As a journalistic entity, Palate Press requires that all writers adhere to certain ethical standards. If you have any questions about these rules, please consult with your editor or a Board member.
The basic rule is that there should be no quid pro quo for anything offered. When it doubt, adhere to this simple dictum.
Accepting Samples
For example, it is a long-recognized practice in the wine business for wineries or their distributors to offer free samples of their output to writers for review. If doing so for Palate Press, you are allowed to accept such samples, but in doing so you must make clear to the supplier that you are not obliged to write anything favorable about the wine or the winery, or for that matter, write anything at all. However, please do not seek out media samples on behalf of Palate Press without first clearing it with David Honig or a designated Board member. If you do write a review or tasting notes, you must make clear how the wine was obtained, either commercially purchased or a “media sample.”
Attending Tastings, Dinners, or other Events
The same standard holds for attendance at any event, such as a tasting. If you are granted special access not available to the general public as a member of the media, you must make clear to the organizers that access does not oblige you to offer coverage. Again, if special media access is granted, that must be reflected in any piece you submit to Palate Press.
Credentialing
We also require that you contact the Palate Press Editorial Board at submissions@palatepress.com before seeking any media pass or credential for an event as a Palate Press representative. This helps us avoid any duplication of several people seeking access to the same event on behalf of Palate Press, and also allows us to vouch for you if there any questions arise from the event organizers.
Travel Offers
It is also recognized that offers of sponsored travel may be made. Any travel offers made to you as a Palate Press contributor or you wish to go on behalf of Palate Press must be cleared in advance by the Palate Press board. This is also to avoid duplication, as the same opportunity may be made to different writers who contribute to Palate Press. In cases of such duplicative offers, the Palate Press Board will make the final determination on who will represent the magazine. No trip may be accepted on behalf of Palate Press if conditioned upon publication of a story. The purpose of sponsored travel should always be education, though stories may be written if they arise naturally during the course of the trip. Any story arising out of travel must clearly reflect who sponsored the trip.
Prior Review
In addition, in keeping with standard journalistic practice, subjects of stories shall have no review of any Palate Press story or its contents prior to publication except in extraordinary circumstances and when such action is approved in advance by the Palate Press Editorial Board.
Publication
In any case, you must not make any promise, implicit or implied, that a story will appear in Palate Press. You are required to make clear to whoever is offering samples, access, or travel that the decision on publication rests solely with the Palate Press Editorial Board.