James F. Evans Collection; Paper presented at the 1989 Annual Conference of Agricultural Communicators in Education; 1989 July; Portland, OR, Responses from a mail survey of 190 journalists who work for farm journals -- a 78 response rate -- reveal that about two thirds of the journalists say advertisers have threatened their journals on occasion, and about one-half say that advertising has actually been withdrawn. The journalists also report that advertisers sometimes attempt to win over journalists with gifts, free meals, or in other ways, usually not with success. These journalists report that most farm publications do not have a clear policy in dealing with advertiser influence. At the same time, most farm journals are struggling to maintain advertising, a struggle that makes them vulnerable to pressures.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 142 Document Number: D06395
Notes:
Wallaces Farmer/Penton contribution to ACDC, November 2015., Typed manuscript. 16 chapters., Former editor and research director of Wallaces Farmer tracks the history of Wallaces Farmer, beginning with the first ancestor periodical started in 1853. Features editors, periodicals and topics addressed in coverage into 1918.
Reports that focus group research among farm readers shows they want information that is not a commercial on the editorial pages they read. "Isn't it strange? The very credibility these folks crave is the first thing to disappear when publishers agree to relax their standards."
