1. How ethical is it to pay a journalist to blog about a product?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of blogging about a product?
3. Should there be a disclaimer that people are being paid to write about a product? Why or why not?
4. At the end of of the article, Lasica says you shouldn't call yourself a journalist if you're being paid to blog about a product. Do you agree? Why or why not?
5 comments:
I don't think it's necessarily ethical to pay someone to mention your product/company a certain number of times or things like that, but I do think it's "the next logical step in the blogosphere’s evolution from hobby to business opportunity," as the author asked. A code of ethics will only go so far in a world centered on profit and meeting demands, but it's noble that they've tried. I have to agree with some of the interviewees, also, that seeing lots of ads or promotional language on a blog makes me more skeptical about that source's legitimacy.
I don't think it is ethical to pay a journalist to blog about a product. I don't think it is ethical for a journalist to accept the compensation for blogging either. If someone is being paid to write a blog I think that needs to be disclosed, so readers can understand what biases the author may or may not have.
I am not sure if I can talk about ethics on blogging topic, because blogging is mostly personal views and plus promoting products in blogging is beyond of ethics and morality, but as I said before maybe all those blogs are indeed true media and media cannot exist without advertisement and promotion.
The article talks about the Code of Ethics that most professional journalists use and one of the points in the Code of Ethics reads: "Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity." Now, writing a blog for money wouldn't be against this, however if the writer were a journalist it would. Journalists are journalists whether they are actually writing or not. It's like in elementary school when you'd go on a field trip and your teacher would say "now remember you are representing our school so behave." It's the same idea, they are representing journalists as a whole, and it is something that should be frowned upon since it is in a Code of Ethics that many of us accept.
I think you need to take into consideration who you are blogging for. If you are a journalist with a personal blog linked to your news site than you should follow our code of ethics.
On the other hand, if you are some average Joe wanting to shout your feelings thats your own problem. If people want to read and argue some average Joe's opinion then let them do it.
As far as paying people to blog about a product to create sales and buzz... I say, way to go! Very creative marketing technique. But once again, if you are a journalist, that is wrong in my book!
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