DEBORAH REID WRITER & CHEF
  • Home
  • Clips & Podcasts
    • Sample Writing
  • Recipes
    • Video Recipes
  • today
  • Blog
    • Theo
  • About
Picture

today

12/9/2021

 
Picture

My 2021 notebooks.

***

I don't know at this point if there's anything beyond trend-centred food media in Canada. I hear complaints about the sorry state of the business on the regular. 

What interests me is who's talking. I wonder when the last time they shared a story beyond a favourable review or feature on their establishment or one of their friends. How much do they read? Can they name six current food writers?

***

I went on a FAM trip three years ago—whirlwind urban familiarization trips for media. Everything is free—travel, the welcome goodies, hotel rooms, and dinners in fine restaurants. 

They're complicated. Some media outlets won't take stories from sponsored trips for obvious reasons. It's hard to be objective. Several people on the trip were contributors to a national restaurant list/guide. Let that sink in. 

I had one story published out of the trip, but it was pre-arranged and not part of the tourism board's focus. 

I wrote two pitches and tried to sell them. Several editors told me one story was solid, but they had to pass. I came close to selling the other one to an art magazine (it has a fabulous art-food connection). 

The stories I want to write are harder to sell. It's not in me to produce or place a "top five" trend piece.

I'm sure the tourism board wrote my participation off as a loss. I kept the last email I received from a male organizer and filed it under "lessons in food writing." 

Who plays a part in gutting food culture? Public relation's teams working for restaurants and chefs, tourism board sponsored trips, corporate media sponsorship, and influencers. Also, those who take favours—including me. Anyone steering the narrative and failing to acknowledge a beneficial exchange. 

Those events helped me draw critical professional boundaries. 

The next time I face a complaint, I will ask about the person's food media diet, including their subscription list. What are they paying for of substance?

***

Seu Jorge. What is not to like? 

2012


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021

    © Deborah Reid, 2021 - 2025. All Rights Reserved.

    Categories

    All
    Today
    Today Books
    Today Cookbooks

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe
© DEBORAH REID, 2012 - 2025

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Clips & Podcasts
    • Sample Writing
  • Recipes
    • Video Recipes
  • today
  • Blog
    • Theo
  • About