Advertising pays for most of what TXK Today publishes, and some advertisers buy sponsored content: articles they write or supply that appear on our site. This policy explains how sponsored content is different from our news coverage and how you can tell them apart.
What sponsored content is
Sponsored content is paid for by an advertiser. The advertiser writes or supplies it, or chooses its subject. It is not written, reported or reviewed by the TXK Today newsroom, and it does not reflect our editorial judgment. It can promote a product, a service, an event or a cause. Sponsored content is one way local businesses reach TXK Today readers, and it helps pay for our news coverage.
How it is labeled
Every sponsored article carries a “Sponsored content” label above the text with a link to this page. Sponsored articles are published under the Sponsored Content byline or the advertiser’s name, never under the name of a TXK Today reporter or editor. We do not disguise advertising as news.
Links
Links to an advertiser’s website inside sponsored content are marked as sponsored for search engines, which tells Google and others that the link was paid for. We do not sell links inside news stories.
Where it appears
Sponsored content appears on its own pages on txktoday.com. It is not included in our main RSS feed or our Google News sitemap, and it does not appear inside news stories. Display ads served by Broadstreet and Google are labeled as advertisements.
What advertisers cannot buy
- A news story, or a change to one.
- Coverage, or the absence of coverage, of themselves or anyone else.
- A look at a story before it is published.
- A TXK Today byline.
Advertisers are treated like anyone else in our news coverage. Buying advertising does not earn favorable coverage, and news about an advertiser is reported the same way as news about anyone else.
What we will not run
We decline sponsored content that is false or misleading, that promotes illegal products or services, or that is made to look like our news reporting. We may decline any sponsored content at our discretion.
Buying sponsored content
Stephen Parker, our business development manager, handles advertising and sponsored content. Reach him at [email protected] or 903-280-7977, or see our advertising page.
Questions
If you think something on our site is advertising that is not labeled, tell us at [email protected]. See also our editorial standards.
