FTC Blogger Disclosure Guidelines, Part Deux

KPAM Pat Boyle Interview with Trisha Miller on the new FTC Blogger Disclosure guidelines
Updated: Jan 12th, 2010

If you’re in the Portland Oregon area and listen to KPAM Radio on the weekends, then you may have heard a short interview I did with Pat Boyle.

Pat is one of KPAM’s weekday morning anchors who also hosts The Azumano Travel Show, which airs on Saturday mornings with an encore on Sunday mornings.

If you missed it, don’t worry! You can listen to the mp3 right here on Travel Writers Exchange!

Pat’s weekend travel show primarily covers destinations and various aspects of travel, but last weekend she deviated from their normal format to talk with me about the new FTC Blogger Disclosure Guidelines and the impact they are having on travel writers and travel bloggers.

Like most broadcast radio segments, it’s short (only 4 minutes), but Pat asks some great questions and overall I think it’s a pretty good interview.

Audio Podcast: Click to Listen

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She doesn’t hold back with her questions, and I think I gave some insightful answers, but overall it reiterates what I’ve already blogged about here on TWE, which is that it boils down to just a few really important points:

  1. Be sure that you’re disclosing when something you’re writing about was given to you or earns you some compensation;
  2. Be sure that your disclosure is clear;
  3. Remember that travelers are relying on you – the travel writer or travel blogger – to provide them with honest and accurate information. They have a right to know if your opinion is possibly biased. A clear disclosure helps your credibility;

I truly believe that travelers don’t care that you’ve been on a sponsored media trip in order to write your travel story. What they care about is whether or not you’re giving an honest opinion about where you went and what you did (or did not) enjoy about it. Be clear when you do accept press trips, and write an honest critique, not an advertorial, and you’ll boost your credibility and gain a reputation as a travel writer or blogger who can be trusted.

~Trisha

Have you changed how you write in response to the new FTC Blogger Disclosure Guidelines?

About Trisha Miller 116 Articles
Trisha Miller Editor-in-Chief, TravelWritersExchange.com - Trisha joined the Travel Industry in 1996 with a background in telecommunications and helped to build (and later sell) one of the industry's top inbound call centers specializing in air travel. Her career in Travel Writing began with creating destination-specific content for a corporate travel intranet, and continued as she contributed content to a large number of travel-related companies that were establishing an online presence throughout the late '90's and early '00's. Currently she is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, and a former Board Member of the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (2009-2015).  Still a frequent world traveler, and occasional guest-blogger on a number of other Travel Blogs, Trisha writes about travel and technology, sometimes both at the same time. You can follow Trisha on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/TravelWriting

2 Comments

  1. Great interview. I put a “disclosure” on my blogs just to be safe. I’m very discerning anyway and will not promote a product, service, hotel/resort, etc…that I feel doesn’t add value. I’m honest and people will receive my honest opinion in a very diplomatic way.

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