I was recently looking for the website for a publication called Correctional Foodservice Magazine. I Googled the name, but only located a dead link to their site. Interestingly, looking at the cached version of the site, I found this mission statement:

The Re-launch of Correctional Foodservice Magazine
Mission Statement:
To help our advertisers sell their products and services by providing our readers, – the correctional food service key decision makers and buyers, with up-to-date market news, information & trends that help’s them move their company and the entire industry forward.

Nothing like putting the reader first, er, second, eh? (And nothing like spelling/grammar issues in your mission statement!) I'm not surprised that this relaunch has apparently died already.

So, does your magazine have a mission statement? And is it ever okay to talk about advertisers there?

Mission statements are the invention of small-minded managers who need to justify their existance. Most read as if they were created by the Dilbert Mission Statement Generator. Instead of a mission statement, a simple declaration of "what we do" would be better.

With that off my chest -- I spent 8 years at National City Corp. and it was rife with nebulous, adjective- and adverb-laden mission statements -- I'll take on the separation of Church and State.

In the B2B publishing world, there's always a fine line between ads and editorial. Of course we talk about -- and to -- advertisers. Without them, there's no book. But, no advertiser drives editorial on my magazine. We maintain a cordial and cooperative attitude toward advertisers, but the best interests of our readers come first on the editorial side.

That's our attitude in a very small nutshell. There are, of course, a lot of shading in our policy, but we're not whoring ourselves or our content.

I assume it's a different story in commercial magazine publishing.

We have a mission statement and each editor contributed some part. (i certainly didn't come up with the "advertiser's requirements" part)

A mission statement for Medical Design Magazine
(What are we here for?)

Our purpose is to inform, educate, and entertain our readers with useful, up-to-date information on the latest trends, and manufacturing methods. We’ll make their jobs easier by helping them select components and equipment as they develop cutting-edge products for the fast-paced medical market. We strive to engage our readership through regular feedback.

Our advertisers will find that we respond fairly to their requirements in the limits we impose on their demands. We will maintain journalistic objectivity, while our advertisers will find us supportive of their requirements.

We are a team, supporting each other’s minds, passions, and when necessary, our workload.

In the end, we shall be seen as dedicated individuals and engineers writing for dedicated individuals and engineers.

I hate the concept of a mission statement. I think it's a marketing tool that has run its course and deserves to die a painful death.

I so think that every magazine should have a purpose though. And that purpose should be stated plainly and routinely examined by the staff. Decisions should be based on this stuff.

We don't talk about advertisers in our mission statement, but I'll give you a hint what it appeals to. It starts with "To honor God in all we do..."

While on one hand it would be nice to clarify our mission--communication is nearly nonexistent--I think I'd have to shower should it be truthfully articulated. We were recently acquired, and the new management uses a tagline that I won't repeat to keep my anonymity, but it makes it clear that the readers don't come first. I try to hold the line, but it sure is a constant battle.

Mission statement is okay.