Church and State Conflicts

In a perfect world, the relationship between a PR practitioner and a journalist is a symbiotic one of mutual respect. The sharing of information. The establishment of common editorial ground on behalf of the client and the reader/audience.

Hopefully, this relationship isn't tarnished by the linking of editorial consideration with that of advertising obligation.

For the past six months, I had the pleasure of such a symbiotic professional relationship with the new editor of a dental trade publication. I took the time to ask what his editorial charter was and did my best to provide him with the information and executive access he needed to do his job better.

He reciprocated by giving me a heads up on feature articles that may be relevant to my clients and by attending client press conferences and editorial briefings.

I like to think that we considered each other go-to, stand-up guys.

This past week, I received a call from this editor. He wanted me to be one of the first to know that he was leaving his position at the dental trade publication. Although I was honored to be included in "the circle of trust", I was also disapointed to hear he was leaving the dental industry entirely.

One of the reasons for his departure was the fact that the advertising sales manager was directing editorial policy and news coverage. So what do we have?

A trade publication with weakened editorial relevance (readers can spot bought editorial placements a mile away) and the loss of a professional, ethical and objective journalist to another industry.

Bummer.