You're very lucky to have that experience, particularly if you were able to stay for 25 years in one spot. I've worked at six different newspapers, in three states, from very small circulations to over 300,000, and every last one of those papers or TV stations gave some level of control to the advertisers. A few made it obvious the advertisers were in charge by yelling at me--ARE YOU CRAZY!!! (both large and small papers). I sometimes won the argument, but I've also had some bosses you wouldn't dare confront.
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Originally Posted by bkcunningham1
There should always be a wall between news and advertising. The wall is porous of late, but that doesn't excuse poor journalism nor does it excuse apathy on the part of the public. I was a journalist for some 25 odd years and only once did I ever have an executive editor bow down to the cries and whims of advertisers. He and I didn't see eye-to-eye on a few things and I wasn't afraid to make it known what I thought about him wanting me to put my integrity and reputation on the line in order to keep in the good graces of an advertiser. He was an exception to the rule in my experience. Thank God.
It doesn't matter what your political beliefs, a good journalist should and can keep opinion out of news. Period. I was very proud of my profession and I was proud of most of the other reporters I knew. The times they are a changing though. Sad but true.
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