Working, as I do, with a number of well known CEO’s and industry leaders, it has come to my attention that it is slowely becoming easier and easier to place comment pieces. There seems to be a genuine insatiable urge to put the opinions, views and philosophies of these types of people up there with the independent editorial stance of the publication concerned.
I think it raises a couple of interesting points.
1. I’m furtunate to be on the advisory board for an innovative new product aimed at pushing more news out to more people – direct to consumer (it is called NewsForce). Whilst working with them, admiring their confidence and a clearly very smart product, I came across a proof-point which I now believe carries some weight. The fact is there ARE less journalists to go around. AdWeek has just laid off more people (it’s a miracle how in the face of such adversity it still manages to get all the real news first)… the NYT is looking at cuts and the print industry is absolutely contracting. So less press. That’s good for Op-Eds, but is is good for independence of thought? Is this content being rigourously fact checked – or is it a free for all sounding board?
2. Where’s the Op-Ed for Joe the Plumber? The whole world is bottom-up now (so we are lead to believe) so why isn’t mother media welcoming in all types of people to have their say. Don’t tell me they do via the letters page – I mean, who really reads that? Isn’t that where the subscription details and cartoons are? Isn’ that really the little condescending area where editors toy with readers views and just let them vent? I’d like to see Op-Eds for the people.
3. How safe are Op-Eds for those that draft them? And how many of them are truly drafted by the person who’s name they appear under. So how true are they really? Or are they just a time-pressured CEO signing off an idea they think won’t cause too much trouble? I don’t think many journalists ghost write… it doesn’t feel quite so true does it?
Anyway, here’s an Op-Ed that’s currently running on HuffPo, drafted by Bob Jeffrey, global CEO of JWT. I like the concept a lot. And I didn’t write it. Click here.
