How often have we heard, “Nothing personal; I know it’s not right, but it is good business”? To that I say, “No way.” Good business should be moral and based on logical sense as well as principle. And here I stand. If it is not right, don’t do it. If it is your work, then it does reflect the person doing it.
But rather than dealing in generalities, let me give you some examples. On covers of our magazine we try to reflect a concept, a little action if possible, and show no favoritism. Our covers are not bought; they are contributed. Most often a company with a leading story also includes an original, artistically pleasing, high-definition photo for consideration. Sometimes our art department or an outside artist creates the cover. Everyone is given an equal chance, both large and small companies, inside/outside artists. No logo is allowed, no selling or praise of one company over another. What we try to do is capture your interest with an artistic, current concept – an interpretive rendition of what the reader sees everyday – and present it in a new light. Our customer is our reader and all who create a cover should have the reader in mind while they work.
Not all magazines have this same idea. In some foreign magazines covers are purchased by advertisers. In other magazines the praise, logos, and blatant commercialism of a cover should have been purchased. But I believe that covers are an open, democratic stage where everyone has an equal chance to present their best concepts while pleasing the reader.
Good publishing is honest and informative. The news is as current as possible and applies directly to the journal’s trade; the information on which the news is based should be reproducible. In other words, the source can be produced readily. When Dover’s changes took place, we made a trip to upstate New York, to hear interpretations as to what would follow for Universal Instruments, Hover-Davis, and Vitronics Soltec directly from Jeroen Schmits, Universal’s president (see the Roadshow review in this issue). We post news stories daily on our Website (www.apmag.com), and our electronic newsletter AP Semi-monthly has original articles, roundups, and news events in an every-other-week format.
Trade journals educate. Since you’re a reader, you already know about solid stories covering current technologies included each month in Advanced Packaging. They come from many expert sources, universities, companies with industry-related interests, consortia, and editors. As long as a topic is unbiased, informative, and tutorial, we present it.
We all wonder if what’s “right” and what is good business means the same. But if something is right, it holds up under scrutiny. Most readers and advertisers like knowing that they will always be given fair and kind consideration from Advanced Packaging. Most people work harder knowing that their ideas are respected and that they will be treated fairly. It’s only human to have a built-in sense of what’s right. On these self-evident concepts good business relies.
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Gail Flower
Editor-in-Chief