs in France is run by the head of French retail giant E. Leclerc. That blog is filled with copy about news topics such as inflation and government policy -- editorial copy that surrounds and "legitimizes" a public-relations message.
In a world where news sources can now be news publishers, traditional B2B publishers should be asking themselves how they can respond to such developments in the industries they serve.
And B2B journalists need to ask themselves -- and ask themselves honestly -- if they'll miss it when someday in the near future their in-boxes are no longer filled with press releases.

Rob Curley leaves Kansas for Florida

Rob Curley, the new-media genius behind the converged newsroom of the Lawrence Journal-World in Kansas, has accepted a new job in Naples, Fla.
The move comes just days after Rob's work captured the attention of the New York Times.
Rob's move is certainly good news for Naples, but it's a sad day for Lawrence. It's a sad day for me too. I love Kansas and visit at least once a year. And part of the fun of that trip has been watching how the Journal-World serves its community. I've never been anywhere in Florida. But I suppose now I'll have to visit.
Everyone in journalism should pay attention to Rob's work. And everyone should be making some effort to duplicate the success he has had with convergence.

A really simple project for the long weekend

Here in the USA, tonight marks the start of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Most businesses will be closed until Tuesday. I'll be spending part of the long weekend doing long-weekend things -- cooking, exercising, being with family, napping and going to the movies. Unfortunately I'll also be doing the most long-weekend thing of all -- catching up on work.
Before you take a look at your own to-do list, allow me to make a suggestion.
If you haven't already learned to use RSS, then you're already way behind many of your peers. Take time this weekend to learn the system that will make it possible for you to once again keep track of the news and information you need to do your job.
It's easy to do. I promise. There's a reason why they call this stuff really simple syndication.
If you've followed my earlier suggestion to download the Firefox browser, then learning RSS is going to be really, really simple. Firefox has RSS-reading capability already built into a feature called Live Bookmarks.
For a fun look at these subjects, check out this piece in the Chicago Sun-Times.

An award that is not deserved

Lawn & Landscape magazine has been named the best trade magazine in Ohio.
Something, it would seem, is terribly wrong with Ohio.
As I've pointed out before on this blog, L&L and its parent company, GIE, have the most serious shortcomings possible in journalism -- they mislead and insult their readers.
Look -- there are thousands of ethical and talented professionals working in B2B media. But much of the world looks at B2B journalism as shady, slimy and amateurish. Trade magazines still have a reputation for hiring failures and dimwits who cut ethical corners. All of us suffer because companies such as GIE refuse to behave professionally.
Perhaps next year the Press Club of Cleveland can find someone a little more ethical to honor.

When news sources become news competitors

Blogging can make anyone a publisher. Podcasting can make anyone a broadcaster.
I've warned traditional B2B publishers that these new technologies mean that the next wave of competitors are coming from two unexpected places -- their own staff and news sources.
Need more convincing?
Purina has entered the podcasting world, creating audio files aimed at consumers. That should be a warning to anyone in agriculture news. Because there is nothing to stop Purina Mills from creating similar programs for a B2B audience of ranchers, farmers or veternarians.
It should also be a warning to everyone else in B2B publishing. How will you respond when some of the most respected brands in the industry you cover begin to produce their own news products?

Business journalism awards

I just love the Trade, Association and Business Publications International group, which represents the trade press around the globe. TABPI calls me "a b2b champion, full of interesting information. Not afraid to tell it like it is." And I love anyone who says nice things about me.
Today TABPI is saying some nice things about some other folks too. The group has announced the winners of its Tabbie awards in 12 editorial categories.
Topping the list for best single issue were England's Legal Business, U.S.-based Pensions & Investments, and New Zealand's NZ Retail.
Perhaps the most interesting thing in this year's awards is the performance of tiny NZ Retailer, published by AGM. The 5,000 circulation magazine placed in three categories.
Take a look at the complete list of winners. Follow the links and look to see who is doing good work in your space.
Want to see some more award-winning business journalism?
UCLA's school of management has announced the winners of the Gerald Loeb awards. The prizes are for consumer-oriented newspaper and TV operations, but B2B journalists should take note. The Loeb awards tend to go to those mainstream journalists who spot the 'big" story in an industry. Sometimes those stories have been covered to death by B2B journalists. But just as often the story was missed by B2B reporters who became so immersed in industry minutiae that they lost the ability to spot news.
Every B2B writer who covers transportation should wonder why he didn't write the "Death on the Tracks" series. Every agriculture writer should wonder if he missed a story about Washington State apples. Everyone at every computer magazine should be furious that they didn't break the IBM story.

More on transparency and journalism ethics

Over at Ari Slogan's site about citizen journalism, there's an interesting post on a recent Boston Globe article about blogging and product endorsements.
Of particular interest is that the Globe article has triggered some online debate about transparency (and about the Globe's accuracy.) But, as Ari points out, none of the debate is happening at the Globe's site because the newspaper doesn't have a comment function.
Take a look at the article, Ari's site and the links he has posted. You'll see that it seems the blogging world is dividing into two different camps. One group sees its primary mission as editorial, and takes steps to avoid business relationships that would threaten credibility. The second group is less interested in reputation than it is in revenue. That group is much like the bottom feeders of B2B publishing that I've written about here and here.
I put my blog in that first group. If you missed it before, here's my post about how and why I turned down a product endorsement deal.

The wisdom and wit of full disclosure

At the top of the list of things I love about the blogging world and the new media culture is transparency. I've been a journalist for about three decades now, and I have no illusions about objectivity. At best, objectivity is a dry style of writing. At worst, it's a myth that villains practice. Most commonly, it's a place for journalists who aren't inclined toward self examination to hide.
Transparency requires a journalist to rethink his writing style, and to examine his connections and beliefs. The most common form of transparency is the disclosure clause, which tells readers about a reporter's connections to a story.
And as it turns out, the disclosure clause is also a place to have a little fun.
Here's how Simon Dumenco describes his prejudices in his inaugural column at Ad Age. "Over the years, I’ve worked for, consulted for and/or created “content” for a disparate range of media companies including AOL, Bulfinch Press, Conde Nast, Dennis Publishing, HarperCollins, Harpo, HBO, Hearst, Primedia, Time Inc., Time Warner, Universal, Viacom and Wenner Media. My policy is to acknowledge that I know way too many people in this business, to admit that I’m hopelessly conflicted and to make fun of all of the above companies -- except for Primedia, which is the most retarded media company ever in the history of the world, and everybody knows it’s not nice to make fun of the "differently abled."
I trust that Simon also cringed at today's news that Tom Rogers, the "differently abled" former CEO of Primedia, has been named CEO and president of TiVo. People who witnessed the decline of Primedia on Rogers' watch may want to short some TiVo shares.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Although I have also worked for Time Warner and Primedia, and although it appears that we loathe some of the same people, I have never met Simon Dumenco.

The newspaper of the future is already in Kansas

It's so rare that I agree with the New York Times that when it does happen, I have to run to the computer and post something.
Everyone who knows me knows that I think the most interesting paper in the United States is the Lawrence Journal-World in Lawrence, Kan.
Now the Times seems to have noticed what's happening there. In a story called "The Newspaper of the Future," Tim O'Brien makes the pilgrimage to the center of new media publishing and the converged newsroom. It's a wonderful article. Take the time to read it. There's something to be learned in Lawrence by everyone in journalism.

When writing excludes

We write to communicate. And to communicate well, we must speak the same language as our readers.
Yet too many people who make their livings as writers insist on communicating in a way that excludes. Sports metaphors, pop-culture references and clichés all require that your reader be just like you -- interested in the same things and coming from the same place.
That's a mistake born of laziness and cultural bigotry -- two things that journalists must avoid if they are to learn to write well.
There's an interesting piece on the Poynter site about just this subject.
Take a look.
And take a look at what fellow journalism blogger Doug Shaw has to say.

Another new Web site that misses the point

Today I find yet another press release in my email inbox announcing yet another B2B magazine's redesigned Web site. But when I take a look at the site, I have to ask -- why bother?
Look at the relaunch of Penton's Material Handling Management and see if you're as disappointed as I am.
First, the press release plays up the site's RSS feeds and promises "Daily News from various sources, updated every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day." That sounds like MHM is planning on offering some form of open-source news service. But when I add the RSS feed to my news reader all I get is a bunch of press releases.
Other problems: You can spend an enormous amount of time looking through the MHM site without ever feeling that you're online. Most stories -- whether dumped from the print version or written just for the Web -- are text only. Graphics are rare. Links are nearly non-existent. Take a look at this piece, for example. (And doesn't anyone at MHM think that an article about trucks that is written by a truck salesman might need to be tagged as advertorial?)
Perhaps most offensive to me is that MHM doesn't understand -- and, in fact, seems opposed to -- the cultural change in journalism. Take a look at this silly piece about blogging. The writer is seemingly convinced that his magazine is still the sole voice of reason in the industry he covers. He urges readers to avoid blogs in the material-handling field becasue they are inaccurate. That may very well be true. I have no idea. Because remarkably he doesn't link to any of the blogs he's worried about, nor does he name them. It would appear that his primary goal isn't journalism -- which, by definition, is about providing information. Instead his goal is to limit information.
Here's a secret everyone in B2B editorial should learn. Your readers are at least as smart as you. They don't need you to tell them what they should, and should not, be reading. Doing so is offensive. And treating your readers like children makes you look childish.
Look. Let's review the basics.
The Web has given power to your readers. They now find information in hundreds of places. More importantly, they now use blogs and bulletin boards and similar services to engage in conversation about information.
The Web has also given power to you. You can use the Web to facilitate those conversations. You can use the Web to ease the search for information by linking offsite. And you can use the Web to improve your storytelling by using multimedia tools.
Failing to tap into those powers is a sure way to get your magazine excluded from the conversation.

tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media