internet.com / IAB censorship

From: Pesach Lattin <info_at_adspyre.com>
Date: Thu 15 Aug 2002 10:06:20 -0500

[Note from Moderator: I thought long and hard before approving
the below post, especially given the degree of negative feedback
that I have received from some of our list readers for approving
some of this poster's comments in the recent past (those objections
contained, in my opinion, a good degree of validity). In the end
I decided that the comments being submitted merited additional
discusion by this list. My posting of the comments does not
necessarily mean that I know them to be entirely true or that I
agree with them in their entirety. Other factors may have come
into play in Internet.com's decisions in these matters, and they
are welcome to elaborate on their position in this forum.
Additionally, Peseach's comments raise issues regarding how one
draws the line at defining a "journalist," especially given the
Internet's ability to allow anyone to publish content to a large
number of people. I don't have any insight into Internet.com's
policy for making such a definition and determining who to provide
with complimentary press passes to their events.

My own experience is that I have never had any difficulty getting
a press pass for Online Ads or Tenagra to cover any Internet.com
event in the past... however, it has been over a year since we have
applied for one, and it is feasible that their policies have
changed in that time period. --Cliff]

   I am going to reprint my article here in OA, in the hope that more people
can give me similar stories. We've been told that this happens often from
these guys, and I'm a bit upset. I do not, and no one in the industry should
ever support censorship or press restriction, especially by advertising
related publications. An essential part of the freedom of the press is press
access.

   I'm willing to go to bat to ensure that *I* have access to events as a
journalist, and more importantly all advertising related publications also.
If you think this is not important, then remember that the very principles
that give us the right to advertise are at stake when companies like this
start trying to control the press through these types of pressures. I can't
go to their event, I can't even get in the door, because I might write
something "bad" about it, because I'm not one of their little soldiers.



Received on Thu Aug 15 2002 - 10:06:20 CDT