When Jenn Abelson called Bostonist last week, we told her the same thing we’re about to tell you, dear reader. Bostonist adheres to the Gothamist Family policy on tit-for-tat, quid pro quo, and pay-for-post entries in our little corner of the internet. Abelson’s article, "For a fee, some blogs boost firms: Concerns raised on disclosure," has caused a little bit of a stir in the local blogosphere. With the experience outlined by Susan Kaup on her post about the article, Bostonist might just be glad that the Globe didn’t decide to misrepresent our facts. Adam Gaffin deserves recognition for his standard newspaper disclosure, which he runs with every post at Universal Hub that is worthy of such disclosure.

At Bostonist we attempt to maintain a level of journalistic integrity. Though our copy-editing, spell-checking, and oh, yeah, fact-checking may need some work, we are set on a path to abide by our own rules. You may check out our full Comment Policy page, with a special section on Ethics and Other Policies. A couple we though relevant to post in response to the scrutiny in the major print media this weekend are after the jump.

Freebees and Conflicts of Interest
Gothamist family editors and contributors cannot promise coverage to friends, real-life colleagues and other acquaintances, unless the content is objectively worthy of being covered. Conflicts of interest are settled on a case-by-case basis by the editor of each site. Bostonist bloggers cannot accept gifts, free meals, tickets, or other consideration in return for running posts. These and all other manner of quid-pro-quo relationships are strictly forbidden. Bostonist writers may review product samples or enter events on press passes as long as doing so does not bias their coverage.

Advertising
All advertising on Bostonist is clearly marked as advertising, and our advertising and editorial business is kept strictly separate. Gothamist blogs may from time to time run promotional contests or enter into other collaborative relationships with our advertisers, but these relationships will always be clearly disclosed. Editorial content will never be influenced by any advertiser relationship.

Other conflicts of interest
Individual bloggers for the Gothamist families are discouraged from writing about things related to their professional lives (e.g., writing about a new Virgin MegaStore offer if the blogger pulls in a pay check from Virgin), but sometimes editorial interest may cause occasional overlaps. If that becomes the case, the blogger has an obligation to disclose the professional relationship.