Occasionally we receive calls from advertisers who suggest we write news stories about them or their companies.
Sometimes they express the desire to run these stories at the same time, or on the same page, as their ads are booked to run in our paper.
The editorial department has serious concerns about doing this.
The editorial and advertising department are two separate entities. We work together and are dependent on each other, yet each is responsible for its own business decisions.
To produce a credible newspaper, the editors apply various criteria to story ideas they come across. Those determine whether a story will be written. Is the idea newsworthy? Is it of interest to our readers? Why is it of interest? Does it present facts? How timely is the story? Who are the sources, do we need more to balance the story?
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A story is not run just because it is requested by an advertiser.
The story should be fresh in new angles and backed up with facts, and not be a promotional advertorial piece.
Our editors decide which and how stories should be covered. They welcome ideas from advertisers. Some of the ideas might lead to great news stories, ranging from a new type of technology to the expansion of an existing company, that our readers may find of interest.
However, the editors would appreciate if phone calls and news releases came directly to the editorial department and were offered on news merit.
They shouldn’t be considered as favors by the salespeople, or as an obligation by the paper to run stories at certain times to give maximum advertising advantage over the competition.
Advertisers who believe they have valid news ideas can contact news editor Barb Glen or farm management editor Colleen Munro, care of this paper.
