‘The news can’t be bought’

Late last week, I pursued a story on an Amarillo doctor who was disciplined by the Texas Medical Board for killing a patient in November 2007.
The doctor, Naeem Khan, now owns Amarillo Urgent Care, a regular advertiser with the Globe-News.
Shortly after I called the clinic to seek comment from Khan for the story, his office administrator called me back to ask a series of questions of me, my reporting and my story.
The woman ended up speaking with one of my editors. That editor spoke with me shortly after getting off the phone with the administrator.
My editor told me to refer all their further calls to her.
Apparently, the administrator reminded my editor that Amarillo Urgent Care spends a lot of money advertising with us.
“Well, the news can’t be bought,” my editor said, relaying her comments to me.
We printed the story on Khan's medical board discipline Friday and a follow up today on his settling a malpractice lawsuit with the family earlier this year.

News organizations – at least those with integrity – don’t allow its organizations advertising dollars or potential advertising dollars influence its news coverage.