It’s great that you have taken such a stance yourself, I find it very admirable even though I don’t totally agree. Though to push such a stance on others through “no follows” and a blog list is simply an attempt to force your ethical stance unfairly on other bloggers, which is not admirable.

I am slightly disappointed not to have a $ next to my name, but it’s really only through being a cynical bastard that noone wants to send freebies to.

How would things like Good Food and Wine show tickets work ? Media launches that we get invited to ? I think as blogging develops and bloggers reposition themselves into quasi media outlets of their own standing, the nature of the relationship with marketers and PR people will invariably change.

I do not do PR for anybody, nor have I ever done PR for anybody in Australia.

The food bloggers conference was not going to happen because we had no way of collecting money. I simply approached some companies that I was able to approach because I knew them as a food writer as i thought our interests could be mutually beneficial.

Because of the contributions of these companies i wanted to ensure they were mentioned as they all investing significantly to make it happen.

I received no money for pulling together the conference and lost two weeks of work for which I’m not paid to the point that I had a severe cash flow problem and was left with 440 in my pocket at one point. Further more, I actually paid money out of my own pocket to make it happen.

SBS paid about $2600 towards the photo exhibition and i was reimbursed for the portions of this that I financed.

I do no work on marketing projects for SBS. However, I do write independent editorial for the website for which I am paid and it was through this that I was able to make contact with the marketing department and make something happen that would otherwise not have happened.

As for St Ali, I have been paid twice to do video blogs, something which I think I probably should not have done. Butt I certainly do not work with them on marketing.

For the record, I have been paid by Daylesford & Hepburn Sprigs mineral Water Co, Portello Rossi and Match Bar and Grill to help out on social media.

I do resent the implication on Stickifingers comment and think it is driven by bad blood because she wanted her advertising clients Myer, Clive Peeters and other mass market brands to be sponsors.

Phil, I’m in the same boat as you and I’m rethinking my direction although I will keep some advertising I’m not blogging about any free events.

You should perhaps also put a $ sign by my name as I have been invited to free meals and even been flown to Sydney for the Food festival and been to Melbourne Food festival events for free.

So whatever it is, I guess I am safe.

But yes, I am all for full disclosure.

Bob – I pay for everything that I attend for SBS (apart from events that they run or own) and I don’t write about any of them here – which is the same as for any publication that I work for. Freelancing does not come with the fat expense account.

I do link back to my own work. Is advertising that I work for someone cash for comments by proxy? Maybe it is. I should take them off my resume before ACMA catches up with me. I’m completely open that people pay me to write on their sites or magazines or newspapers, but they can never pay me to write on my own site.

And as I’ve said, I’ve got no problems with anyone running ads. My problem is when advertising and editorial are indistinguishable.

The upkeep of this site is $8 a month. It really hurts the hip pocket, but I’ll get through.

So you used this site to help gain a job at SBS, which you link to and thus provide “hits” to an advert loaded revenue raising (for you and them) page. Nice.

Now that you can afford to pay for this sites upkeep, which isn’t usually an inconsequential amount, you decide to rat out others that may have ads on theirs etc. Nice.

Tell me, when you attend SBS sited articles (or even comment on them for the site), are you given tickets/invites by them? That’s cash for comments by proxy. Nice.

Here’s a cooking saying for you, “The pot calling the kettle black”.

It’s your blog, you can do whatever you want, but if you really want to make a point, then at least put some effort into it.