Our practices
There are some bedrock principles and ways-of-doing-business that we consider to be non-negotiable… and timeless.
At Dispatches we practice:
- the creation and distribution of high quality, first-generation editorial content for all media platforms; it’s content that doesn’t feel canned
- innovation and we avoid ruts – we have an infectious curiosity and that is reflected in our compelling content. We are interested in a wide range of subjects and we’re dedicated to exploring them
- customization; whenever possible we look for ways to pioneer individual service; we know offering individualized, hands-on customer service is the way to continue growing
- creative uses of technology: we use lots of tech but we insist on it being easy for you… after all, you don’t need to learn new things on your computer/phone/tablet just so you can do business with us
- flexibility – with many years of experience in all forms of media, we know that the business is changing and that creativity and innovation are needed to sustain, rebuild, re-imagine and grow vital media companies. We’re part of that revolution of creating a new reality.
Our beliefs
Every company operates according to certain values, whether they are recognized as such, or not. These guide the way business is done and shape the behaviour of employees and contractors both towards each other and when dealing with clients.
At Dispatches we believe:
- in integrity – none of our editorial is sponsored and it’s never ad copy gussied-up to look like straight editorial
- in accuracy and fair play… these aren’t just platitudes; they mean a lot to us and we live by them; you’ll notice that in our content
- advertising is an important form of communication and we value its role in our client’s platforms and ours; we also believe that a healthy distance between editorial and advertising is vital for the integrity of both
- in high ethical standards
- objectivity is over rated and content creators have to get beyond he-said-she-said and the view from nowhere. That doesn’t mean we throw standards to the wind at Dispatches. But what it does mean is that we position ourselves to be a trusted source of news, opinion and context. We do this by emulating the sharing that goes on between friends. When any of us meet someone we know in a coffee shop what follows is a blend of fact, gossip, ideas, history and bias. We seek out these encounters because they keep us plugged into the communities we value. We don’t look to them for their impartiality and arid devotion to a false sense of balance. Rather, we want these conversations because they deal with topics we find interesting and valuable and during them we know whom we are dealing with, where they’re coming from and what aspects of what they say we hold to be true. At Dispatches we endeavour to be the friend on the other side of the coffee shop table – a welcomed part of the day engaging in the pithy, interesting, funny and important things of life Transparency is the new objectivity: while we don’t like the triteness of this phrase, it does capture a sense of what we’re trying to say about our approach to content creation. In summary we strive to produce copy that is as excellent, nuanced and opinionated as The Economist.