So, while in that particular case the comps weren’t disclosed, I chose to use my own journalistic integrity and NOT include a destination, only to have that integrity shot down by the higher ups. Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth, I suppose.

Anytime you question how things are done or suggest changes, you’re breaking someone’s rice bowl, and so I doubt the press trip/fam tour concept is going away any time soon. For a number of people on a number of different levels, it works, just not for me.

A tailored trip is much more useful, but still begs ethics questions. It’s a tough call.

Part of the reason that I’m very reluctant to go on fam trips is that they’re often organised just to prove to the members of the tourist board and the local media that the PR people are actually doing something. They just want to be able to say “we had writers from publications X and Y out here”.

It’s far better when the trip is tailored to getting as much coverage as possible – and good coverage at that. If they decide to target bloggers, they need to ask what the bloggers want.

there is also a difference in blogging and in the print media and hopefully readers can see that … often the blogs seem to be advertorial with links to many places.

I like to tell a story – not where I ate, where I stayed, what I bought etc. see my webpages and blogs for tips on travel writing.

All it requires is a statement/sentence at the end of the piece.

I think impartiality is easy for me because over the years, I’ve gotten perks and discounts coming my way just because of being a Flight Attendant. So some of the perks that bloggers may recently be experiencing are part of what I’ve always had as a result of my day job.

I discover lots of things on my layovers, sometimes in cities that I might never have gone to but for a layover. While I may not disclose that I was on a layover (security issues), and am prohibited from disclosing some other travel discounts that I receive because of my job, I’ve never thought that compromised my opinions or impartiality.

To me, it IS fairly simple – accept or decline fam trips, but know what they entail, know what the agendas are, and disclose, disclose. Just because I am personally skeptical of my own ability to be impartial on fams doesn’t mean that others don’t feel just as strongly that they are capable of impartiality.

The issue for me is not that I won’t say negative things – what I find is that I self-censor and don’t say anything at all about things that bother me on a fam. That’s what I hate when I feel myself doing it, and that’s why I want to avoid fams if possible in the future.