FTC’s New Rules for Bloggers & How it Affects Atlanta on the Cheap

Today (Oct. 5), the FTC released new rules governing bloggers. As a result, some blogs will die. Or at the very least, they’ll be significantly restructured. In my (non-sponsored) opinion, this is a good thing. I loathe blogs that are essentially undisclosed paid advertisements.

Will the new rules affect Atlanta on the Cheap? The short answer is no.

The longer answer is still no, but here’s what you need to know:

1) On Atlanta on the Cheap, the main content is not sponsored. I retain full editorial control & discretion over the deals that I post. For instance, if Centennial Olympic Park comes to me & says, “I’ll pay you $500 to write about our Music @ Noon series,” my answer is “Thanks, but no. Feel free to send a press release & I’ll consider it.” And while I try to post as many deals as I can, I do not blog about every deal that comes across my desk (there are only but so many hours in the day…).

2) Since I also work as a writer for traditional media, I use those rules to help me determine what’s appropriate or inappropriate behavior when it comes to accepting media comps. This is where section 255.5, Disclosure of material connections, in the FTC’s new rules comes into play (skip to p. 75 for the full text of that section. Oddly, the FTC made all of its comments in the first 60 pages of the document, so this will seem out of order, but it’s not):

On p. 47 of the FTC’s explanation of the rules, “The Commission acknowledges that bloggers may be subject to different disclosure requirements than reviewers in traditional media.” The Commission goes on to state that it “does not consider reviews published in traditional media. . . to be sponsored advertising messages. Accordingly, such reviews are not ‘endorsements’ within the meaning of the Guides. Under these circumstances, the Commission believes, knowing whether the media entity that published the review paid for the item in question would not affect the weight consumers give to the reviewer’s statement.”

And the footnote on that same page goes on to state that “The Commission’s view would be the same if the employee worked for an Internet news website with independent editorial responsibility, rather than a traditional brick-and-mortar periodical.”

Whew.

What that means in traditional media is that in order to do their job, the writers covering the Arts & Culture or Sports beats must check out said “arts & culture” or “sports” venues & events, and they can, & often will, use media comps (i.e. free admission) to go. It also covers things like the products the writer checks out when pulling together a gift guide or a beauty editor’s review of a new mascara. If you saw a) the media companies’ budgets and b) the writers’ salaries, you’d definitely understand the need for this provision.

As a blogger, the FTC now says that I may be subject to different disclosure requirements. However, I view Atlanta on the Cheap as something more along the lines of “an Internet news website with independent editorial responsibility.” That’s an accurate description even though I do all of the jobs required to keep the site up & running (except for ad sales…I try to leave that to the ad networks).

Yes, I report about deals (& lots of ‘em), but that’s the extent of it. I give a deal I find while browsing publications or social media sites the same consideration that I do ones that I receive via a press release. And if a venue offers a price break to Atlanta on the Cheap’s readers, that’s between them & you—I don’t get a cut of ticket sales or any other kickbacks, and I don’t post it unless I feel it’s a true deal.

3) That said, in the interest of full disclosure, I do take advantage of media comps from time to time. For instance, media night for Chicago at the Fox was opening night, and I attended the performance gratis & then edited the most recent deal post to offer my impressions of the show. If memory serves, I also tweeted about each act while I was there, but if you follow me on Twitter, you know that I tweet about NFL games that I’m watching on TV, speakers at the (free) Decatur Book Festival & other random things, too. It’s understood that those thoughts are my “subjective opinions” not “endorsements.” I do not take advantage of every “media night” opportunity to see a show & going (or not) neither influences nor guarantees coverage on this site. In fact, I can think of several times when I’ve used a media comp to attend an event and later chosen not to write about it (If you can’t say anything nice…).

I also take advantage of the deals I post on my site. For instance, several months ago I blogged about an awesome (IMO) deal for half-off tickets to the Atlanta Ballet’s The Nutcracker & Cinderella. Though I technically could ask for media comps, I went down to their box office & bought tickets. And when The Center for Puppetry Arts made half-off tickets available for certain performances for Atlanta on the Cheap’s readers, I bought them, too, even though I’ve accepted media comps for the organization in the past & likely will again in the future. I went to check out the Henson exhibit & see how the make-&-take workshop worked, but that’s not why I brought the kids. When the line is remotely blurry, I opt to buy my way in.

4) From time to time, I host giveaways on my site, but I only agree to host a giveaway for a product/ticket/venue if it matches the feel of the site. Tickets to Legally Blonde, The Musical? Yes. A blonde hair dye kit? No. The vendor is responsible for supplying the item & prize fulfillment. My roles are to monitor the comments (my preferred method for having you enter contests) & randomly choose a winner. No money changes hands when I host a giveaway. I do it as a service for you, my readers, as I know you appreciate freebies.

5) If something is sponsored, you’ll see a disclosure to that effect. For instance, one of the mobile internet providers wants me to check out their product & mention it on the site. I haven’t said yes yet, but if I take them up on it, it wouldn’t be a traditional review; rather, when I use the device so that I have internet access to post a deal, I’d add a line at the end that notes something to that effect, such as “This post was made possible by TK.” Same rule would apply if I used it to tweet deals. If I use my phone or a standard connection, I’d drop the disclosure.

If you made it this far, I’m impressed. This post is far shorter than the FTC’s 80-page monstrosity, but it’s definitely on the long side. By & large, most bloggers act in good faith. A small, but growing, number of inexperienced folks behaved unethically, and they essentially forced the FTC’s hand, hence the arrival of what I’m sure some will feel are overly stringent new guidelines.

As for me, I’ll continue to act in good faith & try my best to follow the rules. If you have questions about how the site operates, ask, and I’ll do my best to answer them. In the meantime, thanks for reading Atlanta on the Cheap.

–Jennifer Maciejewski