Some DMN section editors now report to sales managers

WTF? Have they completely given up on any journalistic ethics and a wall of separation, or is it only about the bottom line and ethics be dammed?

Sales or Advertising staff dictating editorial control? No way I ever ever would agree to that.

DMN is Dead. To. Me. Forever.


http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/12/at_the_dallas_news_the_latest.php


The lead graph:

After the jump, you will find a memo Dallas Morning News editor Bob Mong and senior vice president of sales Cyndy Carr sent to everyone at A.H. Belo Corp. Wednesday afternoon outlining what they call a "business/news integration." Which means? As of yesterday, some section editors at all of the company's papers, including The News, will now report directly to Carr's team of sales managers, now referred to as general managers. In short, those who sell ads for A.H. Belo's products will now dictate content within A.H. Belo's products, which is a radical departure from the way newspapers have been run since, oh, forever.

 

Ooooooowee, T'Shane! (SNLreference)

I'm a defender of the DMN, but this? Oh, hell no. This goes against all the principles of journalistic integrity.

 

this is a great idea. just look how good a job those sales people have done bringing in revenue.

 

Saw that on Romenesko - just below a story about the Oklahoman giving staffers paid time off to volunteer to work on a political campaign backed by the publisher.
Honestly, journos are rank amateurs when it comes to being unethical.

 

At least with the political campaign bit you are getting paid to broaden your resume.

I can see news meetings starting now with charts of how many washing machines were sold in the Greater Dallas area.

 

Good thing they didn't try to pull this shit when Dave Smith was still running Sports. He'd have told them to go F themselves.

 

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Dallas Cowboys, sponsored by Ex-Lax, the Mild Laxative, lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 20-19, after the Cowboys quarterback, who shall remain nameless here, fumbled the ball in the end zone after coach Wade Phillips, who was wearing clothing from Nike, ordered a running play instead of having the quarterback kneel down to end the game.

 

If reporters can get commissions for advertiser-friendly stories, it might turn out fine for everyone!

 

So if you live in Dallas or Oklahoma City, your working assumption is that everything in the newspaper is a lie unless proven otherwise by some other source of information.
Really, I don't want people to lose their jobs, but what excuse do these two papers cited in this thread have for existing anymore?

 

News Editor: We got this great story for tomorrow on BigCityCorp's president being caught as the main pimp in a prostitution ring.

Ad manager: He's one of our biggest advertisers. Can you run it without mentioning his name or the company?

News Editor: Well, that's kind of not newsworthy then.

Ad manager: Great. Go with that.

 

Ho-leeee fuck-ing sheeeeiiiiit. There's no longer anything that surprises me.

 

For those that want to jump directly to the Q&A with Bob Mong:
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/12/bob_mong_answers_some_question.php