Regular readers of blogs and other Internet-based newsletters know it is not unusual to see product reviews in these publications. While sometimes the reviews appear to be careful, impartial journalism, at other times the writer seems just a wee bit too enthusiastic about the post’s subject matter.
There are good reasons to question just how impartial the authors of these reviews might be. Advertisers often “comp” writers with free products or other benefits in the hopes of receiving favorable reviews, though it does not have to go that far. A Web site or blog that depends on click-through traffic for revenue may be so hungry for copy that its authors simply cut and paste blurbs received from a product’s public relations department, without ever receiving or using the product that is the subject of the post.
