* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    Safety concerns in Deep Ellum create apprehension as the entertainment district gains visitors – CBS News

    Safety Concerns Surge Amid Deep Ellum’s Booming Popularity and Growing Crowds

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Marvell Technology Stock Rallies After AI Event Sparks Investor Optimism – Yahoo Finance

    Marvell Technology Stock Rallies After AI Event Sparks Investor Optimism – Yahoo Finance

    Promising Technology Stocks To Follow Today – June 22nd – MarketBeat

    Top Technology Stocks to Watch Today – June 22nd

    Technology Convergence Report 2025 – The World Economic Forum

    Technology Convergence Report 2025 – The World Economic Forum

    How AI can help make cities work better for residents – MIT Technology Review

    How AI can help make cities work better for residents – MIT Technology Review

    Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

    Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

    Crypto’s true revolution is about humanity, not technology – Cointelegraph

    Crypto’s Real Revolution: Transforming Humanity Beyond Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

    ‘Puttin’ on the Ritz’: Civic Players bring ‘Young Frankenstein’ to life – Yahoo

    Civic Players Deliver a Hilarious and Unforgettable Performance of ‘Young Frankenstein

    ‘Wheel of Fortune’: Amputee Wins $60,000 After Breaking Incredible ‘Curse’ – Hastings Tribune

    Wheel of Fortune’ Amputee Breaks Incredible ‘Curse’ to Win $60,000!

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    North Star Sports & Entertainment Network: Coming soon – KTTC News

    Safety concerns in Deep Ellum create apprehension as the entertainment district gains visitors – CBS News

    Safety Concerns Surge Amid Deep Ellum’s Booming Popularity and Growing Crowds

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

    Elisabeth Moss’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Emmy chances, by the numbers – Yahoo

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Marvell Technology Stock Rallies After AI Event Sparks Investor Optimism – Yahoo Finance

    Marvell Technology Stock Rallies After AI Event Sparks Investor Optimism – Yahoo Finance

    Promising Technology Stocks To Follow Today – June 22nd – MarketBeat

    Top Technology Stocks to Watch Today – June 22nd

    Technology Convergence Report 2025 – The World Economic Forum

    Technology Convergence Report 2025 – The World Economic Forum

    How AI can help make cities work better for residents – MIT Technology Review

    How AI can help make cities work better for residents – MIT Technology Review

    Tech Champions with Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions – Buzz Media Group

    Meet Tech Champion Leo Bletnitsky of Healthy Technology Solutions

    Crypto’s true revolution is about humanity, not technology – Cointelegraph

    Crypto’s Real Revolution: Transforming Humanity Beyond Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology

Book, Movie, and Product Reviews Are Being Bought and Paid For

February 7, 2024
in Technology
Book, Movie, and Product Reviews Are Being Bought and Paid For
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Anyone who writes reviews for a living has heard it before, and plenty: “How much did you get paid to write this?”

I’ve been a critic of many things over the years: movies, wine and spirits, and all manner of tech gear, for WIRED and other publications. And no matter what it is that I’m writing about, there’s always that one guy who pipes up in the comments suggesting that my opinions were bought and paid for.

It was invariably easy to dismiss these comments, but things got more complicated in September, when Vulture published a story that revealed the untold scale of the paid reviews industry. The story showed, among other things, how publicists were paying some independent film critics to review indie films and non-mainstream releases. These reviews, which were often published on independent film review websites, were then getting grabbed by Rotten Tomatoes. This meant, the story suggested, that a coveted Certified Fresh score on the hallowed Tomatometer could potentially be bought, and not earned.

The story caused chaos in the film industry.

Cast an eye beyond the world of art houses and streaming services, and you soon realize that this practice is commonplace. Reviews of everything—from gadgets to books, apparel, hotels, booze, you name it—are all potentially compromised, depending on your definition of that word. And the more you dig, the weirder things get.

In the wake of Vulture’s story, Rotten Tomatoes took action and began to boot movie reviewers who it believed had taken payments off the platform. In doing so, the company upended the lives of many film reviewers and blew a hole in a common tactic employed by indie titles to get visibility. Defenders of the practice argued that those smaller films would have gone unnoticed by critics absent a financial incentive to watch them.

The scenario points to a fundamental paradox in online reviews. Indie films—heck, indie anything—make the creative industry a better place, and boosting their signal above the noise is a net win for anyone with tastes outside of the mainstream. The practice of amplifying these independent voices by paying for coverage can be seen as deceitful, dishonest, and mercenary by readers who aren’t aware of the bigger picture.

That bigger picture is in fact a blockbuster. No matter what you produce, there’s probably a way to buy a review for it. A network of platforms exists to connect filmmakers, authors, and product manufacturers with writers, blogs, and publications who can boost their brand for a fee. My inbox is inundated by overseas manufacturers of white-label tech products who are desperate to pay me to write a review if I can get it published in WIRED or another outlet. I politely declined, and for decades I never accepted outside payment to write a review of a product.

Until, one day, I did.

The Trouble With Bunker 15

Lane Brown’s piece in Vulture, “The Decomposition of Rotten Tomatoes,” claimed that the popular movie review site could be “easily hacked.” At the core of the article is a publicity company called Bunker 15. It’s one of many businesses that help independent filmmakers get reviews for their movies that can count toward the all-important Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer rating. For the service, it pays some reviewers $50 per review.

Brown emailed me before his story was published to ask if I’d been paid by Bunker 15 for my review of the film Ophelia–also central to his piece–and, honestly, I didn’t know if I had or not. I published my review at Film Racket, an independent film website that I’ve run since 2013, more than five years ago, and I don’t have records going back that far. I told Brown it was possible, and that we did work with Bunker 15 on other films over the years. After the story was published I did more digging and discovered that, yes, I was one of the critics who was paid $50 to write a review of the movie, and that it was probably the first film the company ever submitted to Film Racket for proposed coverage. It’s not a great movie, but I gave it three stars out of five, which Rotten Tomatoes marked as “fresh.” It remains the only review I have ever personally written of a Bunker 15 film or for which I’ve been paid by a third party; other writers did the rest.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Wired – https://www.wired.com/story/paid-reviews-books-movies-gadgets/

Tags: movieproducttechnology
Previous Post

2054, Part III: The Singularity

Next Post

Confessions of an AI Clickbait Kingpin

Clay Minerals From Mars’ Most Ancient Past? – NASA Science (.gov)

Unveiling Clay Minerals from Mars’ Most Ancient Past

June 24, 2025

Retro Translucent Lifestyle Sneakers – Trend Hunter

June 24, 2025
The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Announces Its 2025 List – The New York Times

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants Announces Its 2025 List – The New York Times

June 24, 2025
Former INSS head Manuel Trajtenberg: Israeli economy rises in Iran war – The Jerusalem Post

Former INSS head Manuel Trajtenberg: Israeli economy rises in Iran war – The Jerusalem Post

June 24, 2025
Panel reacts as VP Vance downplays risk of foreign entanglement in Iran: ‘Back then we had dumb presidents’ – CNN

Panel reacts as VP Vance downplays risk of foreign entanglement in Iran: ‘Back then we had dumb presidents’ – CNN

June 24, 2025
Marvell Technology Stock Rallies After AI Event Sparks Investor Optimism – Yahoo Finance

Marvell Technology Stock Rallies After AI Event Sparks Investor Optimism – Yahoo Finance

June 23, 2025
Atlanta Sports: High school, college and pro sports from the AJC – AJC.com

Atlanta Sports Update: Exciting High School, College, and Pro Highlights

June 23, 2025
US judge blocks slashing of universities’ federal funding from National Science Foundation – Reuters

US Judge Halts Cuts to Federal Funding for Universities from National Science Foundation

June 23, 2025
The Computer-Science Bubble Is Bursting – The Atlantic

Is the Computer-Science Boom Coming to an End?

June 23, 2025

6 Life Moments When Staying Silent Is the Wisest Choice

June 23, 2025

Categories

Archives

June 2025
MTWTFSS
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30 
« May    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (697)
  • Economy (714)
  • Entertainment (21,611)
  • General (15,534)
  • Health (9,753)
  • Lifestyle (719)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (716)
  • Politics (721)
  • Science (15,932)
  • Sports (21,210)
  • Technology (15,699)
  • World (694)

Recent News

Clay Minerals From Mars’ Most Ancient Past? – NASA Science (.gov)

Unveiling Clay Minerals from Mars’ Most Ancient Past

June 24, 2025

Retro Translucent Lifestyle Sneakers – Trend Hunter

June 24, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version