You publish an annual list of the leading companies in your industry. You have an independent panel of judges, in order to keep the process "pure," yet inevitably you receive pressure from sales to include (or at least guarantee that you will consider) "good advertisers." Do you:

* Tell sales to bug off — if these companies are among the best, their names will certainly be submitted by the judging panel and they will likely make the list.
* Allow sales to send you a list and submit the names yourself, as if they are your own suggestions for consideration?
* Allow sales to send you a list and include them in the judging process, but tell your team from whence they come?
* Provide a web-based mechanism by which any and all comers can nominate themselves for the process, and expose this information to the judges to do with what they will?


Note: this scenario, based on real-life experiences, was developed for the 2007 ASBPE Editorial Conference. Visit www.asbpe.org/about/code.htm to read about the group's Code of Ethics.

Your final option is obviously the best one. If the editorial team provides the judges with its list, biases can still exist. Market the contest to your audience with the judging guidelines. Let companies nominate themselves. Have editorial research the nominees for accuracy. Keep sales out of the process, even to the extent of not being allowed to nominate their clients. Let the judges decide.