Looks like the food blogging community is in a tizzy over this
Food Blogging Code of Ethics. To tell you the truth, I'm a bit conflicted. One one hand I understand the intention and impulse of creating such a 'code', but I tend to agree with
Dan over at SaltShaker....food blogging is not journalism, but rather an open space for subjective opinion and public sharing. To somehow put limits on that seems well, wrong.
What say you?
I gotta disagree with you on this. Have you actually read the code? All it is asking is that we be good humans - don't plagiarize, stand behind what you say, let people know if you're being compensated to endorse something. That's just being a good person, not any rigid standards or requirements. It suggests that we "consider" using journalism standards for reviews, but doesn't require it.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't ask you to be objective, it just asks you to be open about the fact that you are being subjective.
The only thing I see it limiting is boorish behavior. How can that be bad?
Thanks for the comment digigirl...I think it's important to discuss this topic.
ReplyDeleteI guess my only issue is that I see blogging as an open forum for opinion, no matter what type of opinion it is. To somehow suggest that blogging mirror journalism is already injecting the suggestion of "objectivity" into what we do...which again, I just don't agree with.
Again, I'm conflicted here...I agree with most of the 'code'...In fact I already follow most of it....something about it just doesn't sit well with me...not sure what it is....sorry, thinking out loud now...
But again, how does asking people to remain civil limit their ability to convey their opinions? There's no reason anyone needs to be rude or dishonest in order to convey a strong opinion, even if it's a controversial one.
ReplyDeleteClearly there's a disconnect in how different people read the Code. I don't see that it's asking for strict objectivity at all, just asking people to be clear about their viewpoint and where they're coming from.
Others - like yourself - are apparently reading it to mean that bloggers should be required to be objective or in some way restrain their opinions.
If you've checked the Food Blog Ethics site today, they're still formulating, updating and incorporating all of the many comments they received. I'll be very interested to see the final outcome!