After we reported exclusively last weekend that the French PR agency, Lemon Queen has bought the British trade magazine, Air Cargo Week (ACW), we asked its new Managing Director, Steven Polmans, what practical consequences this will have for him personally, the cargo media landscape, and ACW’s focus on contents. Polmans was approached by Lemon Queen when he announced he was leaving Abu Dhabi Airports and asked if he could consider becoming the new Managing Director, which he consented following a thorough review of the matter.
Mr. Polmans commented on the following points that CargoForwarder Global put to him:
The compatibility of his current role as Chair of TIACA and that of the future Managing Director of ACW:
“I don't see myself in the traditional role of editor-in-chief as I don't feel I am a journalist overall. That job can certainly be done better by trained and experienced representatives of the
industry. Rather, I see my future role at ACW as providing thematic impetus to the editorial team and helping to ensure that priority aspects for the industry, such as digitalization or
sustainability, are given greater prominence in future reporting. I also think I can help the team to further grow, work together and inspire them to raise the bar and explore new
opportunities.”
Possible conflict of interest as TIACA Chair and ACW MD:
“As far as TIACA is concerned: It is a voluntary function that I perform there, like the rest of the board, not a job that is paid in any way. In November, there are elections for the board. I
will stand for re-election because I don't see any conflicts of interest, as I strictly separate professional or volunteer activities for instance at TIACA, from my involvement with ACW or any
other customer I have. After the change at TIACA with a new governance structure and a Director General acting and performing as the CEO, the role of chair also evolved substantially
anyway.
Incidentally, we will be electing a second vice president after a change of bylaws some months ago. This shift of leadership activities onto several shoulders will help future succession but also
to make sure that our current governance process is clearly adhered to.”
The preservation of neutrality and equal treatment of all media by the Lemon Queen agency, also in advertising campaigns, i.e., no preference for Air Cargo Week.
“This is technically not a question I should answer, but you should ask Lemon Queen. From my side, however, I have full confidence this will be the case. I know Audrey [Serdjebi] already many
years and if there was any doubt from my side that she would not manage this with the highest ethical and business standards, I would not have taken the job. Also, for myself, neutrality and
reputation are my highest priorities. If it turns out otherwise, I'm out of the deal. I would like to accentuate this very clearly at this point.”
The coordination of his various activities and the management of these multiple tasks:
“I will continue to run my recently established company in the United Arab Emirates, which assists companies in the air cargo sector with strategy, business, or financial decisions, as I have
done in the past weeks. In addition, assuming I am re-elected, I will continue to chair TIACA. A new assignment is my role at ACW, but it is not my ambition to become THE face of ACW. There is an
established, professional, and well-staffed editorial team there that is responsible for the day-to-day business and who I count on. I don't want to have a direct influence on the editorial
agenda, for example.”
The price Lemon Queen paid for ACW:
“Honestly, I don't know, I have no idea. Those are investor relations issues that I have not gotten involved in and don’t intend doing so. Both sides came to an agreement, inked by them. Full
stop. The specifics are none of my business.”
Heiner Siegmund
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Alex Lennane, Parveen Raja (Tuesday, 10 October 2023 15:54)
Comment to CargoForwarder
We were interested to see Steven Polman’s interview with CargoForwarder about his new role at Air Cargo Week, noting that “neutrality and reputation are my highest priorities”.
We are really saddened, and concerned, that the new players involved in Air Cargo Week either don’t understand the huge conflict of interests here – or simply don’t care.
It’s not just us. Numerous independent publications in our industry have expressed serious concern about the encroachment of PR companies into publishing.
Let me explain, in the words of Sam Chambers, publisher of Splash24/7.
“Imagine wanting to buy a computer, and going to the newsagent to buy a magazine - What Computer - only to notice later that the publisher is Dell.
“The fact is this happens way, way, way too often within the transportation space and readers are not getting the impartial coverage they deserve.”
One publisher wrote: “Air Cargo Week – TIACA – Lemon Queen is a complete shambles, I honestly do not know what they think they are doing.”
B2B journalism is critical for the industries it supports. Its aim is to help share best practice; to shine a light on both the good and the bad, in an attempt to improve industry standards and practices.
But for that to happen, publications must be independent.
The media must be adjacent to its industry – not within it. The potential for a conflict of interests is too great if a publication is owned, or controlled by, industry players.
Industry can only be ill-served by non-independent media; it is not possible to cast a critical eye over an industry if you are the industry. And once a media brand loses its credibility, it is bad for the media industry as a whole: what is fake news, led by marketing or commercial considerations, and what isn’t? How can a reader tell?
And in this case, a move which undoubtedly weakens the media, as well as the industry it serves, appears to call into question the integrity of TIACA – a neutral association which is meant to promote best practice.
This is anything but.
Alex Lennane, Publisher, The Loadstar
Parven Raja, Publisher, EVA International Media
Stan Wraight (Wednesday, 11 October 2023 20:40)
For decades I have supported TIACA with numerous efforts as a member going back to the 80's, as well as supporting the education sub committee etc. My belief under the previous chairmanship of professionals was they understood that TIACA can cross disciplines, work around silos, and be effective and this mission statement was absolute. For the past 6 years, TIACA has lost that independence, its soul, and direction as it became an incestuous pool of self serving individuals revolving around one airport, interlinked entities and self promotion. This I hope is the last straw for TIACA trustees, the board and hopefully the press to put a stop to it all.
Eric Kulisch (Thursday, 12 October 2023 01:08)
Alex,
Well stated. You make excellent points. I would only add that I don't see where there will be any loss in impartiality and credibility. ACW doesn't practice journalism as it stands now. It is a PR arm reprinting press releases and fluff pieces on industry players. It doesn't have any credibility. No one is going to miss out on news or should worry that ACW will pull its punches because it doesn't do any original reporting or writing. This arrangement just maintains the status quo. I don't like competing in the same space with the publication that pretends to cover the news, but by the same token I'm not worried about the ownership change because ACW is already a public relations business and shouldn't be viewed as a news outlet.
Heiner Siegmund (Thursday, 12 October 2023 09:08)
Dear Stan / Eric
Thank you for your comments.
We publish every post when it is obvious
- who the author is
- the content is fair and not personally insulting
- and it serves to fuel a discussion within the global cargo community.
Based on these key editorial principles, we welcome your comments, including the critical input delivered by Alex / Loadstar, and publish them herewith.
Short addition and although very well known:
Stan is Founder, President and CEO of Strategic Aviation Solutions International (SASI),
Eric is Air Cargo Editor, FreightWaves.
Glyn Hughes (Monday, 16 October 2023 16:48)
Dear Heiner,
I write in response to the comments expressed by Stan.
Brgds, Glyn
For an article that started out addressing the purchase of the ACW publication and its future direction seems to have taken a bizarre twist into attacking TIACA and the highly valued and professional team members who work tirelessly for the benefit of the air cargo industry.
TIACA has a long and proud history, having been established by industry pioneers and thought leaders and I had the privilege of joining the association in February 2021, inspired to work with a world class team, an innovative and forward thinking Board strategy, including new Governance with open and transparent decision making, coupled with a new vision. This collectively motivated me to join the Association as it was already transitioning into a new era of relevant support for this great industry that I have had the pleasure of working in for over 40 years.
Over the past years, membership has grown, programs have been expanded and new programs such as our BlueSky Sustainability assessment program have been launched. We have introduced more outreach, established regional events and regional representation initiatives in order that we may serve and connect with all members throughout the globe.
We are being asked more and more often to act as the voice of air cargo by ICAO and other international organizations. As IATA has sadly become less visible we have tried to fill that void as best we can as this great industry deserves a neutral party to speak up on its behalf.
With that context I cannot accept the statements made and accusations about me, my colleagues, our Chairman and our Board Members. I quote directly “…TIACA has lost that independence, its soul, and direction as it became an incestuous pool of self-serving individuals revolving around one airport, interlinked entities and self-promotion…”
Completely unfounded and quite frankly I am surprised you published them as you state you only publish comments which you feel are OBVIOUS that “… the content is fair and not personally insulting
and it serves to fuel a discussion within the global cargo community.” Can I assume this also reflects your view if you feel the comments are fair? If this is the case it saddens me further.
This then brings me to my future, if the media, whom i hold in the highest regard, feel i run an organization which is incestuous and self-serving then I shall gladly hand over to the next individual and wish them luck to succeed where clearly I have failed.
Now to the 11 industry colleagues who have written to me individually urging I seek recourse for the defamatory comments based on the very clear laws that exist I must say that we, TIACA, very much appreciate their support but do not feel that would help the industry in its task to serve the global community and global economy. I would rather invite Stan to withdraw his comments with an apology perhaps attributing his ill-conceived remarks to a rushed written submission rather than a considered one.
In the USA the first amendment affords many freedoms of expression however the defamation laws which protect individuals from comments made which seek to cause harm or injury to reputation are also quite clear, particularly where defamation is motivated by actual Malice.
In Canada the laws are just as clear;
Canadian Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)
Definition
298 (1) A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published.
Glyn Hughes
Director General TIACA (currently)