About my job.
Recently, automotive journalists have been receiving bad press. Actually, for me, things started spiralling downward when a famous car-character sold something that was not entirely his for a profit only to get burnt afterwards. Concerning the bad publicity, it is clear that one of the issues at hand with automotive journalism are the lavish trips offered by the car builders and whether they are warranted. In the end, it comes down to whether a journalist can remain objective in his/her evaluation of the vehicle once the trip is over.
I will address this in two separate parts. The first, concerning the trips. In the work force, I can think of hundreds of examples of when people receive additional benefits for their hard work. My father was an executive for a large shipping company at one point in his life. He was regularly sent on trips to California, Florida and he was even sent on a 2-week trip around the world. He had a brand new car at his disposal, an expense account, he had it all. Other members of my family work for pharmaceutical companies. I have heard of stories of high-profile executives receiving huge salaries, enormous bonuses, new paid-for cars every year and Lord knows that many of these people have little or no idea about what is really going on below them, but I digress. What I am getting at is that once you have "made it"; you have earned and are entitled to all of these extras.
In the automotive journalist's world, getting a new car to test every week is your basic salary. If you can get a car, it is because you are producing material that people will read or watch. If the cars become more numerous and/or more expensive, this could be considered as a pay increase. The trips, well they are the bonuses because someone out there thinks that you are good enough to relay an educated message about the product to the masses.
Of course, car builders desire and generally expect that these messages will be good ones. And, of course, if the journalist is only out for the bonuses and always transmits glowing messages, they are in fact guaranteeing themselves more trips. The reality of life is that we cannot always get a bonus. Sometimes things go wrong or not the way we would like them to go. Occasionally, manufacturers build something so bad that the message can only be negative.
At this point, it is up to the deliverer of the message to make sure that the information contained within the text is just and done with integrity. This is where the real issue lies and this is the second part. Everybody likes bonuses, executives and journalists alike. People will generally do whatever it takes to get the reward. The question is now: Whom is the journalist working for? If the answer is General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Subaru or Toyota, then the bonuses are more likely to flow. If the response is the reader, then the journalist will be spending more time in front of the computer at work or at home. Objectivity mixed in with a little subjectivity should be the real bounty. Unfortunately for some journalists, it will not buy them the finer things in life. Fortunately though, it is up to you to decide whether or not the message is any good.
Recently, automotive journalists have been receiving bad press. Actually, for me, things started spiralling downward when a famous car-character sold something that was not entirely his for a profit only to get burnt afterwards. Concerning the bad publicity, it is clear that one of the issues at hand with automotive journalism are the lavish trips offered by the car builders and whether they are warranted. In the end, it comes down to whether a journalist can remain objective in his/her evaluation of the vehicle once the trip is over.
I will address this in two separate parts. The first, concerning the trips. In the work force, I can think of hundreds of examples of when people receive additional benefits for their hard work. My father was an executive for a large shipping company at one point in his life. He was regularly sent on trips to California, Florida and he was even sent on a 2-week trip around the world. He had a brand new car at his disposal, an expense account, he had it all. Other members of my family work for pharmaceutical companies. I have heard of stories of high-profile executives receiving huge salaries, enormous bonuses, new paid-for cars every year and Lord knows that many of these people have little or no idea about what is really going on below them, but I digress. What I am getting at is that once you have "made it"; you have earned and are entitled to all of these extras.
In the automotive journalist's world, getting a new car to test every week is your basic salary. If you can get a car, it is because you are producing material that people will read or watch. If the cars become more numerous and/or more expensive, this could be considered as a pay increase. The trips, well they are the bonuses because someone out there thinks that you are good enough to relay an educated message about the product to the masses.
Of course, car builders desire and generally expect that these messages will be good ones. And, of course, if the journalist is only out for the bonuses and always transmits glowing messages, they are in fact guaranteeing themselves more trips. The reality of life is that we cannot always get a bonus. Sometimes things go wrong or not the way we would like them to go. Occasionally, manufacturers build something so bad that the message can only be negative.
At this point, it is up to the deliverer of the message to make sure that the information contained within the text is just and done with integrity. This is where the real issue lies and this is the second part. Everybody likes bonuses, executives and journalists alike. People will generally do whatever it takes to get the reward. The question is now: Whom is the journalist working for? If the answer is General Motors, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, Subaru or Toyota, then the bonuses are more likely to flow. If the response is the reader, then the journalist will be spending more time in front of the computer at work or at home. Objectivity mixed in with a little subjectivity should be the real bounty. Unfortunately for some journalists, it will not buy them the finer things in life. Fortunately though, it is up to you to decide whether or not the message is any good.