The Cavalier Daily introduced a new sponsored content advertising model this past week via a letter from the editor, Julia Horowitz.As Horowitz notes in her letter, major national publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others, are using a similar model. I will be interested to see how this process unfolds. Horowitz addressed a few rules that make me feel good about it: clear labeling, no use of editorial resources from The Cavalier Daily and separate housing online. Further, none of the sponsored content will be in the print issues, at least for the foreseeable future.
One of the rules, though, raises some concerns. As Editor-in-Chief, Horowitz will be reviewing and personally uploading all Brand Link content, reserving “the right not to publish content on Brand Link deemed in poor taste.” This is an essential review to have in place at some level; it would be foolish to simply give advertisers carte blanche to upload content and feel certain that they would not upload something truly offensive at some point. However, having the editor-in-chief effectively sign off on the content, even when judging the ads relative to such a low bar as not in “poor taste,” might give the imprimatur of her office and of The Cavalier Daily generally. Indeed, this is precisely what sponsored content is after, the halo of the publication and the readers’ trust that publication has built up over, in this case, more than a century.
While I do have concerns about sponsored content, I also realize the publishing industry is changing. Traditional advertising is not going to offer enough revenue to sustain a publication, even when virtually the entire staff is comprised of volunteers. The Cavalier Daily has to seek out new sources of revenue. As I have written frequently, I think The Cavalier Daily is doing excellent work and is an asset to both the University and Charlottesville communities. Because I think that work must continue, I am in favor of their pursuit of revenue to maintain both their ability to continue publishing and also, as critically, to maintain their financial independence from the University. That independence is worth taking some chances with new kinds of revenue opportunities. No other news outlet gave us the depth of reporting (more than 1,500 words for each piece) on the protests surrounding the controversial Board of Visitors meeting and the tuition increases.
The Cavalier Daily must remain an independent voice for students and the rest of the University. Indeed, whatever risk there may be that sponsored content could damage the trust of readers in the independence and objectivity of the news and editorial writing, that risk is clearly outweighed by the certainty that losing financial independence and seeking money from the University itself would almost completely negate any possibility of readers believing that the paper remained objective where the University was concerned. I hope that, as Horowitz wrote, The Cavalier Daily staff will be able to take advantage of this new kind of advertising on their own terms.
This is new territory for The Cavalier Daily and for its readers. It is still relatively new territory in the whole publishing world, really. I urge readers to offer feedback on Brand Link content. Help The Cavalier Daily shape how it uses this revenue source so it works for the paper and its readers.
Christopher Broom is the Public Editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at publiceditor@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @CDPublicEditor.
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