Customers indicate that they appreciate it when brands take a side on controversial social and political issues, but doing so can alienate part of your audience. Advertisers are also showing extreme reluctance to promote themselves on content pages that address these controversies. What’s a publisher to do? Try doing what’s right, morally, instead of trying to turn every tragedy and controversy in to another opportunity to maximize revenues.

Consumer spending has collapsed in virtually every sector measured by Bank of America, and advertising budgets have fallen proportionately. While webmasters may notice increased traffic, this isn’t turning in to increased sales or ad revenues.