I bet many of those at today's annual conference of theInsurance Media Association wondered what Sam Friedman, an editor,was doing up at the podium. Not that long ago, I would havewondered the same thing, as editors tend to steer clear of anymeeting involving ad sales, marketing and public relationsexperts–not only because they don't want to be pitched en masse,but also because they fear being “corrupted” by associating withthe “dark side” of the business. But as I explained in my speech,that attitude won't wash anymore in today's media-savvyenvironment, and I proceeded to explain why.

The fact is that while National Underwriter maintains a strictseparation between sales and editorial, that only extends to thefact that we won't allow advertisers to dictate content. We alsowould never agree to provide a flattering but ultimately emptyprofile of a company or its leader just because they advertise withus, or punish anyone who doesn't by ignoring them.

But as I learned during one very educational year as interimpublisher here, there are plenty of opportunities for editorial andmarketing to work together for the magazine's common good withoutviolating editorial integrity, to the ulitmate benefit of ourcommon customer, our readers.

I took the plunge for one year after NU began assigningpublishers to each publication, breaking from our past tradition ofhaving one group sales manager oversee our whole stable ofmagazines. I turned over day-to-day editorial management of thepublication to our managing editor, Susanne Sclafane, retainingcontrol only over the opinion pages. This was to assure that ournews and trend stories were not influenced by any advertisingconsiderations.

I opted to go back to editorial fulltime after that year, notbecause of any lack of success (ad page sales rose 13 percent), butsimply because I found the sales life was not my speed, and Imissed running the magazine terribly.

Still, I wouldn't trade my year as publisher for anything. Itwas like a sabbatical–stepping out of my regular role to learnabout another side of the business. I learned a number of lessonsthat year, which I shared with the folks at IMA.

–I am a brand manager these days, not merely a magazine editor.While our weekly newsmagazine remains the foundation of NU's brandas our flagship product, as an editor it's now my job to integratethe information NU puts out on a variety of platforms, includingbrand extensions such as the Web version of our magazine, our dailyonline news service, Web-seminars and live events, as well asspecial projects such as conference dailies, award programs andproprietary research projects.

–News may be a commodity these days, but NU's content will notbe commoditized as long as we focus on providing value-addedperspective about how events shape the industry. The way forbusiness-to-business media companies such as NU to remain relevantto readers and advertisers alike is to go beyond the news and offerin-depth reports on trends in markets, legislation, regulation,litigation and technology. We then back that up with expertcommentary provided by our stable of star columnists, who are all“brands” in their own right. That's what will keep NU unique andinvaluable.

–Micro-editing is a key component to remaining relevant to ourdiverse readership and ad base. Target editing is critical giventhe fact that NU is read by the entire property-casualty insurancecommunity–insurers and reinsurers; agents, brokers and wholesalers;risk managers and other buyers (giving us a rare consumercomponent).

Having all these readers under one roof is an enormouscompetitive edge, but to keep their attention we must providespecific content of interest to each. We accomplish this by runningdozens of special reports, slicing and dicing the various markets,business management challenges and technological opportunitiesfacing each audience segment. That's also why we have so many nichechannels off our Web page, so that nobody feels left out.

–Joint ventures can be executed with companies trying to marketto the insurance industry without violating our editorialintegrity. Companies looking to provide what's called “thoughtleadership”–to establish themselves as experts, not merely productand service peddlers–benefit by working with NU on independentresearch projects that produce insightful, proprietary informationfor readers.

–As we've explained to prospective advertisers many times,selling content (buy an ad, get a flattering article) not onlyturns off readers (who are no fools), but undermines thecredibility of the publication running such puff pieces, as well astainting the message the advertiser is trying to send. The lastplace a company should want to advertise (or be written up) is in avanity press, where savvy readers realize the subject bought theirway into a publication. Better to earn your coverage theold-fashioned way–by generating legitimate news that will helpreaders improve their competitive position.

I concluded by saying that it's a very different world out therefor those trying to target this industry. It's a moving target, andwe've all got to keep moving with our increasingly sophisticatedreaders to keep up. But the bottom line is that as long as werespect and cater to the intelligence and needs of readers,publications and advertisers alike can remain relevant andprofitable no matter what the future holds.