No, a New York Times travel writer would not take such a trip. I do not write for the New York Times. When I write for publications that do not allow comped travel, my articles are entirely out of my own pocket. That’s good enough for me. Some would say that I have no obligation to explain myself to you, but hey, blogging is different. In my opinion, a good blogger always tries to respect legitimate, reasonably polite readers and answer as many of their comments as possible.

As I said in this post yesterday – Are blogger fam trips a good idea or are they Jurassic PR? – I’m personally wrestling with “blogger ethics” issues and as I go along, trying to make the best decisions for me and for my blogs.

I disclose any freebies, and let my readers decide the usefulness of any blog posts based on that freebie. You think that anything I write from a freebie is “tainted.” OK, click away and don’t read it, then. Vote with your eyeballs. I have many readers who do not think that it matters, and others who read the items but with their antennae up for me excessively sucking up. Let people make their own decisions and don’t preach to them.

News flash – there IS NO “code of ethics” in blogging other than what individual bloggers come up with for themselves. The readers, in many cases, vote for our ethics and credibility by reading us, or not. There is currently some discussion about establishing an ethics code of some sort, but we are all independent operators and I don’t see the cats agreeing to be herded in any way.

The complete and unfettered independence is the great blessing and curse of blogging, for bloggers and for readers.

Please keep in mind that any of your writing about Hawaii is now tainted by the ethical issue that accepting a large up-front payout brings with it. Unfortunately, having taken the lucre, short of returning the cost of the trip, you’re stuck with it. No need to answer my question, I can look up airfares and estimate hotels and meals myself I suppose. Would a New York Times travel writer agree to take such a trip? I don’t think so.

I clearly disclosed that Hawaii Tourism Authority paid for airfare, lodging and expenses. I was not there on “vacation,” I was there to write about my experiences, and I did and will continue to do so since I have a lot of material that isn’t published yet.

If that bothers you, I appreciate your input. Noted.