One of the biggest debates to take place among PeacePower's editors was whether or not to accept advertisements to help defray printing costs. Editors held strong views, both for and against.

It's instructive to consider Mahatma Gandhi's views on the topic:

"It is now an established practice with newspapers to depend for revenues mainly on advertisements rather than on subscriptions. The result has been deplorable. The very newspaper which writes against the drink evil publishes advertisements in praise of drinks. In the same issue, we read of the harmful effects of tobacco as also from where to [buy] it. Or we shall find the same issue of a paper carrying a long advertisement for a certain play and denouncing that play as well. Medical advertisements are the largest source of revenue though they have done, and are still doing incalculable harm to the people. These medical advertisements almost wholly offset the services rendered by the newspapers. I have been eyewitness to the harm done by them. Many people are lured into buying harmful medicines. Many of these promote immorality. Such advertisements find a place even in papers run to further the cause of religion. This practice has come entirely from the West. No matter at what cost or effort we must put an end to this undesirable practice or at least reform. It is the duty of every newspaper to exercise some restraint in the matter of advertisements....

It is often observed that newspapers published any matter that they have, just to fill in space. The reason is that most newspapers have their eyes on profits... There are newspapers in the west which are so full of trash that it will be a sin even to touch them."

Gandhi edited several journals during his lifetime, among them Indian Opinion, Young India, and The Harijan.

In the end, PeacePower editorial board members never reached a consensus on how to deal with the advertisting question. We only ran one outside ad over the course of five issues, an announcement for a Network of Spiritual Progressives conference. PeacePower is no longer producing new issues, and thus is not accepting any advertisements at this time. However, if in the future PeacePower is revived, it may accept ads -- or at least, there will be a heated debate about whether to do so or not, and under what circumstances!