I spent pre-flight, post-flight and flying time photographing and interviewing olim. I didn’t write the sort of “look at me” posts the jbloggers to the conference wrote. I have two very elderly parents in NY and would gladly do it again to cut travel expenses and have a totally uplifting experience.

In addition, I’ve been given a couple of books to review on my blog. When I did it for JPost, I got to keep the book, but I only got paid for the review if they published it. As a blogger, I’m my own boss.

a. Good for you.
b. I was asked to do a book review and was awarded a free copy of the book. I am not sure if Haim does book reviews regularly but let me say that I do not return books. And I write ‘em as I read ‘em. In this case, it should be out in the latest Nekuda, I am fairly critical why slightly complimentary.
c. And despite Haim’s presumption: “A blogger who received a free business-class round-trip plane ticket from Nefesh B’Nefesh would inevitably think twice about checking out a rumor of malfeasance in the organization – or even about writing that some of the olim in its care felt they hadn’t been treated properly.”

I am sure that if a reporter was asked to review a NBN operation and cover an immigrant’s journey and life tale and to do so was provided a free ticket, he would know to separate financial improvement with journalistic truth or, in other words, if he did discover something very wrong (NBN bribing Ministry of Interior clerks or, an NBN immigrant faking it), he’d publish it. You don’t believe so, but I believe in the natural instinct of a blogger.

True, but I listed SJ because (1) I think we all need exposure to different points of view and (2) you are a terrific writer. I hope you know my invitation to others was meant to be tongue-in-cheek!

I’d carry your published guidelines over to this controversy, however: if it’s okay to accept a ticket to a ballet one is covering, or it’s okay to accept a free military flight to cover a scientific something at the South Pole, then why is it NOT okay to accept a free NBN flight for the purpose of writing about the people aboard the flight?

It seems to me that it would be difficult to cover the door-to-door experience of making aliyah in a hasty and jet-lagged arrival lounge at BG. It seems that interviewing the olim aboard their plane will give you a much better opportunity to ask in-depth questions and do follow up questions, rather than simply grab exhausted sound-bytes at the airport lounge. It need not be an enthusiastically-endorsing-NBN piece, either—certainly I can review a play or orchestra and critique it despite the free ticket, so why can’t I be critical (as an olah myself) of what NBN has NOT prepared the olim for?

1. Benzi Kluwgant of N B’N e-mailed me the following clarification:

“When Nefesh B’Nefesh charters an El Al flight we pay ONE sum for the entire plane. There are no classes on the charter flights like on their regular commercial flights…. [T]he business class these bloggers were treated to consisted of the same chartered meals that El Al serves and the same regular service.”

2. The Chronicle of Higher Education, whose correspondent in Israel I was for 25 years, has kindly allowed me to quote from their ethical guidelines. The Chronicle drew heavily from the rules promulgated by other news organizations in drawing up this document, so they represent a common standard. The relevant section reads:

“Staff members may not accept anything that could be construed as a payment for favorable coverage or as an inducement to alter or forgo unfavorable coverage. So staff members may not accept gifts, tickets, discounts, reimbursements, or other inducements from any individuals or organizations covered by The Chronicle or likely to be covered by The Chronicle. . . . Staff members may not accept free or discounted transportation and lodging in connection with our coverage except where special circumstances give us no choice. Among them are certain military or scientific expeditions and other trips for which alternative arrangements would be impractical — for example, a trip to the South Pole aboard a military plane. . . . Staff members who cover artistic performances or athletic or other events where admission is charged may accept the press passes or tickets customarily made available. No other staff members, not even editors in arts-related sections, may accept free tickets. ”

Of course, ambiguous situations always arise and need to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis by the journalist in consultation with editors.

As you’ll see from the guidelines, the fact that flying the bloggers did not cost N B’N any additional money is irrelevant to the ethical status of offering the free flights. So I stand by my position.

Since Yisrael Medad has, over at his blog, insinuated that I’m making this fuss simply because I wasn’t offered a free flight myself, I’d like to put on record that a couple of years ago (when I was just a reporter, and hadn’t yet attained the rank of blogger) a person associated with Nefesh B’Nefesh told me they were offering free flights for writers and offered me one. I turned him down curtly and without a second thought because it was obvious to me that the offer was improper. In fact, I was insulted that he thought that I would accept such a thing.

I have been blogging for more than 4 years and I was invited. I am not right wing, nor frum. Just an American Jew who lives in L.A.

You don’t have to like it, but it was a Jewish blogging conference.

But in a world in which an increasingly large portion of citizens, especially young ones, seem to get most of their knowledge of the public sphere from blogs, I think this is a cop-out.

Haim,

It sounds to me like the cop-out is suggesting that because many people do a piss poor job of gathering information we should be extra careful in what we say.

It seems to me like you are suggesting that we cater to the laziness of some people by helping them stay ignorant.

I would take the opposite approach and continue to push people to seek out information from multiple sources.

Where is the critical thought and analysis. If we teach them how to do that we are all better served.