Our Advertising Policy

In print advertising, as in the editorial sections of MotherJones.com, Mother Jones respects and values free expression and dissenting voices.

We accept advertising because it helps pay the costs of publishing a tenaciously independent muckraking magazine. The percentage of the magazine's income that is derived from advertising is modest, but it is significant to our ability to operate, and we are proud of the professional relationships our advertising staff has cultivated with marketers. At the same time, we are all very clear about Mother Jones and MotherJones.com's reason for being: We're in business to produce great public interest journalism, no strings attached. In so doing, we reserve the right to investigate and write critically about any issue in our editorial pages.

Having decided on these grounds to accept advertising, we do so with a presumption against banning specific advertisements or advertisers, even if they are controversial or if they represent views contrary to those of our editors and staff. We do reserve the right to elect to reject advertisements that are patently false, libelous, exploitative, or hateful, or that fail to meet the production standards of our publication. But in the main, we assume that our readers are sufficiently smart and skeptical to evaluate advertising claims for themselves, and we accept most advertisements. We believe such a policy furthers our commitment to making the pages of Mother Jones and MotherJones.com, both editorial and advertising, a home for diverse opinions and lively debate.

We invite comments from readers and advertisers about this policy. Send your comments to:

Madeleine Buckingham, President and CEO, Mother Jones
222 Sutter Street, Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94108
phone: (415) 321-1700
fax: (415) 321-1701

Or click here to contact the advertising department.