Friday, August 22, 2008

I'd love to eat there...if it existed!

Wine Spectator magazine learns the hard way.
Count me among the people who thought this was damn funny.

Of course, publishing has seen this kind of crapola for years. "Contests" that are fundraising devices for the contest organizers are nothing new; "awards" that are nothing more than a way to extract entry fees as well. And don't get me started on what goes on over at some of those poetry sites!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

WS is in a sticky situation with this, but we in the wine media kinda see it as just desserts, they have been walking the edge of conflict with these paid "awards." While the guy who did it was less than above reproach, WS now has the problem of resolving this in the public eye. I had to make fun of them myself, too easy a target...

Susan at Stony River said...

Oh, TOO funny. Contest fees are a whole big issue with me.
(Maybe I should hold an annual poetry-about-wine contest, just for the extra cash...)

Thanks for sharing this one--it's nice to see this sort of business get the publicity it deserves.

SWILUA said...

Can I have an award for a book I haven't written? (I've gotten rejection letters for books I didn't write--true story!--but an award would be better.)

Dharma Kelleher said...

I hear that the jackelope stew at Osteria L’Intrepido is excellent, as is the roast rack of chupacabra. Stay away from the unicorn steaks, though. There've been some reports of E. Coli.

Personally, the Willy Wonka schnazzberry creme brulee sounds intriguing. Just limit yourself to one or you could end up licking the wallpaper.

Sabina E. said...

oh my. Haven't they heard of a little helpful resource tool called Google? lol

ryan field said...

This is interesting. I know of a restaurant that has one of these awards, and as it happens one of the managers used to work for WS. In this case the restaurant is excellent (IMHO), but it does make you wonder.

Steve Stubbs said...

OK, OK, what DOES go on at those poetry sites?