84fiero

I've read The Daily Mail.

What does the political system have to do with poor quality blog posts?

Adam1222

Don't worry. I am more than capable of spending 15 seconds on a post here while devoting more than sufficient energy to making my country a better place. If you'd like my CV, I can send it to you . But trust me: I've done more useful towards making my country a better place than most of the bloggers on boarding area combined. And I'm just getting started .

But here's the thing: I see the connection between companies like Bankrate and the systemic injustice in my country. When I work to push back against those calling for the decimation of consumer protection laws, particularly in the financial services sector, who do you think is on the other side? When I speak to defrauded consumers on a daily basis, how different are the tactics they complain about from those engaged in by Bankrate? Do you think it's just one blog that masquerades advertising content as editorial? It isn't.

We have hundreds of deeply committed responsible journalists in the US, fantastic journalism schools, etc. Check out Propublica or the Pulitzer Prize. I'll take that over the Tattler any day.

So please, don't lecture me about how to spend my time, or about my political system. Because that's a fight you will not win. Id say you owe me an apology but I've learned not to hold my breath.

oliver2002

I think the core point here is that blogging is NOT journalism. Blogging is a web log with people supposedly writing whatever comes to their mind. Journalistic standards simply don't apply.

Adam1222

Right that's been the argument people have been making for years in defending these practices. (I disagree and think theres a difference between a traditional blog and one that holds itself out as a news site.) Hence it was weird for there to be an apology post where a blog claimed it was apologizing for not abiding by journalistic standards. Indeed, it's misleading for the site to indicate it abides by those standards when it doesn't. Posts like that perpetuate the fraud on unwitting consumers that allows Bankrate to profit.

Raffles

Adam1222

Good for you. Your work must be what makes the UK superior to America in your mind.

The term journalistic standards has a meaning. In the US, they are most often reflected by the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics. https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp,and the Radio Television Digital News Association Code of Ethics RTDNA

There are common elements in these codes. If you generally follow standards similar to those embraced there, you can claim to abide by journalistic standards. If you don't, you don't. Plenty of the publications you refer are vanity/marketing publications that don't either. The awards you cite are organized and sponsored by Carlson Wagonlit Travel, hardly a well-respected arbiter of high-quality journalism, but part of the corporate, conflicted travel industry that blows smoke up each others ***.

84fiero

Yeah with the site referencing journalistic standards, one definitely comes to the conclusion that they choose to follow those standards. And let's be clear - thepointsguy.com is not a blog and hasn't been for many years. It is a corporate site selling credit cards and other affiliate income products, or in their fluffy words:

Big difference between this site and Joe Blow's Miles Blog.

Some bloggers - especially those covering politics and current events - often argue for treatment equal to journalists when it comes to access, certain protections afforded journalists, etc. I think there have been a few court cases touching on those issues (in the US anyway) but don't know the specifics. I'm no Constitutional expert but I think it may come down to the specific situation and website, as is noted here regarding TPG.

sbm12

FWIW, many affiliate programs have clauses in their agreements about promotion of illegal activities. They're usually nestled in next to the clauses about porn and gambling. So there is a risk to the site/company for pushing that crap.

Adam1222

For sure, which is why it came down after the fact. But their compliance team probably wasn't attuned to the legality of those issues before the post went out. (Or at least the team that does review pre-publication.) Also, does Bankrate have traditional affiliate contracts for the site it itself owns?

diburning

I'm sure Bankrate gets preferential if not special treatment from banks like Chase. They were the exclusive affiliate for the Chase Sapphire Reserve when it first came out.

sbm12

I'm also assuming that TPG has affiliate links for other things like hotels and such. If not that's a lot of money left on the table.

diburning

The credit card shilling takes up almost as much space as the actual "content" and the "content" is only vaguely useful.

Adam1222

TPG apparently bought Phaedra Parks a vacation and then ghost-wrote a "review" for her.
For those not in the know, though described as a "reality star" and a "successful attorney," she was fired by Bravo for being too shady to be a Real Housewife, after it came out that she made up a story about a castmember sexually assaulting another.
I do not know when the last time she had a successful legal representation was; she has several other businesses, including funeral director.
Next up, "A Guest Review by Harvey Weinstein"

gpapadop

Hi, I am an intern at the VFTW blog and I am really interested to find out if there will be any shocking video to go along with that, thanks

Nicoolio

The Points Guy is referenced in this new $2 million lawsuit against JetSmarter as it is apparently where the defendant learned about JetSmarter. The lawsuit also says Kim Kardashian and Petra Nemcova were paid endorsers but neither they nor JetSmarter disclosed the relationships as part of their Instagram posts.

Source: Private Jet Card Comparisons
https://privatejetcardcomparisons.co...st-jetsmarter/