Having the odd combination today of a chorus of the “I Can’t Quite Follow You” Blues contrasted with being offered an actual beer junket itinerary, it popped into my head that an independent registry of potential conflicts for good beer opinion makers might be in order. Sort of a confessional. Sort of a preventative. Yet also likely an interesting aggregate effect if, you know, aggregated. What would be some categories of information that might be included for the junket category:
♦ Name (optional)
♦ Destination and name of brewery or breweries.
♦ Price of junket and portion you paid.
♦ Who organized the junket?
♦ Why were you selected to go on this junket?
♦ Will you disclose the junket in any resulting articles?
♦ Will you refer the junket as “research” in any resulting articles?
♦ Do you intend to call people on junket “friends” in any resulting articles?
♦ Will you disclose to your actual friends that you intend to call people on junket “friends” too?
There. That’s a start. Please use the comments section for your junket disclosures. I am sure that will be helpful way to handle this.
[Original comments…]
Troy – October 31, 2012 9:48 PM
http://www.greatcanadianpubs.blogspot.com
Al,
You know me. You know where I work now. We can’t afford to to the press junket thing!! Even with people here in Toronto. So, what we’ll do – we’ll schedule select beer media on a particular day, pick them up in our 1989 Crazy Canuck K-Car, take them to the brewery for samples (have them sign a form saying that they won’t sue if they slip on one of our hoses, or fridges) and then we’ll buy them pizza for lunch. There, press junket complete 🙂
Cheers,
Troy
Troy – October 31, 2012 9:49 PM
http://www.greatcanadianpubs.blogspot.com
Oh. Forgot to mention – we’ll even invite beer bloggers from Kingston 🙂
Alan – October 31, 2012 10:04 PM
Well, that is quite the exposé, young man. Do you regale them with tales of growler collecting, too?
PS: would it kill you to drop off a sample???
Brian J. Papineau – November 1, 2012 9:15 AM
http://bryehn.net
Troy, I would happily attend the K-Car and pizza junket, and promise not to sue 😉
Alan – November 1, 2012 9:47 AM
Ah, that is another feature we need. The junket request form.
Craig – November 1, 2012 10:53 AM
You know where this is headed, don’t you? A junket for the junket.
Alan – November 1, 2012 11:16 AM
Maybe a conference on junket manners sponsored by junket providers?
Craig – November 1, 2012 11:21 AM
Who’s on first?
Jordan St.John – November 3, 2012 1:13 AM
http://www.saintjohnswort.ca
I want to have a junket consultant to tell me what to wear to dinner in Cambridge, Mass.
Martyn Cornell – November 3, 2012 12:23 PM
http://zythophile.wordpress.com
Junket providers? What, you mean these guys?
Jordan St.John – November 3, 2012 11:47 PM
http://saintjohnswort.ca
http://saintjohnswort.ca/cents-and-sensibility-a-junket-declaration-form
Is this to your satisfaction?
Alan – November 4, 2012 10:42 AM
Excellent stuff! For further disclosure, we also had a great FB chat about these ideas – duty and opportunity and such – but I think airing and exploring them is a great thing.
Alan – November 16, 2012 9:58 AM
Then you find out that it wasn’t a special moment at all.