American Business Media has released its updated "Editorial Code of Ethics." Nothing in it should be a surprise to anyone who practices the journalism craft. The guidelines are clear, simple and even a little obvious. Nonetheless, I know there are folks out there who balk at ethical behavior, so I'm grateful that ABM has taken the time to publish the code.
Of particular note are the guidelines related to online advertising. The online world is new, and the rules are still being written. As a result there have been more shenanigans on the Web than in print in recent years. ABM is calling for online standards similar to those used in respectable print publications -- clearly labeling advertorial content, keeping editorial content under the control of the editorial department, etc.
ABM also wants online readers to be able to "opt out" of having their information sold to third parties. That's the sort of consumer-oriented move I support, but it's not going to go down well with many circulation departments.
One disappointment is that the guidelines don't mention transparency. Dan Gillmor, who may be the best thinker in journalism today, has suggested transparency as part of a model for the post-objectivity world.
My experience is that the most common form of unethical journalistic behavior involves non-transparency, in which reporters don't fully disclose biases, history (many B2B reporters once worked in the industry they cover) and relationships with sources.
I'd like to think the folks at ABM are thinking about these issues, and perhaps next year's version of the ethics guideline will address them.
In keeping with this idea of full disclosure, let me say this: Among the members of the ABM committee that issued the guidelines are Rama Ramaswami, who I remember as one of the brighter people I met in my time at Primedia Business; Marlys Miller, who is an editor at Vance Publishing, where I once worked; and Whitney Sielaff, publisher of one of my favorite B2B magazines.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
VNU Business sells four B2B titles
VNU Business Media is selling four B2B magazines for the retail industry to Chicago-based Ideal Media, a new division of Schofield Media Ltd.
"Retail Merchandiser," "Restaurant Business," "Foodservice Director," and "Beverage World" as well as related trade shows and Web sites are all included in the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to the press release, editorial staffers won't have to worry about relocation, because the magazines will "be co-located in New York City and Chicago."
The purchase -- at least of the food and drink magazines -- may prove a nice fit. Schofeld already publishes "Food & Drink" magazine in the U.S. and "Food Chain" in Europe.
Schofeld, the U.S. arm of England's Schofield Publishing, has been growing at a rapid pace of late. Last month Schofeld bought "American Executive" and "Health Executive" from RedCoat Publishing.
Given that Schofeld is publisher of "Construction Today" and "Furniture & Interiors," I'd look for more purchases in the homebuilding and furnishings space.
"Retail Merchandiser," "Restaurant Business," "Foodservice Director," and "Beverage World" as well as related trade shows and Web sites are all included in the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
According to the press release, editorial staffers won't have to worry about relocation, because the magazines will "be co-located in New York City and Chicago."
The purchase -- at least of the food and drink magazines -- may prove a nice fit. Schofeld already publishes "Food & Drink" magazine in the U.S. and "Food Chain" in Europe.
Schofeld, the U.S. arm of England's Schofield Publishing, has been growing at a rapid pace of late. Last month Schofeld bought "American Executive" and "Health Executive" from RedCoat Publishing.
Given that Schofeld is publisher of "Construction Today" and "Furniture & Interiors," I'd look for more purchases in the homebuilding and furnishings space.
Monday, March 21, 2005
B2B magazine for retailers
My fellow B2B media blogger David Shaw has announced his latest venture -- a B2B magazine for senior retail executives. The publication promises coverage of transportation, logistics and other issues "throughout the retail value chain."
Congratulations to David and his team. I'll look forward to the first issue in May.
B2B video-on-demand service
On days when I can't get to the gym, I'll sometimes use Cablevision's video-on-demand services on my television and take a yoga or Pilates class through "Sportskool" or "MagRack."
The services are essentially instructional videos, usually bearing some sort of consumer magazine title. Yoga Journal, for example, produces classes for video-on-demand.
I've often wondered about the potential for similar B2B services.
And now someone has done it....sort of.
Home and Garden Television, a unit of E.W. Scripps, will produce three-minute videos for professional home builders. But HGTV won't offer the video through cable television. Users can access the product only through the Web at HGTVPro.com.
The videos are proving popular, according to the Associated Press, which says HGTVPro received 380,000 unique visits in its first 19 days of operation -- roughly half the number of the Web site of B2B trade publisher Hanley Wood.
The services are essentially instructional videos, usually bearing some sort of consumer magazine title. Yoga Journal, for example, produces classes for video-on-demand.
I've often wondered about the potential for similar B2B services.
And now someone has done it....sort of.
Home and Garden Television, a unit of E.W. Scripps, will produce three-minute videos for professional home builders. But HGTV won't offer the video through cable television. Users can access the product only through the Web at HGTVPro.com.
The videos are proving popular, according to the Associated Press, which says HGTVPro received 380,000 unique visits in its first 19 days of operation -- roughly half the number of the Web site of B2B trade publisher Hanley Wood.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
B2B magazine awards and psychology
About 18 years ago, when I was young reporter for the Winston-Salem Journal, I decided I wanted another job. So I took a drive to nearby High Point, N.C., to apply at Furniture Today.
The folks there gave me some sort of psychology exam, which I apparently failed. Because they told me that the test results indicated I wouldn't be happy as part of the FT family.
On the Myers-Briggs test -- my personal favorite among the personality inventory exams -- I'm an ENFJ. That means I'm creative, highly verbal and have a mentoring personality. A lot of ENFJs become writers.
But being an ENFJ apparently wasn't enough for Furniture Today.
Whatever was missing from my personality, I cannot argue with Furniture Today's decision. The magazine has been plenty successful all these years without me.
And today comes word that they are a Neal Award winner for news coverage.
Check out the full list of winners here.
The folks there gave me some sort of psychology exam, which I apparently failed. Because they told me that the test results indicated I wouldn't be happy as part of the FT family.
On the Myers-Briggs test -- my personal favorite among the personality inventory exams -- I'm an ENFJ. That means I'm creative, highly verbal and have a mentoring personality. A lot of ENFJs become writers.
But being an ENFJ apparently wasn't enough for Furniture Today.
Whatever was missing from my personality, I cannot argue with Furniture Today's decision. The magazine has been plenty successful all these years without me.
And today comes word that they are a Neal Award winner for news coverage.
Check out the full list of winners here.
Convergence and reluctant reporters
I had a wonderful time at the College Media Advisers meeting yesterday. I'm the newest member of the professional advisers committee -- which has the redundant-sounding job of advising advisers about trends in journalism.
Of particular note from our gathering was the considerable attention given to convergence in the newsroom. (I'll take a second here to offer my congratulations to my alma mater, which seems to be embracing convergence as the core of its journalism program.) Convergence was also a hot topic when I visited Northwest Missouri State University last week. And what I keep hearing is that students -- the journalists of tomorrow -- aren't crazy about the idea.
It seems that students of today are every bit as delusional as I was when I was a kid, thinking that they are already experts in some particular area of interest, and that there's no need to pick up additional skills.
Certainly convergence is already a reality in the B2B press (and the community press) because the jack-of-all-trades journalist is the mainstay of any low-budget, small-staff operation.
But what I try to get across to students is that convergence and multitasking is also the norm in the mainstream press.
At CNN we had no need of reporters who couldn't record sound bites, or upload video to a Web site. At Bloomberg, reporters carried digital recorders with their notebooks, and everyone was required to be available for television stand-ups.
In the new media environment, journalists are more than just reporters or just photographers or just designers.
And I for one want nothing to do with the prospective employee who would limit his job to some small slice of the industry. Because such a person would ultimately limit my publication.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media, business media, journalism education
Of particular note from our gathering was the considerable attention given to convergence in the newsroom. (I'll take a second here to offer my congratulations to my alma mater, which seems to be embracing convergence as the core of its journalism program.) Convergence was also a hot topic when I visited Northwest Missouri State University last week. And what I keep hearing is that students -- the journalists of tomorrow -- aren't crazy about the idea.
It seems that students of today are every bit as delusional as I was when I was a kid, thinking that they are already experts in some particular area of interest, and that there's no need to pick up additional skills.
Certainly convergence is already a reality in the B2B press (and the community press) because the jack-of-all-trades journalist is the mainstay of any low-budget, small-staff operation.
But what I try to get across to students is that convergence and multitasking is also the norm in the mainstream press.
At CNN we had no need of reporters who couldn't record sound bites, or upload video to a Web site. At Bloomberg, reporters carried digital recorders with their notebooks, and everyone was required to be available for television stand-ups.
In the new media environment, journalists are more than just reporters or just photographers or just designers.
And I for one want nothing to do with the prospective employee who would limit his job to some small slice of the industry. Because such a person would ultimately limit my publication.
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media, business media, journalism education
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