Our Editorial Policy.

I've worn a new hat this year after being named co-publisher, and it has made me more aware of the importance of advertising dollars, publication costs and namely--editorial coverage.

Please allow me to review our editorial policy. The goal we work towards is to deliver in-depth articles

on a large variety of subjects that are crucial to the development and success of our industries. We cover tea as well as coffee, but the majority of our advertising and subscription dollars happen to be coffee industry members. Thus, we devote the respective percentages of editorial content to our coffee readers and to our tea readers. We are always on the lookout for new companies and new suppliers--though we may wait a while before writing about them. (You see, I'm still hurting from the interview I did with a new Canadian tea packer that went belly-up after I visited and had judged it a company with a prosperous future.)

We proudly report on the industry as a whole, with its many facets--this means coverage that includes both our advertisers and our non-advertisers. This is the standard practice of any good publication and critical to the integrity of all magazines. In other words, if we only wrote about our advertisers, the credibility of our coverage would, of course, suffer, as a large percentage of the whole picture would be left out--and where would our advertisers be then? We also cannot devote a larger portion of our editorial space to our advertisers, again for the same reason. I've had companies complain because their competitors got more coverage in an article than they did. Indeed, they very well might have--as their remarks may have pertained more to the subject. So stop counting lines!

We also do not show articles before publication except when, at our discretion, it is specifically for the purpose of fact-checking-and let me note that to get writers to change their words is a delicate and somewhat insulting process.

Tea & Coffee Trade Journal will never slander a company, will publish and stand behind a clear and fair article that explores the many aspects of a topic, and will include opinions that we feel are subject to critical expertise. If people are complaining about coffee or tea production quality, we will report it. If you kill your wife and are found guilty in a court of law, we will report it. If other industry members tell me you stiffed your suppliers, I will not report it, but if you stiff us, we will certainly spread the word. If you have unethical business practices, we will not report it, but be assured that we will steer industry contacts away from you.

Our policy is to support the trade, report on all issues pertaining to the industry, supply accurate and quality information, and help promote coffee and tea consumption. This is in our best interest as well, because more sales makes a healthier industry that has the dollars to advertise.

You might not always like us--but after 100 years of meticulous reporting, I'm sure you'll forgive us.

Happy holidays.

Jane McCabe

Editor & Co-Publisher