Brand journalism: Why the faulty arguments must end

A recent article in Contently stated in bold letters, “There’s no such thing as brand journalism.” It then supplied a handy graphic intended to define the important terms of content marketing:

I had to smile; it included brand journalism in its list to affirm that it doesn’t exist. It’s like putting a word in a dictionary just to say it’s not a word.

Let the brand journalism rant begin

Contently recommends brand reporting. It also encourages brands to build media empires and be proud of the effort. It has lots of articles talking about brand journalists and journalists working for brands. Yet it continues to say, in bold letters, that the waddling, quacking, feathered fowl is not a duck. I say it is.

It’s not just Contently taking this stance. Many traditional journalists feel the same way. The wonderful Jill Golden published an article on LinkedIn called, Please Stop Calling Content Marketing Brand Journalism.