The independence angle is underrated in outdoor media right now. Too many gear reviews feel like thinly veiled advertorials because the publication cant afford to lose brand relationships. I ditched three other fly fishing newsletters last year because they stopped being critical about overhyped products, this approach of reader-funded skepticism makes alot more sense.
This is/was definitely the old media model: sell your destination fly-fishing movie to a bunch of brands, head down to Argentina with a bunch of free gear and a few grand, tell everyone how awesome the gear is, without really having any credible gear review context or process. If the reviews feel "shallow" or "thinly veiled," it's because they are. Are there some good reviews and people mixed in with all the slop? A few, but not really operating with any scale. ~Andrrew
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The independence angle is underrated in outdoor media right now. Too many gear reviews feel like thinly veiled advertorials because the publication cant afford to lose brand relationships. I ditched three other fly fishing newsletters last year because they stopped being critical about overhyped products, this approach of reader-funded skepticism makes alot more sense.
AIA,
This is/was definitely the old media model: sell your destination fly-fishing movie to a bunch of brands, head down to Argentina with a bunch of free gear and a few grand, tell everyone how awesome the gear is, without really having any credible gear review context or process. If the reviews feel "shallow" or "thinly veiled," it's because they are. Are there some good reviews and people mixed in with all the slop? A few, but not really operating with any scale. ~Andrrew