Journalists Decry Advertisers Demand to Censor Magazines

SPJ President Steve Geimann and NLGJA President Leroy Aarons called the practice a corporate version of prior restraint and said the practice will have a chilling effect on writers who specialize in sensitive or controversial subjects and could prevent important issues from being made public.

"It's absolutely wrong when government tries to prevent publication of news stories with which it is uncomfortable," Geimann said. "It's dangerous and embarrassing when our own publishers and editors pull their punches or kill stories because they offend advertisers or, worse, are afraid to offend them."

Aarons criticized Esquire magazine, which killed a short story -- about a gay student who offered college tutoring and term papers in exchange for sex -- when editors apparently feared a major advertiser, Chrysler, would withdraw its advertising. "It's a sad commentary that stories with gay content are still subject to censorship and even more alarming when advertisers get to be the censors," Aarons said. "I sincerely doubt that if the story involved a heterosexual arrangement that it would have been expunged from Esquire's racy pages."

Geimann said it's increasingly distressing that otherwise responsible journalists are allowing advertisers, using financial pressure, to determine editorial content. "Where once the barrier between ads and editorial content was insurmountable, now the drive for more ads seems to be turning some newsrooms into extensions of the marketing department."

The practice of allowing advertisers to review stories before publication emerged in a Wall Street Journal story that described several cases where publishers and editors changed their process. For example, Chrysler has demanded from magazines advance notice of "offensive" articles in order to decide whether to buy space, the newspaper said. Sometimes, advertisers decline to appear if certain issues are covered. The Journal said Esquire dropped the story rather than lose ads.

"Editors and especially publishers ought to be more enlightened about social issues and society's concerns," Aarons said. "Gays and lesbians are part of our communities. Publications shouldn't be afraid of telling their stories. Advertisers shouldn't be afraid, either."

Aarons noted that although his organization was alerted by the Esquire incident, "as journalists we see this as a broader issue of press freedom, likely to have a chilling effect at all magazines."

Geimann said, "I understand that advertisers want to check out where their message will appear. I even understand, and appreciate, that some articles in some publications, might cause them discomfort or might be in conflict with their corporate image and message. They are free to place their ads elsewhere. The freedom of the press is in grave jeopardy if advertisers with corporate missions and special interest agendas can make or force editorial decisions based on prior review."