Etiquette Tuesday: Media Pass.
©JohnnaKnowsGoodFood
Ugh. One of the biggest pet peeves of this food blogger is being invited in or added to a media list and having to pay for your meal, event ticket, etc. Before you go into the rant of “Bloggers always want something free!”, let me just stop you right there. I started Johnna Knows Good Food on my own dime and with my own free ideas to share. I am not one those bloggers (who I often hear about smh…) that goes in a restaurant and announces that I am a food blogger so the restaurant should start sending out their best dishes for review. I actually hate when I am out with people and they tell the servers I am a blogger, I feel like it is a shameless plug to get free food (though I know this is never my guests intent).
This week’s Etiquette Tip, however, goes out to the other side of the industry, the restaurants and PR folks who have not quite got the message: Invite/Media Pass equals Complimentary. If you invite me to an event, I am expecting your dime to pay the tab. If, however, I make the reservation and show up on my own accord, I am for sure expecting to pay the tab. What I believe some restaurant/PR professionals think is that bloggers should just be happy to get a few nibbles for free and/or enter the building for free. This is not every blogger including yours truly. Nine times out of ten, I probably would have chosen elsewhere to spend my coins had I known the event that you invited me to or media comped me for was not going to be covered. This is especially bothersome when you have promoted prior to the event/restaurant opening and/or offered post-coverage of the event. Is this “complimentary” notion sorta-kinda the trade off of sharing the event with your audience?? I thought so.
Is it annoying to have bloggers asking you for ridiculous favors when they show up at your establishment? Yes. Is it annoying to be invited to an event, restaurant or the like that you would not have left your warm house for in the dead of winter only to have to pay the tab for flat drinks and mediocre food? Abso-lutely.
Category: Etiquette Tuesday
About the Author (Author Profile)
Johnna French is a Harlem NY native with deep roots in Panama, Washington, DC and North Carolina. All four places have heavily influenced her life and the foods she loves today. After graduating Howard University School of Law and beginning her life as a young professional in the city she was led to start Johnna Knows Good Food in November 2007 to keep family, friends and colleagues updated on where to go and what to eat while dining in the nation’s capitol. French, who still practices law, leads a team of three writers to cover the ever expanding Washington, DC food scene. French has been featured in print and television, appearing in Washingtonian Magazine and is a regular contributor to various local TV affiliates including WUSA 9, FOX 5 DC and WJLA (ABC Affiliate) News Channel 8. During the 2016-2017 football season, Johnna aired on Comcast Sports Mid-Atlantic (CSN) show, Redskins Life, as the weekly tailgate host. Johnna is currently a regular contributor to the FOX Baltimore Weekend morning show.Subscribe
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