So good to read that your reviews mentioned some cons and got a positive response from the publicists and authors. That should be heartening for bloggers who are worried about saying anything negative.

I’m pleased that you’re establishing a policy. I’ve talked about that in a previous blog post.

That’s a super list from Michael Bauer. I think he wrote that as a feature article years ago, And — sorry to put in a plug here — I wrote 9,000 words on how to write restaurant reviews in Will Write for Food.

Re the blogger, since she keeps emailing you, maybe it’s better to just tell her you’ve chosen not to review it. Anyone else have a good suggestion?

As always, I appreciate you opening the dialog on these topics.

We’ve had many conversations around the topic of providing a true review and not being bashful about assessing the pros and cons. In the past, I was afraid I would alienate chefs, authors, etc. with a more candid review. Until recently, I avoided reviews because I was unsure how to handle them. I’m still on the learning curve but my first couple reviews, I called out some shortcomings and had both authors and publicists thank me. It was a pleasant surprise.

RE: Restaurant Reviews. As a blogger the challenge is not having the financial backing of an organization to provide a comprehensive review. This is another reason why I avoid doing restaurant reviews, having worked a number of years in the restaurant industry, I realize that a sampling of two or three dishes is not a solid overview of a restaurant’s ability. However, I recognize I do have influence in this area and bear Michael Bauer’s excellent “How To Evaluate Restaurants” in mind: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/mbauer/detail?blogid=26&entry_id=4946

RE: Other Perks: Going forward, I’m taking a cue from Robyn above and establishing a stated policy. She says, “1) I may or may not get around to reviewing it, as my schedule allows; and (2) if I do review it I’ll do so honestly, ie. I’ll try a few recipes and take it to bed with me to read and if it doesn’t appeal to me or the recipes are lacking that will go into the review — hopefully in a thoughtful way.)

This, I must admit, is especially difficult as many of my friends are writing books these days. One author, I loved her blog, hated her book. Of course she’s expecting a favorable review and has nudged me by e-mail and Twitter several times “I hope you like it!” I’ve elected to not write about it since there’s so little about the book I enjoy. It’s a very awkward situation and frankly, I’m still trying to figure out how to handle it. Perhaps you or others here would have some suggestions?

~T

I hope you get some ideas on how to handle reviews from the discussions. If not, feel free to bring up questions and I will do my best to answer. Maybe other people will chime in too.

What do you mean that you’ve been getting requests for ads? You’re referring to some kind of writing?

I’ve now been getting the PR folks and more contacting me for reviews. I haven’t responded to many so far. For the most part, I’m not sure how to handle it yet. Ads too. I’ve been getting requests for ads and I still don’t see that as much different than product review.

Still ruminating on this for my own work…

One of the fundamental problems for bloggers is that no one’s reimbursing them for expenses. From that standpoint, unless they’re making lots of money from ads (unlikely), paying for meals, trips etc. comes out of their own pockets. It’s not so different for freelance writers these days, because what they get paid doesn’t always cover their expenses either. I think lots of them take freebies too, and ask for discounts.

The question is: if you get it for free, can you write objectively about it, and discuss the cons? Yes. But most bloggers choose not to. Perhaps the reason why is unsaid: They’re afraid they’ll be crossed off the list because they’ve said something less than positive.

Re your question about whether a positive review = free advertising…In theory, yes, because it’s better than placing an ad, and it cost the restaurant or company nothing. Some reviews can be straightforward without gushing or promoting. I’m concerned about writers who think they need to promote a product just because they got it for free and like it.

I have found that most food bloggers here (in Asia) have totally jumped onto that bandwagon, telling themselves and their readers that ‘as long as I tell you the resto’s PR person invited me and comped me the meal my review is still legit.’ Food blogging is often seen as a road to wining and dining and traveling on someone else’s nickel.

I don’t get alot of product offers, but when I do I refuse them. (I make an exception for cookbooks — and I advise whoever queries about sending me a book that (1) I may or may not get around to reviewing it, as my schedule allows; and (2) if I do review it I’ll do so honestly, ie. I’ll try a few recipes and take it to bed with me to read and if it doesn’t appeal to me or the recipes are lacking that will go into the review — hopefully in a thoughtful way.)

It’s not that I fear I couldn’t write an unbiased review; I’m sure I could. But when I read a positive review of a product that’s been comped, I just can’t help but second-guess it. I don’t care if a blogger writes ‘XYZ Bistro invited me to sample their food and offer an unbiased critique’ — if the critique is positive (even it deserves to be!) I am suspicious. And I just can’t help but think that I have readers who would do the same if I had a (honestly) positive review of something I’d gotten for free. (Postage is prohibitive — there’s no way I would pay to ship something back to the States or wherever.)

(I read D Leibovitz’ review of the fryer and I have to admit he really finessed it. I believe his review.)

SeattleTallPoppy recently tweeted a link to a food blogger’s (I think) manifesto, something along the lines of ‘What Food Bloggers Want’. One was ‘To be treated like bona fide media’ ie. have access to press junkets and free goods and entry to events, etc. Perhaps it wasn’t elegantly written, but actually am bona fide media, and my immediate reaction was “Excuse me, but not all bona fide media accept freebies! I certainly don’t.”

I didn’t get into food blogging or writing for print and other media on food, travel, culture etc. for the freebies. Sometimes I feel that with the lines blurring between blogdom and traditional media the behavior of the one reflects on the other. When you’ve got bloggers clamoring for free trips, meals, booze, whatever because they want to be treated like ‘bona fide media’ then that leads some to believe that ‘bona fide media’ is all about free trips, meals, booze, and etc. I have occasionally detected the slight sneer when I identify myself to a restaurant owner or hotel manager as a writer working on a story (not a review; I don’t identify myself for reviews) — they expect the next words out of my mouth to be a request for a discount or a comped room or meal. And that is thanks to those who’ve come before me.

Bottom line is, I don’t accept free stuff bec I think that doing so calls into question my objectivity — or it *gives the appearance* of my being less than objective. (Some of my assignments are for more ‘newsy’ than others.) Part of that concern stems from writing for publications like Wall Street Journal or NYT that have strict ‘ethics codes’ for contributors and freelancers. But mostly it’s about doing what keeps me comfortable in my own skin.

(A related issue — publications are paying so little these days, and many don’t cover expenses or don’t cover all expenses. What is a writer to do? It’s only natural in this instance to ask for discounts on rooms, meals, etc for coverage in an article, right?)

One last thing — Dianne, you responded to my tweet that a positive review in exchange for a free meal = an advertisement by saying ‘not necessarily’. I hope you’ll elaborate on that, here or in another post.

Let me add finally that I have been enjoying this series of posts, from the perspective of both a blogger and a writer for traditional media.

I used to have a housemate who worked for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety–you know, the folks who crash test and rate cars. Their policy is to not only buy every car they test, but to pay sticker-price. I bet the car sales folks LOVE it when the IHS comes around.