The wall.

In the newspaper industry, we use that term to define the delineation that exists between our advertising and news departments.

In past eras, that wall was essentially impenetrable. Sales people and news people did not share information with each other, of any type, in large part to maintain the newspaper's objectivity.

Advertisers, the people who pay money to market their companies on the news pages, cannot be exempt from news coverage that is negative or promised news coverage that is favorable in exchange for their business. Otherwise, the newspaper loses its credibility as a community information source.

Those same principles apply in today's journalism world, but the wall is no longer so clearly defined. We now have conversations with our colleagues on the other side of the building. Sometimes, they even suggest stories and we actually print them.

A typical scenario might go like this: A sales representative gets a call from a person starting up a new business who wants to do some advertising. The business person asks if the paper would be interested in doing a story. The sales person then says, “I don't know, but I can pass along your name and number.”

The newsroom then gets the information and makes a decision on whether this is newsworthy. If it is, we'll look to do a story. If it's not, then we won't - end of discussion.

In the end, it's the newsroom's decision.

Journalism purists might be aghast at the thought that the advertising department could play any role in what goes into the news space.

In the end, though, I see the benefit from a relationship with our advertisement department that allows for open and honest communication, with the understanding that each department may at times have to do things that could make life hard for the other.

If a major advertiser, for example, is in trouble with the government, we have to report and write about it, even if the advertiser threatens to cancel their business.

Conversely, the newsroom cannot ignore positive stories about businesses that do not advertise with us. I've heard from some readers who express disbelief that some story did not include a particular business. “They even advertise with you guys,” the person will say.

In the end, our job is to cover the community, not our client base.

But we're a much better product when we get thoughts and feedback from our advertising colleagues. It means more human interest stories and better coverage of new businesses in the area.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns appear Saturdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net