Part I: Watch Journalism
Let me share some of my thoughts what I think in general about watch journalism, various other electronic media such as forums, blogs, Instagram and of course what my intentions are writing a blog like this. The latter I’ll come back to in Part III, but let’s start with watch journalism and online magazines.
The word “journalism” has a very special meaning for me. It is so much more than just writing about a subject. When it comes to journalism, there are two elements that are fundamental for me:
Independence and Integrity!
Of course, I can expand further with writing skills, expertise and and and, but without Independence or Integrity, you can be the most knowledge expert and brilliant writer but never a Journalist.
And this is an issue that cripples most Watch Magazines be it online or on paper. In fact, not only watches. I have seen the same issue with HiFi systems or Automobile magazines. But how come?
I think it has a lot to do with the fact, that such high class products are rather expensive and writers are not owners. When an online magazine is dependent on advertisement fees from the same manufacture that you are writing a review about or depend on sponsorship or that producers provide their products for free so they can be reviewed, you easily become corrupted and Independence goes out of the window.
Don’t get me wrong, there are amicable online platforms that try to be objective and produce quality content, but in the end, you will not bite the hand that feeds you. Once you get successful, you then start to lose Integrity as well. How can I trust an online magazine that at the same time has an online shop selling not only related products but is officially even an authorised dealer of some brands. I don’t need to name and shame the obvious, but for me this is a disgrace, in my view there is zero credibility left on such platforms.
Online magazines produce great photos, often much better than what comes out of the marketing departments of a brand, can provide deeper information and some subjective views, but in the end they do not differ much from a press release and for me they have nothing to do with “Journalism”.
In Part II we will look at media like Watch Forums and Instagram and what the problems are here that I see, while eventually we will look at independent blogs in Part III and what my intentions are writing “The GP Chronicles”.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Part I: Watch Journalism
Let me share some of my thoughts what I think in general about watch journalism, various other electronic media such as forums, blogs, Instagram and of course what my intentions are writing a blog like this. The latter I’ll come back to in Part III, but let’s start with watch journalism and online magazines.
The word “journalism” has a very special meaning for me. It is so much more than just writing about a subject. When it comes to journalism, there are two elements that are fundamental for me:
Independence and Integrity!
Of course, I can expand further with writing skills, expertise and and and, but without Independence or Integrity, you can be the most knowledge expert and brilliant writer but never a Journalist.
And this is an issue that cripples most Watch Magazines be it online or on paper. In fact, not only watches. I have seen the same issue with HiFi systems or Automobile magazines. But how come?
I think it has a lot to do with the fact, that such high class products are rather expensive and writers are not owners. When an online magazine is dependent on advertisement fees from the same manufacture that you are writing a review about or depend on sponsorship or that producers provide their products for free so they can be reviewed, you easily become corrupted and Independence goes out of the window.
Don’t get me wrong, there are amicable online platforms that try to be objective and produce quality content, but in the end, you will not bite the hand that feeds you. Once you get successful, you then start to lose Integrity as well. How can I trust an online magazine that at the same time has an online shop selling not only related products but is officially even an authorised dealer of some brands. I don’t need to name and shame the obvious, but for me this is a disgrace, in my view there is zero credibility left on such platforms.
Online magazines produce great photos, often much better than what comes out of the marketing departments of a brand, can provide deeper information and some subjective views, but in the end they do not differ much from a press release and for me they have nothing to do with “Journalism”.
In Part II we will look at media like Watch Forums and Instagram and what the problems are here that I see, while eventually we will look at independent blogs in Part III and what my intentions are writing “The GP Chronicles”.
Share this:
Like this: