Is it important to know if a food writer is paying for that “exquisite meal” he’s writing about? It’s not quite as simple as fashion blogging, where bloggers can append “gifted” in parentheses to disclose that they were sent the piece for free (because they’re required to). So the $1,000,000 question:Â Food writing: is it all just a “sinister plot to extort lasagna”? We don’t know, but we’re going to go to the Desi Chaat House now and demand free Samosa Chaat. Just kidding, we’re going to pay for it then write about it for you. Peace.
Food Writers as the Free Loaders of the Journalism World?
Aired July 1st, 2010 on Food Bloggers.1 Comment1 Response to “Food Writers as the Free Loaders of the Journalism World?”
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As a full-time real (poor) writer and part-time fake (the other kind of poor) food writer, this article has, approximately, everything wrong with it:
1. Unless you’re a real (i.e., extinct) journalist, gratis of some sort will always come. Whether you allow that to influence you is another thing entirely.
2. Readers who care about food can identify writers who care about food, because said writers are critical. They review things they dislike. It’s not hard for a discerning reader to identify bias.
3. There are approximately 7 billion food bloggers on the planet, and there just isn’t enough free foie gras to go around. Chances are at least 10% of that number pay for their meals.
That being said, if you’re writing for Time and the NYT, it’s poor form to be so obvious in your acceptance of comps. On the other hand, if you are about food in your area, you probably aren’t reading Time or the NYT for dining suggestions.