Media Needs to Establish Clear Boundaries Between Editorial and Sponsored Content

The lines have blurred, leading to reader frustration

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“You are very fake news.”

When I heard about Newseum’s controversial T-shirts—now withdrawn and hopefully recycled—I felt an odd shiver of guilt. I had to step back and ask myself why. And I came to the alarming conclusion that, despite being a member of Britain’s National Union of Journalists for around 30 years, with a press card tucked neatly into my wallet, I may have become a fake journalist.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a journalist as “a writer or editor for a news medium” or “a writer who aims at a mass audience.”

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This story first appeared in the November 5, 2018, issue of Adweek magazine. Click here to subscribe.