Your magazine produces a digital version, so when advertiser-sponsored custom projects are inserted in the magazine (or polybagged), they are included in the digital version. They use Nextbook software so the magazine looks like it does as printed, but sometimes it's hard to tell these inserts are not part of the magazine, because there's no different paper weight or glue strip or perforation when you view it online.

Should the magazine label these special projects in print? Or only on the digital version? Or should the reader be expected to note the different fonts, the look, and the logo that’s printed on the front page of the piece? If there is a small line that says “Sponsored by,” is this labeling enough? Should it read “Advertisement?”


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.