Recruit and Use an Editorial Board

Benefits to readers
Most importantly, why would the readers feel better about your newsletter – and your organization – if it has an editorial board?

• It gives them confidence in the newsletter's factual accuracy, content veracity, and analytical validity
• It lets them know that you are doing everything you can to provide top value

Board functions
Of course, in order to insure accuracy, veracity, and value, your board has to (a) comprise the necessary expertise and (b) perform the duties that you set for them. Those duties might include one or more of the following:

• Review manuscripts before they're published to check for accuracy and quality (don't ask board members to proofread)
• Meet with the publisher and editor once a year to critique past issues, review and revise editorial direction
• Refer editor and/or writers to preeminent sources of information, personal contacts and literature
• Suggest and/or approve story ideas for future issues, as well as appropriate authors
• Review the newsletter's effectiveness in meeting marketing objectives, and other management goals
• Make sure the newsletter complies with laws regarding copyright and defamation
• Write brief editorial columns

If you ask board members to serve more than the first three functions, unless they're already inside the organization, you might have to compensate them in some way. In rare cases, board members will consider the opportunity to serve, and to see their name on your masthead, sufficient reward in itself.

Recruiting board members
Ideally, your board should include people with a diverse set of expertise, industry contacts, geographical location, and publishing experience, so that no matter what kind of problem you encounter, someone on the board can help resolve it. Whether this requires a roster of two board members or 20, depends on the circumstances.

Recruit board members from among your staff, association members, clients or customers, suppliers, industry leaders, consultants, a representative from the board of directors, the marketing director, etc. Outsiders generally have more credibility, from a reader's point of view, than people from within your organization, especially when the content is political or promotional. Be careful not to recruit board members based on prestige alone – they must not be window dressing, they must be willing to serve the publishers' and (perhaps more importantly) the readers' interests.

Many publications replace some of their board members routinely every year or two, to (a) introduce as much diversity and as many viewpoints as possible, and (b) relieve the board members of their responsibilities if they are substantial. Replace a small percentage each year, never more than half.

Managing the board
First, add the board members to your publication's masthead. Many publications that do list their board members neglect to inform readers what functions the board serve. Summarize their functions below the masthead – without this information, readers may not appreciate the board.

In many cases, not all the board members know each other, and they will not necessarily meet as a group. The editor can call on board members individually for guidance. In other cases, especially when the members are close geographically, the board meets formally on a regular basis, with the publisher or executive director presiding.

The editor should, of course, attend board meetings. Editors often need the support of an independent board to resist editorial pressure from the organization, to voice unorthodox opinions, or advocate the interests of readers when they don't align perfectly with company interests.

The editor may also have to keep board members from gaining too much control over the publication, especially in the day-to-day activities. Experienced editors should defend their professional judgment against undue interference. Board members should take a big-picture, long-term view and leave the details to the editorial staff. It is important that the publisher delineate the editor's responsibilities vs. the board's functions.

Build gradually
If you're not sure how well an editorial board will work for your publication, start slowly and recruit just a couple of board members. Once you (and they) have confidence in their effectiveness, add more members. It's often easier to add members than to cut the roster, especially if your publication is highly esteemed.