Sydney journalists outraged by front page advertisement
By Leah McBride Mensching, Friday 26 October 2007 at 21:26 :: Editorial Content :: #765 :: rss
Journalists at the Sydney Morning Herald have protested the newspaper's use of its front page to promote Singapore Airlines Friday.
The broadsheet also devoted a four-page wraparound to Thursday's arrival of the airline's giant A380 airbus. The wraparound included a full-page Singapore Airlines advertisement and three smaller ads for the airline, as well as articles about the arrival of the world's largest passenger plane and other milestones in aviation, The Australian reported Friday.
After peeling back the wraparound, readers found another Herald front page containing other articles.
Protesting staff members said they believe the move breached the Fairfax editorial ethics policy, the paper's charter of editorial independence and the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance code of ethics.
“It shows that our masthead can be bought, it lets our readers down and it places the reputation of our reporters at risk,” said Ruth Pollard, Herald journalist and co-chairwoman of the Fairfax house committee, which held a staff meeting Friday to discuss the situation. “We're horrified ... It's an unprecedented low.”
A unanimous vote at the meeting “condemned Fairfax management for running the spread while a letter, signed by staff, has been sent to senior editors and Fairfax management,” The Australian reported.
On Monday, Editor Alan Oakley will meet with staff to hear their concerns, but he rejected their call to publish a clarification in Saturday's paper.
“The arrival of this aircraft was a story covered by all media, including a lengthy segment on ABC radio's AM program (not known for its advertorials),” Oakley stated in a letter to staff. “I made the judgement that it be placed on page one and that the wrap go ahead - a decision based on news value.”
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