Can a cigar podcaster or reviewer be unbiased?

[Hoshneer]

I was kind of thinking today about cigar podcasts after I was texting a friend. I know podcasters and reviewers always get swag and cigars to try out. Can a person who receives free items to review really be unbiased or are they always in constant fear of ruining their supply?

I understand that it's probably nice to get some smokes once in awhile but I also understand it would be incredibly hard to be fair or at the very least give a little favor because of that. What is your opinion on the matter?

 

[Xavier Dredo]

I pretty much only listen to "Half Ashed" now because (I think) they actually buy their own. They also do a lot of blind/unbanded reviews, which are pretty good.

 

[jonnylieberman]

Well... after 10 years of writing about cars professionally, and 5 years writing at Motor Trend specifically, I'd say absolutely.

Yes, we run adverts from the OEMs who make the cars we review. But those ads don't dictate anything. We have a wall between the editorial and advertising departments. I have no idea which ads will be in a given issue, and the sales guys have no idea what we're up to. Ads are based on circulation, not content.

Now, this is my experience. And as I always say, when everyone's trying to bribe you equally, no one wins.

 

[EO80]

Johnny makes a good point but most of the podcasts are from very small entities. So the ads and pr come from the same place. So I would think it would be difficult to keep a small level of that in mind as you review or critique anything. As opposed to going all out and saying "do not touch this" would be changed to a nicer "its a decent stick".
Just my 2 cents.

 

[sofc]

Well... after 10 years of writing about cars professionally, and 5 years writing at Motor Trend specifically, I'd say absolutely.

Yes, we run adverts from the OEMs who make the cars we review. But those ads don't dictate anything. We have a wall between the editorial and advertising departments. I have no idea which ads will be in a given issue, and the sales guys have no idea what we're up to. Ads are based on circulation, not content.

Now, this is my experience. And as I always say, when everyone's trying to bribe you equally, no one wins.

Do you get to keep the cars? or make more money because people are buying cars through a link on your website?

 

[jonnylieberman]

Do you get to keep the cars? or make more money because people are buying cars through a link on your website?

No.

Also, I wish!

 

[Sirspanksalot]

No.

Also, I wish!

When that happens id like a new car please.

 

[SailorAg]

Realistically, it's impossible to be truly objective. You always have some sort of bias, usually unconscious.

Blind reviews are usually best.

I've quit listening to cigar podcasts because I feel that most of them are crappy shows. I don't care to listen to three guys ramble on for three hours about... something...

 

[W.B.]

They can try, but imo not completely; also unless they use a blind approach, personal bias towards brands will get in way as well. And of course even personal preferences are subjective too. That said, I still read them and use their opinions with that in mind.

 

[Cigary43]

Pay to play has been scrutinized and investigated for decades in just about every business. ..even if there are those who don't fall victim to payola. ...it becomes a tainted process regardless. To say getting product to review when it's given to a reviewer for free. ...is to say that lobbyists are a benefit to the common man. To accept products and then get them gratis. ...doesn't give me the warm fuzzys .

 

[ChuckMejia]

I was kind of thinking today about cigar podcasts after I was texting a friend. I know podcasters and reviewers always get swag and cigars to try out. Can a person who receives free items to review really be unbiased or are they always in constant fear of ruining their supply?

I understand that it's probably nice to get some smokes once in awhile but I also understand it would be incredibly hard to be fair or at the very least give a little favor because of that. What is your opinion on the matter?

Half wheel is pretty unbiased ....

 

[samb]

Isn't it mostly just a money game? I'd listen to podcasts or professional reviews for the entertainment and maybe they throw in a fun fact or two, but IMO the best reviews come from the consensus of posters in a forum.

 

[Happy Idiot]

Not if they want free samples.

 

[Luckybastard]

I've dabbled in reviews in the past and here's the thing about being unbiased... Realizing that a stick that doesn't hit your palate right isn't necessarily a bad stick. Look for reviewers who don't attach numbers to it for instance. They'll give flavor profiles and a "for fans of ____" but not always say it's either fantastic or shitty. There's no reason to shit on a stick because you don't like it. A lot of smokers these days don't care for mild cigars, doesn't mean they're junk just because it doesn't make you wanna throw up. My $.02

 

[StogieNinja]

Blind Man's Puff. (blindmanspuff.com) We smoke them blind, with no idea what we're smoking. And we've reviewed everything from Cubans to Ron Mexicos, so no reviewer can assume what they're smoking is going to be a quality stick!

 

[ChefBoyRG54]

Blind Man's Puff. (blindmanspuff.com) We smoke them blind, with no idea what we're smoking. And we've reviewed everything from Cubans to Ron Mexicos, so no reviewer can assume what they're smoking is going to be a quality stick!

BesT concept out there

 

[joe45]

Blind Man's Puff. (blindmanspuff.com) We smoke them blind, with no idea what we're smoking. And we've reviewed everything from Cubans to Ron Mexicos, so no reviewer can assume what they're smoking is going to be a quality stick!

I've been reading this one lately abs really like the concept.

 

[mwlabel]

Since I like to instigate, do you mean truly unbiased? In that case no, because I think that's impossible.
Comparatively? Yes. The obvious ones are the reviewers doing true blind samplings. The hard part is figuring out where they fall on the spectrum of "Are they doing this because they like writing/podcasting/attention or are they doing this because they're passionate about cigars?" You may never find out that answer. But I think the people who are excited about the smokes will be far more unbiased than those are who excited about the process of sharing their thoughts.

 

[BenvolioMustDie]

Since I like to instigate, do you mean truly unbiased? In that case no, because I think that's impossible.
Comparatively? Yes. The obvious ones are the reviewers doing true blind samplings. The hard part is figuring out where they fall on the spectrum of "Are they doing this because they like writing/podcasting/attention or are they doing this because they're passionate about cigars?" You may never find out that answer. But I think the people who are excited about the smokes will be far more unbiased than those are who excited about the process of sharing their thoughts.

The problem with this is that a quality review will come from a love of writing, passion and knowledge for a subject can often be lost in poor writing. I completely agree though that their motivation is a big factor if you're going to make a purchase based off it.
I read a brilliant column from Jeremy Clarkson, the (ex) Top Gear presenter, who said that he'd done so well because of his passion for writing, rather than cars.

 

[sean]

Since I like to instigate, do you mean truly unbiased? In that case no, because I think that's impossible.

Try to define "authentic" and you end up in the same place...We should discuss infinity while we're at it.

^looking forward to that herf.


Rex, regardless of who made it, even looking at the wrapper can bias the review... does that count?