Magazine Industry ad:edit guidelines to be reviewed and revised. Have your say

Magazines Canada is managing a process this summer to update the industry's advertising:editorial guidelines, last revised in 2006. A task force has been created with a dozen representatives of both consumer and b2b publications. The co-chairs are Patrick Walsh, the editor of Outdoor Canada, and Todd Latham, the publisher of ReNew Canada.

The Canadian Magazine Industry Advertising-Editorial Guidelines are intended to help editors, publishers and advertisers maintain an industry-wide standard for preserving the important distinction between advertiser messaging and editorial content. The guidelines are designed so that both editors and advertising sales teams clearly understand them, and are able to confidently communicate them to customers. Magazines Canada uses these guidelines in its membership review process.

This task force has been formed to review the current guidelines, which were last reviewed in 2006. Since that time, advertising-editorial practices have continued to evolve, as has our association, which now accepts business-to-business media as well as consumer magazine membership applications.

While not pre-judging the outcome or second-guessing the task force, it might be useful if editors and publishers reading this post were to comment here on what they think should be kept, what should be added and what should stay the same to meet current conditions. After reading the guidelines, of course.

[Disclosure: I have agreed to be on the task force.]