There's a good reason for this, of course, with roots that sink deep in media history. You don't want The New York Times coverage of a tanker oil spill brought to you by Exxon. You don't want an expos of the well-oiled efficiency of a municipal police department sponsored by Dunkin' Donuts. There is a necessary wall between editorial and advertising at many publications. Erected to shield writers from the furtive impulses of salespeople motivated by hitting their quarterly numbers, that wall is intentionally impossible to scale.
Snipers secure the border.
Well, the issue becomes more complex in the e-zine world. Or, at least, here at ClickZ . In fact, our approach to advertising is far different than it is in the newspaper world. Here, the editorial department does have active involvement in the sales process. The trick is, of course, not to cross the line and jeopardize the publication's integrity.