| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : OCTOBER 11, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| MEDIA
A Crumbling Wall? To preserve editorial independence, news outlets try to keep the institutions they cover and advertisers at arm's length. But this is proving hard to do online. TRANSACTION FEES Many media Web sites take a percentage of their online product sales. That puts them in a closer economic partnership with advertisers than is the case with traditional fixed-rate ads. MISLEADING ADS Long-standing ethical rules bar magazines and newspapers from printing advertisements that look like editorial copy. But on the Web, many publications are blurring the distinctions. EQUITY STAKES Business publications frequently belong to big conglomerates and write about other units inside the same company. But it's rare for them to make direct investments in corporations they cover. CNBC crossed this line when it acquired a stake in Archipelago last month. SPONSORED EDIT Nearly all news publications avoid ''sponsored edit''--stories underwritten by one advertiser. But it's thriving online. DATA: BUSINESS WEEK _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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RELATED ITEMS Commentary: Journalism's Online Credibility Gap TABLE: A Crumbling Wall? INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
