ASME GUIDELINES FOR EDITORS AND PUBLISHERS

Thirteenth Edition

For magazines to be trusted by consumers and to endure as brands, readers must be assured of their editorial integrity. With that core conviction in mind—and the overwhelming support of its members—the American Society of Magazine Editors for over two decades has issued guidelines to make sure that the difference between advertising and editorial content is transparent to readers and that there is no advertiser influence or pressure on editorial independence. In this latest edition, we have aimed to make the guidelines easier to understand and to distill them into ten basic statements of principle and practice. ASME will continue to advise editors and publishers about how to interpret the guidelines. Repeated and willful violations will result in public sanction and disqualification from the National Magazine Awards.

DESIGN

Advertisements should look different enough from editorial pages that readers can tell the difference. To avoid confusion, any ad that looks enough like an editorial story or feature that it could be mistaken for one should be slugged “Advertisement” or “Promotion” at the top of each page in type as prominent as the magazine’s normal body type.

COVERS

The front cover and spine are editorial space. Companies and products should appear on covers only in an editorial context and not in a way that suggests advertisement. (This includes use of cover “stickers.”)

ADJACENCIES

Advertisements should not be placed or sold for placement immediately before or after editorial pages that discuss, show or promote the advertised products.

LOGOS

Advertiser logos should not appear on editorial pages except in a journalistic context. A magazine’s logo should appear on advertising pages only in connection with advertisements for the magazine and its promotions or when an advertised product is touting editorial awards that it has won.

SPONSORSHIP

Sponsorship language (ie, “sponsored by,” “presented by,” etc.) should not appear in connection with regularly occurring editorial features. Such language may be used in connection with editorial extras (special issues, inserts, onserts and contests) as long as the editorial content does not endorse the sponsor’s products and any page announcing the sponsorship is clearly an ad or is labeled “Advertisement” or “Promotion” in a type size as prominent as the magazine’s normal body type. Single-advertiser issues that don’t include sponsorship language do not have to be labelled, but should include an editor’s or publisher’s note disclosing the special arrangement to readers. Advertisers may sponsor “out of book” events such as awards shows and conferences, and that sponsorship may be acknowledged without labeling on either advertising or editorial pages.

ADVERTISING SECTIONS

Editorial-looking sections or pages that are not produced by a magazine’s editors are not editorial content. They should be labeled “Advertisement,” “Special Advertising Section” or “Promotion” at the top of every page in type as prominent as the magazine’s normal body type.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT/INTEGRATION

Advertisers should not pay to place their products in editorial pages nor should they demand placement in return for advertising. Editorial pages may display and credit products and tell readers where to buy them, as long as those pages are solely under editorial control. 

EDITORIAL STAFFING AND TITLES

A magazine’s editorial staff members should not be involved in producing advertising in that magazine. Advertising and marketing staff should not use titles that imply editorial involvement (e.g., merchandising editor).

EDITORIAL REVIEW

In order for a publication’s chief editor to be able to monitor compliance with these guidelines, every effort must be made to show all advertising pages, sections and their placement to the editor far enough in advance to allow for necessary changes.

ADVERTISING REVIEW

While editors or publishers at their discretion may share the general topic matter of upcoming editorial content with advertisers, specific stories, layouts or tables of contents should not be submitted for advertiser review.