Comments on: Can ‘paid for’ mentions ever be objective? http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html Banter between travel writers, travel PRs and travel social media people Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:59:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Fiona Cullinan http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html/comment-page-1#comment-242 Fiona Cullinan Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:58:12 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html#comment-242 Firstly, is travel narrative ever objective anyway!? Secondly, I can't help but think we're bringing old-fashioned ideas of travel narrative to this debate, ie, let's keep doing what we've been doing bit but get the tourist boards to pay for decent writers instead of newspapers and then declare (or not) the sponsorship interest on the eventual editorial. But newspapers are a dying breed (not just the travel sections), and magazines will likely follow in that decline. As someone who does both travel writing and client blogging, I think there is another way. (At least this is the way I am going, bringing my part-time travel writing and blogging/socialmedia interests together since I enjoy one but earn a proper living at the other.) So what is my way forward? It is to step away from the traditional travel narrative review and offer to tell wider, deeper stories of the travel product or offering - directly for the client, be that tourist board or travel company, and for hosting on their website. Lift the veil on what they do - who are the characters of that cruise ship, how is that trademark dish cooked, what do the hotel owners recommend you do when staying in their town, interview the bar man about the entertainment, etc. Be useful. Be engaging. Look for the things that people don't get to see in the brochure but are likely to ask questions about. Create multimedia content to illustrate it. Blog about the different aspects and just tell the journalistic facts rather than the travel writer's experience - then the reader can decide if they like what they see. It's transparent because essentially you are just blogging your usual research. The return is decent, the content interesting, the client gets its business messages amplified, and if you do a decent (non-puff) job, the blogosphere and social networkers out there will link to the content. The only issue is who gets sign-off. But a decent travel content creator with a good rep for creating 'objective' content could likely insist on it. Of course, they'll never let you film anyone spitting in the soup... but when similar things have happened to me with travel editorial, what you write is still a judgment call - was it a one-off or endemic. If endemic, this would be an ethics issue for supplying content. So bring it up with the company instead, give them a chance to explain or change it, and if not go write the truth about appalling service elsewhere. Firstly, is travel narrative ever objective anyway!?

Secondly, I can't help but think we're bringing old-fashioned ideas of travel narrative to this debate, ie, let's keep doing what we've been doing bit but get the tourist boards to pay for decent writers instead of newspapers and then declare (or not) the sponsorship interest on the eventual editorial.

But newspapers are a dying breed (not just the travel sections), and magazines will likely follow in that decline.

As someone who does both travel writing and client blogging, I think there is another way. (At least this is the way I am going, bringing my part-time travel writing and blogging/socialmedia interests together since I enjoy one but earn a proper living at the other.)

So what is my way forward?

It is to step away from the traditional travel narrative review and offer to tell wider, deeper stories of the travel product or offering - directly for the client, be that tourist board or travel company, and for hosting on their website.

Lift the veil on what they do - who are the characters of that cruise ship, how is that trademark dish cooked, what do the hotel owners recommend you do when staying in their town, interview the bar man about the entertainment, etc. Be useful. Be engaging. Look for the things that people don't get to see in the brochure but are likely to ask questions about. Create multimedia content to illustrate it. Blog about the different aspects and just tell the journalistic facts rather than the travel writer's experience - then the reader can decide if they like what they see. It's transparent because essentially you are just blogging your usual research.

The return is decent, the content interesting, the client gets its business messages amplified, and if you do a decent (non-puff) job, the blogosphere and social networkers out there will link to the content.

The only issue is who gets sign-off. But a decent travel content creator with a good rep for creating 'objective' content could likely insist on it.

Of course, they'll never let you film anyone spitting in the soup... but when similar things have happened to me with travel editorial, what you write is still a judgment call - was it a one-off or endemic. If endemic, this would be an ethics issue for supplying content. So bring it up with the company instead, give them a chance to explain or change it, and if not go write the truth about appalling service elsewhere.

]]> By: Hal Peat http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html/comment-page-1#comment-241 Hal Peat Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:13:08 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html#comment-241 Can paid-for mentions ever be objective? It really goes back to what's been discussed before a press trip in even just a general way between the writer and the publicist or organizer of the trip. If the writer made explicit undertakings beforehand to give glowing reviews to the new Fungi & Mold Resort, then arrived to be confronted by a mosquito-ridden pit that would thrill Paul Theroux or Graham Greene but not so much the upscale readers of Town & Country, then said writer has only him/herself to blame for giving up too much objective journalistic leeway. The best approach a publicist can take is a soft enough sell that won't corner a writer into delivering a bill of goods that will probably haunt him for years. If they don't ask...then you don't have to tell more than you need to tell. Which in my personal experience, only ever happened once to the extent of being hosted by a mosquito pit I refused to even list as a stayover. Can paid-for mentions ever be objective? It really goes back to what's been discussed before a press trip in even just a general way between the writer and the publicist or organizer of the trip. If the writer made explicit undertakings beforehand to give glowing reviews to the new Fungi & Mold Resort, then arrived to be confronted by a mosquito-ridden pit that would thrill Paul Theroux or Graham Greene but not so much the upscale readers of Town & Country, then said writer has only him/herself to blame for giving up too much objective journalistic leeway. The best approach a publicist can take is a soft enough sell that won't corner a writer into delivering a bill of goods that will probably haunt him for years. If they don't ask...then you don't have to tell more than you need to tell. Which in my personal experience, only ever happened once to the extent of being hosted by a mosquito pit I refused to even list as a stayover.

]]> By: James Ellis http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html/comment-page-1#comment-240 James Ellis Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:00:20 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html#comment-240 Ive been approached twice in the last couple of days by tourist boards to be paid to go to a destination and blog about it/sell stories on as need be... so I'm all for it being the way forward. As for the integrity of it all... we all provide factboxes for print that give out details of the hotels/airlines/tourist boards that helped out, so what's the difference when it's online? That's right, absolutely none! Ive been approached twice in the last couple of days by tourist boards to be paid to go to a destination and blog about it/sell stories on as need be... so I'm all for it being the way forward.

As for the integrity of it all... we all provide factboxes for print that give out details of the hotels/airlines/tourist boards that helped out, so what's the difference when it's online? That's right, absolutely none!

]]> By: Lucy http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html/comment-page-1#comment-239 Lucy Wed, 14 Oct 2009 12:38:23 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html#comment-239 Hi Jeremy, I'm a PR and find this debate very interesting. Personally, I think what David Whitley has suggested has potential to work. To arrange a press trip costs money - either from client direct or through allocated agency budget. Especially for an overseas trip the costs can be 1000s - the addition of a fee would just slot in on top. I think its a win win situation. Rather than a travel desk assigning a random person who works at the paper, PR's get an experienced travel writer to come to their client/location. And obviously getting paid for writing the review on the blog solves the ever present problem of getting blog revenue and low newspapaper budgets for commissions. But for this to work for PR (clients to please and all!) the writer would need a confirmed commmission from a national. And as for bad reviews - well, as a PR I think you need to be confident that your cleint/product will deliver. If you don't think it can deliver (or you've overhyped it) then you shouldn't really be doing a press trip with experienced travel writers. Hi Jeremy, I'm a PR and find this debate very interesting. Personally, I think what David Whitley has suggested has potential to work. To arrange a press trip costs money - either from client direct or through allocated agency budget. Especially for an overseas trip the costs can be 1000s - the addition of a fee would just slot in on top. I think its a win win situation. Rather than a travel desk assigning a random person who works at the paper, PR's get an experienced travel writer to come to their client/location. And obviously getting paid for writing the review on the blog solves the ever present problem of getting blog revenue and low newspapaper budgets for commissions. But for this to work for PR (clients to please and all!) the writer would need a confirmed commmission from a national. And as for bad reviews - well, as a PR I think you need to be confident that your cleint/product will deliver. If you don't think it can deliver (or you've overhyped it) then you shouldn't really be doing a press trip with experienced travel writers.

]]> By: Jeremy Head http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html/comment-page-1#comment-238 Jeremy Head Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:57:44 +0000 http://www.travelblather.com/2009/10/can-paid-for-mentions-ever-be-objective.html#comment-238 @ David M. Completely agree. The web is stuffed with pseudo-features compiled by students and spam-hacks. And telling the difference is very difficult. Ultimately you do get what you pay for. I'm glad there's so much junk out there. Eventually people may realise that to get really useful, properly researched info they need to pay for it. @ David W. Nice idea in theory. Any PRs reading this? Would you/your client ever agree to this kind of deal? AND... it feels like you're giving even more power to the PR people. It would be a very enlightened PR person to get their client to pay you AND then allow you to write whatever you wanted for the National that you are giving your piece to for free. After all... THAT's ultimately what they want... not the piece you write for their company website or whatever. @ Catherine. Thanks for your comment. @ David M. Completely agree. The web is stuffed with pseudo-features compiled by students and spam-hacks. And telling the difference is very difficult. Ultimately you do get what you pay for. I'm glad there's so much junk out there. Eventually people may realise that to get really useful, properly researched info they need to pay for it.
@ David W. Nice idea in theory. Any PRs reading this? Would you/your client ever agree to this kind of deal? AND... it feels like you're giving even more power to the PR people. It would be a very enlightened PR person to get their client to pay you AND then allow you to write whatever you wanted for the National that you are giving your piece to for free. After all... THAT's ultimately what they want... not the piece you write for their company website or whatever.
@ Catherine. Thanks for your comment.

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