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1. Thou shalt do the right thing. Cover your beat and report the
news without fear or favor. This means being fair, honest, open, and
careful to avoid even the appearance of conflicts of interest. Nobody
likes or trusts a liar or a faker.

2. Thou shalt not make sales calls. Nor should an editor host
advertiser luncheons or perform similar marketing tasks in behalf of
the ad-sales department. Such events create the impression that

advertisers have special access to favorable editorial treatment. In this
business, remember, perception is reality.
3. Thou shalt not covet perks and freebies. Apart from review
samples, there is no such thing as a free lunch, junket, or product.

When someone provides free goods or travel, you are expected to pay
with editorial coverage, which is far more credible — and cost-
efficient — than taking ad pages in your magazine. Know that

everyone is selling — and trying to include the editor in the loop.
4. Remember to keep watch on advertising integrity. After all,
what are the prospects for survival of editorial integrity if a

magazine’s advertising sales system is virtually destroying its own
environment? Be wary of devious advertisers that can slither into your
pages alongside your editorial beat. When you receive reader

complaints, report your concerns to the publisher.
5. Remember to keep holy the editorial pages. The more narrow
your advertising base, the more corrupt your editorial is likely to be. If
you depend on widgets for advertising, and if you cover the widget

business editorially, you are in their hands. But readers don’t respect
— or read — magazines written for advertisers, and as an audience
abandons a publication, so too do advertisers. Even though some

advertisers are afraid of a frank editorial tone that may reflect on them
directly, editorial integrity is the best strategy for long-term survival.
Expand that integrity to cover a wider editorial range and your ad-
sales department will be able to pursue a more diverse client roster of

advertisers. Everybody wins.
6. Honor thy agreements. Always check back with a source for an
accuracy review of quotes obtained during an interview, but never

give a subject the right of final review and approval of a total
manuscript. Your job is to play fair with a subject, not to be a rewrite
department in the ego division.

7. Thou shalt not have false gods before thee. By making deals with
PR reps or subjects to get their cooperation on interviews, stories,