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An extremely interesting discussion is happening about a proposed Food Blog Code of Ethics. Created by two food bloggers, who are also trained journalists, the code sets out standards of professionalism, impartiality and transparency for people who write about recipes, restaurants, products and the food industry.
“As the blogging world expands exponentially, more and more people in the culinary world believe that food bloggers — as a group — are unfair, highly critical, untrained and power hungry individuals empowered by anonymity,”
write Brooke Burton and Leah Greenstein.“As trained journalists who happen to be food bloggers, we feel it is unfair to be labeled something we aren’t. By creating a food blogger code of ethics, we hope to draw attention to the food bloggers who hold themselves to higher standards.”
Maybe it’s because there aren’t as many food bloggers in Canada, or maybe because the blogs I subscribe to happen to be done by quality writers, but I was a little surprised by the main rationale behind the code — to counter the belief that food bloggers are seen as power-hungry hacks.
Online readers are pretty savvy and see through an extremely gushing or poisonous review that suddenly appears from someone who’s never posted before, or has no history of balanced analysis. People will ask questions, lots of them.
It’s fairly obvious to me that a particularly malevolent (or glowing) review from out of the blue has ulterior motives, and I will seek out other opinions.
Code of ethics
Most of the code is common-sense:
- We will be accountable.
- We will be civil; we will be forthright, but will refrain from personal attacks
- We will disclose gifts, comps and samples.
- We will reveal bias.
- We will follow the rules of good journalism.
and are good reminders for present and future food bloggers — especially on matters of proper attribution/credit and copyright — but I’m not convinced this is something I need to sign onto.
I’m a professional journalist by day, but this is, and has always been, my personal uncensored hobby and passion. I put thought into each of my entries, and try to be as transparent as possible in all of my experiences. If that draws readers, then great; if it bores or disagrees with them, then it’s their right to click away.
Lizzy, who left a comment on the code’s feedback section sums up how I feel:
“I get that you don’t like being classified as a blogger, but then perhaps you shouldn’t blog. Or. Make your blog so outstanding that it stands above the “bad rep” that is supposedly out there.
I write for pleasure and to entertain people a little. I don’t do anything dishonest and I just stick to my opinions and experiences and try to stay out of the drama. Not all of us are inept writers trying to shut businesses down.”
Restaurant review code
Many unpaid bloggers are particularly concerned with the reviewer’s guidelines that state:
- “We will visit a restaurant more than once (more than twice, if possible) before passing a final judgment.
- We will sample the full range of items on menu.
Sometimes that’s impossible, especially when I’m eating at a restaurant or food stand in the midst of my travels.
But the code does raise questions, not only for food blogs, but also for “mainstream” restaurant reviews in general. I don’t think I’ve ever seen newspaper/radio/TV reviews disclose who paid the bill, if a critic was recognized and got preferential treatment, if the writer has a longstanding friendship with the owner or chef…
I applaud the code for igniting such a great debate, and in the five days since it’s been introduced, the writers behind it have warmly received feedback and already issued a clarification on some of their points.
What do you think about a food blog code of ethics? Is it necessary? Would you take a blog more seriously if it subscribed to the code?
Reading the code made me feel like I was in a journalism ethics class where this is what you do if you want a 100% grade from the teacher but once you’re out in the real world it doesn’t always happen that way.
I’m glad they clarified some things. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who told them they needed revisions.
Frankly though, I much prefer how a site like http://foodblogscool.blogspot.com/ handles all of the issues than their code. This code makes me think they’re trying too hard to legitimize blogging and compare it to traditional journalism, where even then people don’t always follow the “rules.”
That Code of Ethics is seriously too serious and takes the fun out of blogging. And fun is the reason I blog. They make some good points and I try to follow most of their items, but if I came across a blog that didn’t, I wouldn’t mind. If a blog is dishonest, unreasonably biased, or uncivil (in a non-funny way), then I just won’t add it to my list of subscribed blogs.
No big deal.
I actually think a code like this insults the readers’ intelligence a bit. I like to think that readers are generally smart. They can spot bad writing, lies, and unfair criticism/praise. Readers don’t need a code to know how “good”/”bad” a blog is; they can tell themselves. In fact, why should someone else have the right to define what is “good”/”bad” in the first place?
And now I’m getting too serious – it’s just food after all
P.S. I must admit that I may not be in this code’s target market. I don’t aspire to be a professional food critic. I don’t think our blog has any real “power”, nor do I really want it to. And most of my reviews are generally mellow and favorable since I usually dine at places I’m familiar with and like or places I’ve heard good things about.
That code of ethics would apply to my blog the same way it would apply to The Rick Mercer Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart or The Colbert Report.
Seriously “speaking”, while the idea is good, the fact is that attempting to force them into non-journalists like myself without asking for external feedback else sounds pretentious. Using their same logic, by following that code, does that mean I am a journalist as well? If so, what is point of journalism school? Using my work line (audit) as an example, a better approach would have been a set of best practices. But, then again, who am I to force this on others? Hmmmm…. I think I am being too serious here…
[...] Andree at Are You Gonna Eat That posted a link to something titled “The Food Blog Code of Ethics” – a set of standards drafted by two bloggers who are also trained journalists. I’m still mulling over the idea of guidelines beyond one’s personal ethics, but I agree with Andree’s point about the lack of transparency provided by mainstream reviewers – I think any review – whether it be in a paper or a blog – should be read as just one opinion, and nothing more. [...]
I still need to read the code, but I find this kind of funny. In a world where the public determines content and blogging is a key tool in the new generation of the Web formalizing writing and discussion seems ironic. While I can sense their frustration, does it really matter? Like Eddie says, only read the stuff that you like and personally trust.
I want to say that I’m off to read the code, but I’d rather drink my Trad and browse the sites that entertain and inform me.