A policy that protects honesty - written editorial policy

A written editorial policy can shield association titles from demands of directors and members.

Through whispers, rumors and conversations overheard in elevators, ABA Journal editor and publisher Gary Hengstler learned that an American Bar Association board member had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for failing to file a federal income tax return in 1988. When the story was confirmed, Hengstler says he ran it by the Journal's 13-member editorial board, many of whom wanted to keep it out of the prestigious, 422,000-circulation magazine.

But thanks to the ABA's three-paragraph editorial policy statement, says Hengstler, "No one person can tell me what to run." An item on the case appeared in the June issue and noted the association's criteria necessary to oust board members. Although this particular case did not conform to the rules, the member resigned.

Hengstler stands by his handling of the matter. "In order to serve the association membership, the editorial content of your magazine shouldn't be able to be ignored," he said at the recent Society of National Association Publications annual conference in Washington. "Editorial integrity helps your magazine, but also raises the integrity of the association with members and those outside the organization."

Indeed, the ABA editorial board, which is made up of nine ABA members and four association officers, doesn't see some 95 percent of the Journal's editorial before it goes to press. Only material that is most controversial or potentially damaging to the association is screened, Hengstler says. But, as the representatives of the Journal's "owner," the ABA, the editorial board does have the final word, he adds.

Policy as protection

The ABA's policy, printed in every issue, is hailed by many association publishers as the standard to which they aspire - one that separates a superior editorial product from a house organ that trumpets the views of a few influential members and goes largely unread by the membership.

"You have to explain to volunteer [editorial board] members why it is important" to adhere to the policy, Hengstler says. "They don't see how it erodes credibility" to publish reviews of every member's most recent book, or to run pages and pages of photographs from the association's annual conference.

"You have to say you'll lose advertisers if you're perceived as a promotional house organ, " he adds. "You have to show them the readers you'll lose."

The ABA policy gives the editor great latitude. It reads, in part, "Publishing and editorial decisions are based on the editors" judgment of the quality of the writing, the timeliness of the article, and the potential interest to the readers of the Journal. . . . The views expressed in the ABA Journal are those of the authors and may not reflect the official policy of the ABA or the Journal. No endorsement of those views should be inferred unless specifically identified as the official policy of the American Bar Association."

Hengstler became editor and publisher in 1989, two years after the ABA's editorial board began putting a statement together. According to Hengstler, the board decided to make it clear that, while it could handle matters of law, the editorial professionals hired to oversee the association's publications ought to make the judgment calls for content.

The statement they came up with, he says, is "actually stronger than what I would have written. If the editorial staff had come up with it, it would have looked too self-serving."

One association editor, who asked not to be named, says that editorial decisions at her magazine are in the hands of a few powerful members, and even some of the 50-person editorial board members question whether they can tell the difference between an author's opinion and association policy. "The board thinks the magazine reflects their every association stance," this editor says.

Explicit editorial policies can help association editors and publishers who are forced, by the nature of their positions, to serve three masters: the board of directors, die membership's interests and the journalistic integrity of the magazine. Association editors "don't want to be just a word processor," says Mary Nowesnick, the editor of Savings Institutions from the U.S. League of Savings Institutions, and former president of SNAP. Association directors "have to understand and appreciate the editorial management process."

Serving many masters

Tom Shannon, executive editor of the Executive Educator from the National School Boards Association in Alexandria, Virginia, agrees. "An editorial policy is a bridge between [the editor] and the association's CEO or director. "

But some publishers prefer not to explore their editorial parameters too carefully - especially at the risk of provoking more scrutiny from a CEO or board of directors. As these editors battle the daily onslaught of grip-and-grip" photographs of board members receiving awards and supposedly candid shots from association-sponsored cocktail parties, they have their own ways of dealing with the powerful few, or "association junkies," as Hengstler calls them.

Karla Taylor, vice president and editor in chief of Currents from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, notes, "You have to make clear in your pages what is association news and what isn't." Currents has a section dedicated to association news.

First things first

Jane Carpenter, vice president of public affairs at the Illinois Manufacturers Association in Chicago, says she is interested in establishing an editorial policy, but adds that her bimonthly magazine, The Illinois Manufacturer, is only a year old and has a staff of two. "We haven't gotten to the point where we need [an editorial policy]," she says. "It's not as high a priority as getting the thing out the door."

For the moment, the IMA editorial board consists of about 10 senior association staffers who drop in and out of the meetings on an as-needed basis. Carpenter says she "would rather get a strong following [among the membership] before doing controversial articles" that might require a strong policy statement, and is concentrating more on subscriptions, style books and guidelines for authors. "Next year I'll probably think about it," she says, although she is leery of attracting too much attention from the board of directors.

Don't be fooled, says Hengstler. "Board members are your first and best allies - but always remind them you were hired because of your journalistic expertise. Remember, you're not alone."

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