Q – We are fascinated by your point about the relationship about travel articles and the fact that the vast majority of writers are describing their own “free or nearly free” trips. No wonder we can’t really depend on travel reporting any more than we can believe what is written on a number of other subjects. But travel writing seems uniquely tainted and unreliable since it is based on first-person experiences. Would you agree? Also wondering if you might provide a list of those newspapers and magazines that have a policy of not accepting free travel for their travel writers.
A – We would agree. The travel consumer is usually reading words served up as payback for comp. travel. But no one seems to mind so the practice continues.
There is no official list but the publications that currently do not accept free travel for writers include, as you might expect, The New York Times, as well as the Associated Press and USA Today. Unfortunately, that’s about it.
