Brand Journalism Showdown : Journalist vs Marketers

Upon educating myself about brand journalism it was apparent that such a mundane topic has quite the aura of controversy surrounding it. To understand the conflict between journalists and marketers within brand journalism we must first review what brand journalism is.

Brand journalism is reporting of a brand or product with the insight and detail from a reporters approach. This is where the line gets blurred and the controversy and conflict begin. Journalists who are active in brand journalism do not take kindly to being labeled or compared to a marketer. Columnist Ann Friedman wrote an article published online for the Columbian Journalism Review entitled "Branded but 'independent' media". It is a detailed interview with journalist Jessica Bennett. Bennett has worked for various publications such as The Boston Globe and Newsweek. After becoming bored with traditional journalism she decided to take a position with Storyboard.  This involved creating content for Tumblr in blog form. In the article she cites her worries about initially taking the position and being pigeonholed into writings that were not from a journalistic standpoint. “From the start, I worried that a company like Tumblr wouldn’t have the same commitment to journalism as a place like Newsweek, but the idea of being part of something new, in a field that’s changing faster than we can keep up, outweighed any doubts. I didn’t want to end up doing a bunch of bullshit PR, and I think that’s the risk of doing ‘branded’ content at a lot of companies. But there are ways around that, and I think we found them” (Friedman, 2013).

In light of the negative feedback from so-called “professional journalist” companies today are using brand journalism as their bread and butter, or secret weapon if you will. The digital age has forced the entire advertising and/or marketing game to change and evaluate how to properly tackle the new age head on. When referring to brand journalism Forbes journalist Lewis DVorkin says “It’s one of the most quietly talked about areas in the media industry today, ultimately destined to shake up one hundred years of journalism” (DVorkin, 2012). It seems as if corporations and marketers alike have embraced the new wave while journalist are having trouble giving credit to or recognizing this form of journalism. “Those of us with long careers in journalism have moved in and out of the gray zone between journalism and advertising” (DVorkin, 2012). With a quote like that, one has to wonder why then would journalist battle so much with the acceptance of brand journalism? On the flip side of that very same idea one must also wonder why marketers do not put to the forefront how important the “real” journalist is in brand journalism.

“It was through social that I learned thinking has evolved regarding the terms of brand journalism and content marketing, I’m now sharing pertinent information” (Gombita, 2013). Embracing how to get these two sides to cooperate together in a way that is not only beneficial for the company the journalist as well as the marketer is working for is extremely beneficial for all involved. The question then becomes what happens when a company decides it needs neither from outside sources and develops its own team. “There are ethical challenges in being your own corporate media publisher, with a need to "step up your game" in regard to honesty, openness and transparency” (Gombita, 2013). The worry is that when a company has a team of writers and marketers working together in house at what point does bending the line of truth start to happen when releasing public statements or documents. “With direct publishing power comes great responsibility; remember that stereotypes about public relations developed for a reason” (Gombita, 2013). This statement in Judy Gombita's article Goodbye brand journalism and content marketing…hello DIY corporate media! really hits the nail on the head when referring to the battle between traditional journalist and marketer. It is the theory of journalist that marketers are very dishonest in their advertising with no fact checking or truth behind many of the claims. Journalist by nature are fact checkers that seek the truth or should before writing for publication.

Journalist writing articles online now have an even tougher challenge at hand on top of being truthful at all times. The days of writing an article and it either going in a newspaper or magazine and the rest “being history” is over. A web journalist has many responsibilities they must accomplish faster than ever. “Reporters often find themselves in increasingly competitive situations where a few minutes or even a few seconds will mean the difference between having an audiences and not having one” (Stovall, 2013). Pressure from rapid deadlines like what is mentioned in the previous statement could lead a brand journalist to overlook the fact checking in their respective reports. This is not to say that overlooking how true an article or statement is, is the norm because quite frankly it is not. The only argument is that one false statement in an article of brand journalism where there are many claims about a product or brand could misinform the readers alike.

Let us now try to understand how brand journalism has changed and is changing the way marketers approach consumers. “Social media has changed the equation. We no longer live in a world where the rich and powerful control the means of mass communication. Now, anyone can publish his or her news, views, comment and analysis” (Bull, 2013). The statement previously mentioned really hits home when understanding why companies have employed brand journalism as an important area of attack on consumers. Companies no longer have to rely on national newspapers or popular magazine publications to convey the messages and stories behind their brands.  Now they can use their respective websites as well as social media outlets to publish any amount of stories about their products instantly. This also allows the consumer to interact one on one with the brand through sites like Twitter and Facebook. When a consumer feels like they are a part of a brand rather than a spectator they are more willing to spend more of their precious dollars.

Lastly, let’s ask ourselves how does brand journalism threaten or in some cases coincide with true investigative journalism? “Brand journalism doesn’t threaten pure investigative journalism, and it doesn’t replace it. It is quite separate to this noble, challenged tradition. The question of how investigative journalism will be funded in future is an open one. Will it be state funded? Will it be financed through a charge on the general public as with the BBC?  Will wealthy individuals, trusts or others – who are prepared to guarantee they will have no influence on the journalists they fund – ride to the rescue of pure journalism? We don’t know the answer to that question yet. What we do know is that brand journalism is a reality. The question is not how we prevent brand journalism from subverting pure journalism. I think the question is – or should be – how can we learn to do brand journalism well” (Bull, 2013).  The main point I am trying to convey within this review is the fact that marketers and journalist can co-exist with each other. “Consistently good content will mean that audiences will come back again and again and they will endorse the content producers, this case the brand. Frequent use will lead to loyalty and to trust and in order to be a credible publisher, to provide credible brand journalism, trust from your readers is an essential ingredient” (Lewis PR, 2012).

To understand the importance of brand journalism, companies have now invested an extraordinary amount of time and money into this new age reporting and advertising. There seems to be an increasing amount of acceptance now with journalist when it comes to being employed with the responsibility of brand journalism. There is no shame now today in creating a truly investigative report based on a brand or product and writing in detail the same way a journalist would with any other topic. Marketers have also taken into account how serious it is journalistically to remain truthful to its readers and consumers.

It is time for journalist and marketers alike to embrace fully how vital it is for brand journalism to continue to grow. “Like journalists, marketers are learning it’s work to attract news consumers and a following in the digital age. What’s a Facebook Like really worth? How often do Twitter followers actually read one hundred and forty characters?” (DVorkin, 2012). Social media and its loyal users are just begging to be advertised to. The key is to understand exactly how to do it in a way that does not remind them of the old advertisements like corny commercials or ugly billboards. Today calls for intellectual articles that enhance the way consumers connect with brands. Social media is a “I want now” info lifestyle that brand journalism can feed ten fold. The only thing to ask is can marketers and journalist work together to achieve this. I believe so.