Our Chosen Role Changing Media Landscape.
A big thank you to the many who responded positively to my previous editorial about the balance we have to walk to maintain complete editorial independence and integrity while relying on sponsorship and advertising.
To elaborate, sticking to old-school, fact-based, in-depth reporting has been an easy choice. While going against the tide of the media landscape and macro-economic trends presents many challenges, adhering to these virtues provides us with a safe haven, with classic journalistic principles and press ethics providing guidance and a protective framework.
It is also a labour of love and a creative outlet. If we were chefs, we would rather run a fine dining restaurant because we care, take pride and interest in our craft and work long hours than run a chain of fast-food outlets where we could earn much more money.
Dive media occupies a niche within a small niche: the dive industry and community. It is a very specific and narrow field in the grand scheme of things.
But it is one that we know like the back of our hands. In addition to our journalistic and scientific training, we are experienced divers, and most of us are also instructors and technical divers. We also interact with the dive community on a global scale, attending and often sponsoring dive shows and conferences in Asia, Europe and the United States, where we interact directly with the local dive community.
The dive community can be likened to an ecosystem, where entities are interdependent and live off each other. Training agencies provide divers who buy equipment from shops and manufacturers and become patrons of dive operators worldwide.
In this system, the dive media play an essential role, which unfortunately is not always appreciated or valued, let alone supported, by some of the other stakeholders. In this role, the dive media provides both the stimulus or inspiration (such as captivating travelogues and stories of marine life encounters around the world) and unbiased information and guidance on products and services.
These reports require insight and experience to produce. You will not see silly unboxing videos on our channels. When our equipment editors review gear, they put it through its paces on all sorts of dives, often more than 40, before they are ready to give a qualified verdict and proper guidance.
When it comes to travel and destination reviews, we go deeper to capture more of the essence and experience of a place. As a result, our dive travel articles tend to be longer features, as they are more valuable and informative. In any case, they are popular, as even the older ones continue to be downloaded, which is a nice pat on the back.
Unlike the many so-called influencers who have also invaded our industry, we have the interests and needs of the consumer (you) at heart.
Don’t be fooled: Many influencers tend to care more about themselves than the brands or products they present; “ambassadors” are provided with free equipment in return for branding; and social media followers, “likes” and fake comments can be bought cheaply by the tens of thousands—hopefully, this is now common knowledge.
At the end of the day, there is still no substitute for the real thing and a job well done, which is what we strive to provide.
