Hollywood Hank

(Hollywood Hank photo by Judy Nelson)

Last week, I received a request from an advertiser of the newspaper I edit, asking if a photo of Hollywood Hank, a five-year-old standard Boxer (yes, a dog) who writes a column for the newspaper, could be used in an ad.

Hank doesn’t really write, of course. His column, which is accompanied by a photo of him in front of whatever local restaurant or shop or farmers’ market he visited that month, is actually written by his handler, a volunteer for the Oregon Humane Society, who takes Hank for walks around the neighborhood while his owners are at work.

Although spending any time deciding whether or not to release a photo of a dog to an advertiser might seem silly, in fact, the decision raised a significant journalist question.

After thinking it over, I decided to turn down the request. If I did, it would have blurred the line between the editorial and advertising departments of the newspaper. Then I posted this blog, along with Hank’s photo, to point out one of the issues editors face while blurring another line ― the one between work and life.