CJF hosting October 2 panel about native advertising

L to R, Borra, Bradbury, White and Shapiro

I make no secret of my skepticism about so-called "native advertising", which to me is simply advertorials of old, glossed with new language. But I'd be interested in a panel being offered by The Canadian Journalism Foundation called "Native Advertising: Journalism's Saviour or Sellout?" 

It's to be held in Toronto on Thursday, October 2 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the TMX Broadcast Centre - Gallery, The Exchange Tower, 130 King St. W., Toronto.

($15 for students, $25 for early bird, $30 general admission.)

Panelists will be Jill Borra, executive editor at The Globe and Mail; Cathrin Bradbury, executive director of content development at Star Media Group (recently named editor-in-chief of Metro); and Scott White, vice-president of content strategy and business development at Postmedia Network, for this discussion. Ivor Shapiro, chair of the School of Journalism and associate professor specializing in journalism ethics at Ryerson University, moderates. The setup for the session says

Native advertising. Branded content. Custom content. Whatever it’s called, these ‘advertorials’ are controversial, yet news organizations see them as the latest and best business strategy. Can Journalism’s tattered integrity be rescued when the lines between editorial and advertising content are blurred? Can sponsored content be palatable to readers, and to journalists? And while these ads are delivering new dollars to legacy news outlets, are they also eroding trust and driving readers away?

Good questions, all.