When a Food Blog is Suspended
In case you have not read, an online article of “Food blogger who demands free meal sparks outrage online” has gathered extreme backlash against this blogger and even the food blogging community.
The person involved was popular food blogger ladyironchef (Brad Lau) who was said to demand for a free meal at an upscale restaurant Private Affairs because he would review about it. (I would say he was popular because ladyironchef had a substantial readership of more than 7000 a day.) The initial bill turned out to be an expensive $435, which was eventually lowered to $159.
To take an objective view and back to Journalism 101, the story was written entirely from a 3rd and 4th person’s point of view. How was it exposed – I was not sure. The food blogger identified was not quoted. Actual words said have not been verified.
While it is undeniable to have black sheep in another community, I was very surprised at the excessive criticism and crude response towards this incident. As I read the online forums, the comments given by netizens were shocking such as “Shame on you!”, “real cheapo”, “complete ass”, “food begger”, “cheapskate”, and “disgrace to the nation”. All to a rather one-sided article.
The last I knew – his website had been suspended and negative comments kept coming. He probably took years of writing and photo-taking to establish the positive reputation as a credible food blogger. I read his blog. Most entries looked well-researched and his photos were beautiful. All effort wiped out with a single incident.
Some of my friends thought that being a food blogger was wonderful with privileges such as free meals, endorsements, and advertisements. But many food bloggers I know had none of these – only a small handful made it to the pedestal. I know that I do not earn a single cent out of this. Zero.
A note to all who wants to be a food blogger, you really have to love both food and writing. I can give my word that it is never about free meals. Spending 2-3 hours of writing, editing, and photo-shopping on one entry for a free meal (if you do get it) is never worth it! Credibility and objectivity can never be bought anyway. It has to be established, slowly and definitely.
This matter has been blown out of proportion and the truth is, I do wish to read ladyironchef’s entries again (whether he did or did not demand for that free meal).
Let us just go back to the fundamentals of food blogging – to share about the joy of food. At least that’s how I see it.
(On a separate note to readers of Daniel’s Food Diary, thank you for your unwavering support. I am glad to say that I do not endorse any food establishments. I pay for 50% of my meals. My good friends treat the other 49%. The other 1% of free food are written as objectively as possible. Some even get bad reviews. Haha. So I don’t get free food all the time okay?)
Themocracy
Oh dear. This is worrying. I went to read the Yahoo report and I do agree that this seems to have been blown out of proportion, and I would like to hear Brad Lau’s side of the story as well. That’s the danger with the internet I suppose. Everything seems to take off so speedily. And again, the anonymity must have allowed many people to just pass judgment and comments which are presently unwarranted until all the facts are established. (Having said that, some of the comments are unwarranted regardless of what really happened.)
Daniel. This is the first lucid thing I have heard since the furore. I think rationality should prevail, at least until Brad turns up and cleared the air. I have to admit I was a bit disheartened when the news of his alleged escapade broke through twitter. Brad is obviously a very talented food photographer and it would be heartbreaking to see all his efforts go up in smoke just because of an isolated incident. He is also young and is entitled to make some mistakes if he made them at all.
Some vitriolic comments are certainly uncalled for, and publishing his personal details online especially unwarranted and should not be condoned. I hope Yahoo SG will rectify this immediately.
I personally do not like invited reviews and believe that bloggers should pay for their own food to maintain objectivity. Where possible, an invited review should be followed up by a self paid review to balance out the post. That is just my personal opinion but I do know of many other bloggers who are friends, who attend invites but clearly states them in their post. To each their own, and I do not condemn them or feel superior to them.
Food Blogs are a happy place, where foodies share their experiences. The camaraderie is infectious and instead of condemning other bloggers, they should be like you and remain supportive of our brothers and sisters irregardless of whether they have made a mistake or not.
Just my two cent’s worth, which probably is only one cent in Singapore given the exchange rates. Peace out.
P.S. Loving your blog.
Well we awaits his official statement.
ladyironchef speaks: http://www.ladyironchef.com/2010/08/24/truth/
A lession learnt from this incident. A good creditability takes months or even years to earn but it can easily wiped out by single bad incident. Perhaps, the ‘fame’ causes all the trouble.
And now he’s very popular, i don’t know him before this, now i do
Convenient time to suffer memory loss by denying allegations of having said those words. Most restaurant hosts would reasonably have let the matter rest since they have more to lose from bad publicity. Even then, Brad hasn’t explained why he “threw his credit card at him.”
Still a cheapo in my opinion and an ungracious one at that.
Being young, ignorant and not very educated ( i suspect) I do think Brad must have mistaken arrogance for confidence when he threw a fit at the restaurant.
Oh well, live and learn.
http://ubookmark.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/no-no-darling…/
Well the other side of the story is out! I tend to sympathise with Brad. If someone invites you and you let them know you are bringing 3 friends along, then your host will need to tell you if your friends need to pay. Of course, whether one should ask 3 friends along is a separate matter. But at least we are getting a more complete picture now.
Private Affairs issues their press statement:
http://www.privateaffairs.com.sg/pdf/press.pdf
I am glad that Brad stepped out to make clarifications. At least we get to hear both sides of the story.
I am not going to pass any judgment on this matter because I do not know what actually happened that day. It would be unfair to make any criticisms when I am not privy to the full facts.
But I thought this whole furore brought up some points, which are worth pondering:
1) What exactly is a food tasting invitation/invited reviews? Where are the boundaries for it?
2) It seems that reviewers/reviewees may have their own definition/expectation of such invites. This difference may lead to potential miscommunications and conflicts. Would it be better if both parties are able to communicate upfront and come to a mutual agreement about the nature of the invite.
3) Lastly, I am very surprised with the type of comments posted online about this matter, some of which i felt was uncalled for. What we, 3rd parties, hear are only reported accounts from each side. It is very disheartening to see that pple can pass such swift and harsh judgments when they do not know the full picture. The overwhelming criticisms seems like a frenzy attack against him rather than objective comments about the incident. This brings to mind the importance of maintaining objectivity and balance in online posts and comments.
My two cents worth =)
Bad publicity is not the worst thing to happen to Brad. I have never heard of him prior to the incident and now I am reading his blog. But he isnt really a bad arse as I hope him to be. So we all can’t be nice all the time and it might be interesting to find a blogger who doesnt take himself too seriously. I havent seen his side, but being infamous can be equally as interesting. We all love someone to hate.