Quote:
Originally Posted by cklls
He feels it calls his journalistic integrity into question and completely subverts the whole idea of reviews.
|
It absolutely does.
The freedom of a reviewer to base his review on what he sees, rather than on how much (or whether) the subject pays, is what the reader of the review wants in the first place. Readers
have creator-designed, creator-paid descriptions of products. They're called advertisements. And they certainly have their place ... but they are
not reviews.
If the reviewer is no longer delivering what the reader wants -- a review not influenced by outside forces -- the reader has no reason to buy it, whether he "buys" with coins in a newspaper box or eyeballs on a banner ad. This is why publications which charge for reviews try to hide that fact from their readership. Who would want to buy commercials in the guise of reviews?
I don't know what to tell your friend. This is a terrible economy to try to find a job in. But I don't think I'd be comfortable working for those folks.